We are pleased to continue our series of encore online presentations of Roosevelt House public programming—to inform and inspire us during these challenging days.
*****
In recent years, Roosevelt House has presented dozens of extraordinary, in-person talks and conversations with public policy and human rights experts, historians, writers, and leaders in business, culture, and government.
Now, recognizing that many of our members and supporters yearn to maintain their close connection to our agenda of civic engagement, we are pleased to offer you the opportunity to re-examine programs you may have attended in the past, or to see such events for the first time.
*****
To mark Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we present a selection of Roosevelt House programs exploring the challenges of Asian American discrimination and marginalization, and the path to political representation and progress. At a time of surging anti-Asian hate and violence, these programs serve to illuminate both the historic precedent of anti-Asian racism in the United States and some of the policies that most directly impact the lives of Asian Americans today.
From March 2018: Filmmakers Ric Burns and Li-Shin Yu are in conversation with Hunter College associate professor of Sociology and Roosevelt House Faculty Associate Margaret M. Chin about the documentary, The Chinese Exclusion Act. Signed into law 138 years ago this week, the Chinese Exclusion Act made it illegal for Chinese workers to come to America and for Chinese nationals already here ever to become U.S. citizens. Watch the full documentary on PBS then tune in here for a discussion of the film, its making, and its meaning.
From May 2018: “South Asian Americans in Politics: Off of the Sidelines and Into the Game,” a co-presentation with The India Center Foundation and The Indian American Impact Project, explores the reasons behind—and results of—the recent surge in South Asian Americans seeking and entering public office at national, state, and local levels. Panelists include: Nina Ahmad, former deputy mayor of Philadelphia and candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania; Ravi Bhalla, Mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey; Sayu Bhojwani, Founder and President of The New American Leaders Project; Raj Goyle, former member of the Kansas House of Representatives and 2010 Democratic nominee for Kansas’s 4th congressional district; and Chaumtoli Huq, Human Rights lawyer and founder of Law at the Margins. The panel is moderated by Arun Venugopal, reporter and host at WNYC.
From December 2019: “The New York City Taxi Industry: Current Policy Issues & Paths Forward” assesses recent policy challenges faced by the New York City Taxi industry—including the fallout from predatory loans; a proposed cap in vehicles to ease the city’s congestion; congestion pricing; and the impact on South Asian immigrant drivers, who are disproportionately represented in the industry. Participants include: City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, chair of the Council Transportation Committee; Charles Komanoff, The Roosevelt House 2019 Kheel Fellow, widely known for his work as an energy-policy analyst, transport economist, and environmental activist in New York City; City Council Member Keith Powers, who represents The Hunter Community; and Javaid Tariq, Co-Founder of New York Taxi Workers Alliance & former taxi driver. The panel is moderated by Vivian Louie, Professor in Urban Policy & Planning and Director of Asian American Studies at Hunter College.
Please tune in below:
Click here to watch The Chinese Exclusion Act Film Screening and Discussion
Click here to watch South Asian Americans in Politics: Off of the Sidelines and Into the Game
Click here to watch The New York City Taxi Industry: Current Policy Issues & Paths Forward
Dear Friend of Roosevelt House:
Thank you for attending our public programs in such great numbers during these fraught eight months of lockdown and social distancing. Since March, when the pandemic first struck New York and the house closed its doors, we have welcomed more than 10,000 attendees to Roosevelt House Zoom events. Our priority has been, and remains, assembling the best thinkers and authors we can bring before you, in both new and encore programming, to help us both to remember past crises and challenges, and navigate the challenges of the current crisis. Even though we very much miss welcoming you to Roosevelt House in person, we pledge to you that, as long as we must, we will continue featuring opportunities for civic engagement online.
To fulfill these goals we look to you, more than ever, for your crucially needed financial support. We ask that you help us navigate these unprecedented times—and opportunities—by contributing to Roosevelt House so that our programming can continue robustly.
Many thanks—and thank you, as always, for your loyalty and generosity.
