On September 1st, 2022, the LGC Class of 2022 Supper Club met to discuss how to take action and tackle issues affecting Chicago’s Asian population, among the fastest-growing racial demographics in the country. The panel included Shobhana Verma, SAAPRI’s Executive…
Statement on hate crime in Plano
On August 25th, 2022, Plano police detectives arrested Esmeralda Upton of Plano after video was shared that shows her yelling racial slurs, etc. to a group of women the day prior. Go back to India. You curry <expletive> people are ruining…
8th Annual Asian American Advisory Council Institute Day: SAAPRI’s Executive Director Shobhana Verma serves as Keynote Speaker
On June 24th, SAAPRI ED Shobhana Verma took part as a keynote speaker in a virtual event sponsored by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and Asian American Advisory Council Institute celebrating the 8th Annual Asian American…
FIRSTHAND: Segregation – Asian American Chicago’s Spaces of Joy and Resistance
On May 26th, 2022, SAAPRI Founder and Board Chair Ann Kalayil was a panelist for a conversation exploring the unique ways in which Chicago’s Asian communities have carved out spaces of safety and resistance in the face of discrimination, as…
Illinois Commission on Discrimination & Hate Crimes: Communities in Crisis Townhall
On May 24th, SAAPRI’s Executive Director Shobhana Verma took part as a panelist in a townhall discussion regarding the alarming rise in hate crimes in the Asian American community and how we can respond, efficiently, and effectively to hate in…
Our Stories: Teaching Asian American History in Illinois
On May 4th, 2022, SAAPRI hosted a virtual zoom event centered on discussions about teaching Asian American history in Illinois. In July 2021, Illinois became the first state to mandate the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (TEAACH) Act, which…
A Statewide Conversation with U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth
On March 16th, 2022, SAAPRI co-hosted, along with many other Asian American community organizations including the Asian American Caucus, a statewide conversation with U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth on the one-year anniversary of the Atlanta shootings, when eight people were killed in…
Community Remembrance Day for Atlanta spa shootings
On March 12th, 2022, SAAPRI co-sponsored an event along with other Asian American community-based organizations to commemorate the anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings that took place on March 16, 2021. Many gathered at Horner Park to remember the victims,…
2021 Impact Report: Reflecting on 2021 and looking to 2022
Read the Full Report here
Triumph and Tribulations: South Asian Migration to the Chicagoland Area
On June 17th, 2021, SAAPRI’s Co-Founder Ann Lata Kalayil and Shobhana Johri Verma shared their insights about the Chicagoland area South Asian community and debunked commons stereotypes in a webinar hosted by Aronberg Goldgehn. Other topics covered include South Asian…