Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund - History

History

In 1974, a small group of lawyers, activists and students in Lower Manhattan came together to create a new organization focused on the legal needs of the Asian American community. AALDEF was the first nonprofit organization on the East Coast to focus specifically on defending the civil rights of the Asian American community.

The 1970s

• AALDEF calls for the hiring of Chinese American construction workers at Confucius Plaza in Manhattan's Chinatown.

• Mounts campaign to stop the deportation of Filipino doctors, recruited to fill shortage of medical personnel in the United States.

• Represents Chinese Americans arrested in protest against police brutality in Manhattan's Chinatown; organizes rally to support innocent bystander Peter Yew, who was beaten by police after complaining about their mishandling of a minor traffic incident.

• Wins federal ruling to establish the rights of immigrant fathers to obtain permanent residency for illegitimate children from the People's Republic of China.

• Begins free legal advice clinics at Hamilton-Madison House, Korean Senior Citizens Society, and other community agencies.

• Intervenes on behalf of the Asian American Law Students Association in Doherty v. Rutgers Law School, defending the inclusion of Asian Americans in minority admissions programs in suit brought by rejected white law school applicant.

• Files amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Fullilove v. Kreps, supporting the public works set-aside provision of minority businesses, including Asian American enterprises.

The 1980s

• Represents Silver Palace waiters who were fired for protesting against the employer who stole their tips; assists in the formation of the first independent Chinatown restaurant workers' union.

• Secures bilingual assistance for Chinese-speaking unemployment insurance complainants after negotiations with the New York State Department of Labor.

• G.J. Eliza Realty, Inc. v. Gin Wing Mah. AALDEF wins punitive damages for tenants at 84 Elizabeth Street in Manhattan's Chinatown after landlord fails to provide heat, hot water and other essential services for two years.

• Joins national campaign to demand federal civil rights prosecution of the murderers of Vincent Chin, the Chinese American engineer beaten to death by two unemployed auto workers in Detroit.

• Files objections with the Justice Department to the New York State redistricting plan that divided Manhattan's Chinatown between two state assembly districts.

• Speaks at first rally of 15,000 Chinese garment workers at New York Chinatown's Columbus Park, who went on strike for a new Local 23-25 ILGWU union contract. AALDEF was the only community organization invited to speak at this rally.

• Testifies in support of Japanese American redress before the U.S. Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.

• Files amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the rights of undocumented immigrants to receive a public education (Plyler v. Doe) and to organize under the National Labor Relations Act (Sure-Tan v. NLRB).

• Organizes the first Chinatown housing fair in New York City.

• Jin v. Board of Estimate. Files amicus brief arguing that English-language notices of zoning changes violate the due process rights of Chinese-speaking tenants; favorable decision later reversed on appeal.

• Fred Korematsu makes his first public appearance in New York City for AALDEF's 10th anniversary celebration at Lincoln Center, featuring the East Coast premiere of Steven Okazaki's film, Unfinished Business, about the Japanese American redress movement.

• AALDEF joins NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (now called LatinoJustice PRLDEF), NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund (now called Legal Momentum), and Council of New York Law Associates (now called Lawyers Alliance of New York) to form the Public Interest Law Center at 99 Hudson Street in Lower Manhattan.

• Negotiates voluntary agreement with the New York City Board of Elections to provide sample ballots in Chinese and hire interpreters at poll sites.

• North Star Fund presents AALDEF with the Frederick Douglass Award for "outstanding contributions to the struggle for political, social and economic justice."

• Chinese Staff and Workers' Association v. City of New York. AALDEF wins landmark New York Court of Appeals case requiring the environmental review of new developments that may displace low-income tenants and small businesses; construction of proposed high-rise Henry Street Tower is blocked.

• Participates in the formation of the Coalition Against Anti-Asian Violence (now called CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities), which organizes the first educational forum in New York City on hate violence against Asian Americans.

• After Congress passes the Immigration Reform and Control Act, AALDEF conducts a community education campaign about the new law penalizing the hiring of undocumented immigrants.

• Testifies in Washington, DC before the House Subcommittee on Census and Population about the impact of the new immigration law upon the Census count of Asian Americans.

• Represents Dr. Kaushal Sharan, one of several South Asians attacked in Jersey City by a hate group named the "dotbusters;" works for the passage of a hate crimes law in New Jersey and testifies before the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights on anti-Asian violence.

• AALDEF presents the first "Justice in Action" awards to New York Times photojournalist Dith Pran and Japanese American redress advocate Michi Weglyn, based on their significant contributions to social justice and racial equality.

• Conducts the first exit poll of Asian American voters in the 1988 Presidential election.

• After Tienanmen Square massacre, AALDEF counsels hundreds of Chinese nationals about immigration law and visa extensions.

• Testifies before the New York City Charter Revision Commission in support of an expanded City Council.

The 1990s

• Protests against the casting of a white British actor in lead Asian role in Broadway musical, Miss Saigon; works with New York City Human Rights Commission to organize hearings on discriminatory hiring practices of Broadway theater producers.

• Wong v. City of New York. Chinatown residents sue NYPD for breaking down apartment door and assault on 7-month pregnant woman; City settles federal lawsuit for $90,000.

• Educates Asian American communities about the importance of participating in 1990 Census.

• Develops New York State and New York City redistricting plans that keep Asian and Latino communities together

• Testifies before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on expanding minority language assistance under the Voting Rights Act, affecting 200,000 Asian Americans nationwide.

• Files EEOC charges and organizes the Campaign for Economic Justice at Foley Square, challenging discriminatory hiring practices in the NY construction industry.

• Golden Venture freighter runs aground in Far Rockaway, Queens; AALDEF represents Chinese immigrants seeking political asylum.

• Ng v. City of New York. Two Chinese American families sue NYPD for raid based on anonymous tip about "illegal aliens"; City settles suit for $75,000.

• Leads advocacy effort to secure first fully translated Chinese-language voting machine ballots in New York City under the Voting Rights Act.

• Launches Asian American Citizenship Project in response to anti-immigrant sentiments; assists thousands of permanent residents to become U.S. citizens.

• Chan v. City of New York. Off-duty police officers pistol-whip Chinese American teenager, causing serious head injuries. AALDEF wins $125,000 settlement for Chan and his three companions.

• Represents family of Yong Xin Huang, a 16-year-old Chinese American shot in the head by New York City police officers in Brooklyn; City pays $400,000 to settle federal civil rights lawsuit.

• Demands public apology from U.S. Senator Alfonse D'Amato after he uses Japanese accent to mock Judge Lance Ito.

• Wins consent decree in Nhem v. Fall River housing Authority after racially motivated killing of Cambodian resident; services and security for Massachusetts public housing tenants are improved.

• Conducts exit poll of 3,264 Asian New Yorkers in the presidential election; 39% are first-time voters.

• Nguyen v. City of New York. City settles police brutality case for $65,000 after Vietnamese American student is beaten in a Chinatown mall.

• Ashgar v. City of New York. AALDEF sues NYPD for racial harassment and assault of Pakistani livery driver; City settles lawsuit for $50,000.

•Chan v. Jing Fong. Wins $1.1 million settlement for immigrant workers at Manhattan Chinatown's largest restaurant in two suits for back wages and tips filed by AALDEF and the NY State Attorney General's office.

• AALDEF holds press conference in NYC to support the White House nomination of Bill Lann Lee, the first Asian American named to the Justice Department's top civil rights post. Lee was a staff attorney at AALDEF in the 1970s.

• AALDEF Executive Director Margaret Fung is named to the Mayor's Task Force on Police/Community Relations, which was formed in response ti the police torture of Abner Louima in a Brooklyn police precinct.

• Represents family of Rishi Maharaj, an Indo-Caribbean man who was brutally beaten in Queens by white men wielding baseball bats and shouting racial slurs.

• Wang v. Hua Great Procetech. AALDEF files federal lawsuit on behalf of Chinese immigrant garment workers, seeking to establish new theories to hold both the clothing manufacturer and factory owner liable for minimum wage and overtime pay; wins settlement of $285,000.

• Clinton v. Glavin. AALDEF files amicus brief in U.S. Supreme Court in support of sampling Census 2000.

• In re Montefiore Family Health Center. Files Title VI complaint against Bronx hospital after Vietnamese and Cambodian translators are eliminated; equal access to health care restored to over 8,600 individuals.

• Singh v. El Quijote Restaurant. AALDEF sues restaurant under Title II of the Civil Rights Act for refusing to serve Sikh wearing turban; lawsuit settled for $10,000 and "no headgear" rule changed to allow religious garb.

• AALDEF files VI lawsuit against New York State Labor Department after it announces plans to close New York City offices with bilingual staff and institutes telephone claim system; settlement includes language assistance for Chinese-speaking unemployment claimants.

• Rothe Development Corp.v. U.S. Department of Defense. Files amicus brief in Texas federal court, supporting the inclusion of Asian American small businesses in federal minority contracting programs.

• Secures major Census policy change protecting confidentiality of undocumented immigrants.