Our Story

In 2013, Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) founded Asian Americans for Civil Rights & Equality (AACRE) to address the rapidly changing landscape of Asian American activism in the Bay Area.

Already serving as a fiscal sponsor for pivotal groups like the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action (ASATA), API Equality – Northern California (APIENC), now known as Lavender Phoenix (LavNix), Asian Prisoner Support Committee (APSC), and Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP), CAA built these efforts into a dynamic network.

This act of unification amongst diverse, value-aligned AAPI social justice groups was more than an organizational strategy, but rather a profound declaration against the historical forces that have long sought to divide and diminish the voices of Asian American communities. Since its inception, AACRE has grown to encompass 11 diverse grassroots AAPI social justice groups that serve and are led by marginalized communities including immigrants, refugees, formerly incarcerated individuals, and queer and trans AAPI (QTAPI), extending its reach across the nation.