Asian-American And Pacific Islander Workshop Created In HoCo

Columbia MD

11 February, 2021

9:22 PM

Description

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — An Asian-American and Pacific Islander Workshop has been established in Howard County to organize events and discussions to foster stronger relationships, advise the county on best practices to further support the AAPI community and policy initiatives, and work on emerging issues affecting the AAPI community. "Diversity is a hallmark of Howard County and our AAPI community serves a vital role in contributing to the cultural vibrancy that makes our county one of the most attractive locations to live, work, grow and play in the country," Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said in a statement. "We have a responsibility to ensure that all our residents feel safe, respected and treated with the dignity that we all deserve. Today we're taking an important step towards a more inclusive community by launching our AAPI Workgroup." Howard County is home to nearly 60,000 residents who identify as Asian-American or Pacific Islander. The AAPI Workgroup will be chaired by Maryland State Sen. Clarence Lam and have 18 members from the community. The workgroup will host quarterly meetings that are open to the public and submit biannual reports to the county executive on current and emerging issues impacting the Asian-American community. "It is vital that we highlight and advocate for the issues facing our AAPI community," Lam said in a statement. Workgroup member Samiyah Hira said that in the South Asian-American community, its people are often under looked and underrepresented "even in an affluent community like Howard County." "While we have come a long way in 20 years, we still have work ahead of us. By establishing this workgroup, members of our community are given an important role to help our community prosper," Hira said in a news release.