SAAPRI’s State of South Asian American Affairs
Chicago June 15th, 2024
This summer the South Asian American Policy and Research Institute (SAAPRI) hosted its first “State of South Asian American Affairs” conference to share the results of its three cornerstone research projects with members of the community and government leaders.
The daylong gathering, held on June 15, 2024, opened with remarks from SAAPRI founder and board chair Dr. Ann Kalayil who introduced guest speakers, Illinois State. Sen. Ram Villavalam (D-08) and Illinois State Rep. Theresa Mah (D-26). SAAPRI Executive Director Shobhana Johri Verma also spoke.
“Today marks a significant milestone as we unveil the findings of our three most recent community-based research projects. As an advocate for disaggregated data, while SAAPRI has taken a deep dive into Census 2020 data for a more accurate and nuanced understanding of complex issues within our diverse populations, our reports are also a reflection of the voices, experiences, and aspirations of the South Asian American community, the largest and fastest growing group amongst Asian Americans in Illinois,” Shobhana Johri Verma said.
Over 60 attendees filled an event space at the Fulton Street Collective in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood where they participated in morning and lunchtime conversations with Illinois State Rep. Kevin Olickal (D-16), Cook County Board Commissioner Josina Morita (D-13), Mridu Sekhar of Kalapriya Foundation and Marlén J. Mendoza of Latino Policy Forum.
SAAPRI staff presented summaries of three published reports: “South Asian Americans in Illinois: Making Data Count;” “Strengthening Democracy: Addressing and Overcoming Language Inequity in Elections;” and “Countering Prejudice: Hate Crimes and Discrimination Against South Asian Americans.”
The afternoon program featured a town hall conversation among attendees facilitated by Anita Banerji, a SAAPRI board member and Commissioner on the IL Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes, which featured contributions from Nicole Lee, Chicago’s 11th Ward alderwoman, DuPage County Commissioner Lucy Chang Evans and Kenneth Gunn of the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations.
SAAPRI held the event to be able to showcase how the organization strives to fill notable gaps in data on South Asians in the United States. The goal was to not only present key findings but to also engage the community in meaningful dialogue. Through projects that use a combination of publicly available data and proprietary research, SAAPRI advocates for a presence and voice of the South Asian American community.
For more information contact: Francys Munoz, francys@saapri.org or Shobhana Johri Verma, shobhana@saapri.org