The Laban Group
A Filipino Ethnic Media Collaborative
Everyday Impact Consulting is a collaborative partner for the Laban Group, a community-led project that aims to promote awareness in our beloved Filipino American community and the broader public about anti-Asian hate incidents and crimes, and related topics; reduce stigma surrounding the reporting of hate incidents and hate crimes; enhance understanding of resources for victims and survivors; and, to promote community healing and cross-cultural and cross-racial collaboration.
FEATURED ARTICLE:
SACRAMENTO STATE IS FIRST CSU CAMPUS TO COMMIT TO DIVESTMENT
By Tyler Brion, EIC Intern
On Monday, April 29th, pro-Palestine activists set up a pro-Palestine encampment on the Sacramento State University campus. The groups, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), and Students for Quality Education (SQE) were behind the local encampment, whose purpose, like many others around the country, was to demand their school divest their funds from supporting Israel. In addition, the encampment implored the entire CSU system to follow suit and significantly promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which urges all entities to work collectively to disengage in all ways from support to Israel thus upending the ability for them to commit violence against Palestinians. The movement uses tools like social media to share what companies and organizations to actively disengage from, while also presenting ways for people to help build the movement.
The encampment at Sacramento State gained massive attention locally, statewide, and even across the nation. For students, the encampment sat in a busy area of campus, at the library quad. Professors like Rashad Baadqir brought their Ethnic Studies class to observe the encampment during class time. Protesters exhibited various signs and posters around the encampment that educated visitors about the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing effort by the Israeli Government and how the U.S. supports it. In an interview with CBS, Professor Baadqir stated, “It is engaging, and we welcome free speech first and foremost at this university.”
Although there were some counter-protesters, the overall encampment remained peaceful. After about a week and a half, Sacramento State’s President Luke Wood, who’d been supportive of the student protesters, listened to the divestment demands and agreed to review over $100 million of the institution’s investments and withdraw funds linked with supporting the Israeli Government. Notably, Sacramento State University was the first of all 23 campuses to divest. After this unprecedented agreement, the encampment was ended. “Being a part of the student intifada is an honor,” one Palestinian SJP Sac State organizer said at a press conference. “No student wants their tuition to ever go toward ethnic cleansing or genocide of anyone. Especially when you are Palestinian, you are forced into a terrible position of being complicit in the genocide of your own people. To be able to achieve full divestment at the Sacramento State level, with actual policy change, feels like one win in a pot of many more to come.”
As of May 7, 2024, the university’s policy website now details an update to making amendments to existing policy, another update to its policies around auxiliary organizations, and a presidential memoranda.
Being the first CSU to divest from Israel-related funds was an extraordinary accomplishment for students and the administration. It was a major win for students and activists as the move influenced other universities and companies to do the same. This effort speaks volumes about the institution’s commitment to listening to its students, making ethical investments, and upholding human rights. As of the time of this article, over 80 campuses across the U.S., both public and private, have set up encampments urging their institutions to put an end to their business with Israel. Encampments, rallies, and marches have brought thousands of people together to bring awareness of the war crimes and atrocities of the Israeli Government; as one Sacramento State protester stated, “It has been really its own community” of people fighting for what’s right.” Just this past week, a massive pro-Palestinian protest took place in Long Beach, where people traveled from all over the state to urge the CSU Board of Trustees in their Board meeting to follow the lead of campuses like Sac State and divest system-wide.
While not everyone can participate in rallies and encampments, there are several other ways people can be involved in the worldwide effort to stop the genocide in Palestine. Simply contacting your local, statewide, and congressional elected officials to demand a ceasefire, to stop sending U.S. money and weapons, is essential. Many California nonprofit organizations like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), provide accessible letter templates and other ways to engage your elected officials, join in activist efforts, and support our local Palestinian communities.
A more direct form of being involved in this fight for Palestine is by sending aid to organizations like UNRWA, which work toward seeking relief and support for Palestinians through United Nations efforts.
As an individual, you can make a conscious effort to divest in your own ways by not supporting businesses that send money to, benefit from, or who have publicly supported the Palestinian genocide. You can find a comprehensive list here.
Lastly, the Laban Group, as a Filipino Ethnic Media collaborative, urges our community to engage in discernment across media. While it’s not hard to find Western Media outlets to provide punditry and perspective on where powerful leaders, governments, and interest groups are politically aligned, researching and sharing stories from Palestinian folks who are experiencing their genocide firsthand helps give voice to them, educates the world to not turn away from inhumanity in any form, and arms us with a more inclusive range of perspectives so we can make informed decisions. The Laban Group is committed to addressing racial hate and violence by building strong media literacy and a more engaged and informed community.
The Laban Group 2024 Ad Campaign
↓
The Laban Group 2024 Ad Campaign ↓
JULY
JUNE
MAY
APRIL
MARCH
FEBRUARY
JANUARY
2024 PRESS CONFERENCE & CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
The Laban Group held our 2024 press conference and campaign launch event on Saturday, January 20, 2024!
Thank you so much to everyone who came out to our event! We recapped 2023's grant year, held a press conference on the state of anti-Asian hate and our movement to combat it, and launched our 2024 education and awareness art media campaign. Attendees witnessed the unveiling of Laban's local Filipino artist campaign initiative, and our first art campaign piece by local Filipino Artist, LeRoid David!
Laban Group collaborative members with Sacramento Mayor Pro Tem Mai Vang receiving the 2022 Proclamation recognizing Filipino American History Month.
The Laban Group promotes anti-Asian hate awareness in our beloved Filipino American community by advancing narrative change work that uplifts stories of Filipino American resilience, resistance, justice and transformation.
Based on the Bulosan Center for Filipinx Studies’ California Filipinx Hate Incidents Report, we aim to support the 446 Filipinos in California who reported anti-Asian incidents. AAPI hate and violence disproportionately impacts Filipina women as they account for 55% (247) of the reports in California. The highest age group that reported is the 26-35 age range with 127 reports (28%). For elders (61 and older), there have been 31 incidents reported (7%). The low number could be due to lack of knowing how to report.
The Laban Group is composed of the Asian American Liberation Network, the Amado Khaya Foundation, Everyday Impact Consulting, and Philippine Fiesta News. This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
THE LABAN GROUP PARTNERS:
AMADO KHAYA INITIATIVE
The Amado Khaya Initiative draws from the life’s work of Amado Khaya Canham Rodriguez. Continuing his legacy, the Amado Khaya Initiative (AKI) aims to disseminate indigenous, land-based, decolonial knowledge and promote individual and collective healing, transformation and liberation. Their programming also includes alternative media, ethnic studies, and power-building work.
ASIAN AMERICAN LIBERATION NETWORK
Asian American Liberation Network (AALN) is a Sacramento-area community-based organization originally founded in 2020 as the Sacramento Asian/Pacific Islander Regional Network. AALN's mission is to build power in the Asian American community to advance social justice and collective liberation.
Their work includes engaging in anti-racism education, discussing issues of Asian Americans and the justice system, and addressing the harmful impacts of over-policing on the Asian community.
PHILIPPINE FIESTA NEWS
Philippine Fiesta is a Filipino-American community newspaper published monthly by Five D's Arts, LLC. Established in May 2002, it provides a perspective on the Filipino-Americans' involvement in the greater community, as well as on the issues and reports that affect the Filipino-American community and the community at large.
Throughout the year, the Laban Group released a monthly newsletter detailing the collaborative’s activities, as well as anti-Asian hate resources, materials, and events. You can read our previous issues here.
Register here to receive our upcoming monthly newsletters!
The Laban Group collaborated with filmmaker Glenn Aquino to produce a short film revolving around the history of anti-Asian hate. This thought-provoking video sheds light on the fact that anti-Asian hate is not a recent phenomenon, but rather a result of long-standing systemic violence against the immigrant community. Through powerful storytelling and captivating visuals, the films serve as a poignant reminder that the fight against anti-Asian hate is an ongoing battle that requires collective action and unity.