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Asian and Pacific Islander Americans for Civic Empowerment

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May 5, 2020

Remembering Ruth Woo

Happy Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! In celebration of this month, APACEvotes volunteer, Edwin Ong, reflects on the memory of Ruth Woo.

Article by Edwin Ong


Credit: Northwest Asian Weekly file photo (left: Governor Gary Locke; right: Ruth Woo)

Ruth Woo has long been one of the unsung heroes of the Seattle Asian Pacific Islander community. Many influential politicians in Washington state politics were under her mentorship, and she was a powerhouse in the political arena despite never holding office. Famed for her avoidance of press and awards, it is hard to find much information on her, beyond the basics. She was Japanese American and was interned at the Minidoka Relocation Center during the 1950s. She initially worked as an assistant for state and local politicians before going on to run a vehicle licensing firm while mentoring and supporting Asians in politics. She passed away in 2016, and Governor Inslee’s office recently named a civic engagement fellowship after her. It’s hard to pull out wisdom from these factoids, but I figured that there must be a lot to be learned from such a storied person. To get firsthand perspectives of Ruth Woo, I interviewed two Asian American figureheads who knew her well, Assunta Ng, publisher for Northwest Asian Weekly and Conrad Lee, former Bellevue mayor and current councilman.

How has Ruth Woo personally affected your life/career?

Assunta: Ruth was the biggest champion for the Asian community. She promoted our community tirelessly. She recognized people who can make a difference in the community, and even groomed, lifted up and mentored younger generations to fulfill their potential. She had contributed many news tips to the Asian Weekly like who planned to run for office, and rising stars in the Asian community.

She didn’t use empty words to support the Asian Weekly. She introduced me to many mainstream politicians. She told many politicians to advertise in the Asian Weekly when they run for office. Her business also advertised in the Asian Weekly off and on. And she loved to galvanize the Asian community to support both Asian and mainstream candidates by putting an advertisement, and announcing who their supporters were. Her message was clear, support Asian media —an important part of the Asian community.

Despite her support for the Asian Weekly and giving me all the “scoops,” she never wanted to be quoted. That’s her genius and her style.

She was well-respected, a person of integrity and selflessness. 

Conrad: Ruth was an amazing individual in Washington state politics. She worked for and supported Republicans and Democrats alike. She knew everybody from governors and senators to city councilmembers. She helped them when they called. She was one of the first persons to help my Bellevue City Council campaign. She not only gave money but more importantly her time and valuable advice and visible presence. Many politicians owe her.

What are the lasting impacts Ruth Woo made on Washington State and its AAPI community?

A: She was a powerful genius, getting things done behind the scene for the Asian community. For Ruth, it’s all about the Asian community and not her. Why she was able to achieve all she had done in her lifetime, read my next answer.

C: Ruth encouraged and helped many AAPI politicians to get into politics to gain direct influence in policy-making. She also helped gaining many friends in both the political community as well as the community at-large to address AAPI issues. She was a mover and shaker. She was a person of influence.

Why was Ruth Woo so effective?  

A: Being a giver all her life, she constantly found ways to support Asian community leaders and regular people with her own finance, connections and resources. She was always generous in donating to Asian organizations, Asian political campaigns and mainstream candidates who supported the Asian community.

She had chaired and managed many Asian candidates’ political campaigns. She knew how to use her connections and influence to pull strings for our community, and seldom for herself. In other words, she did all the dirty work without wanting any credit. She shunned awards and recognitions, and she was extremely loyal. Once she committed to you and your causes, she never wavered.

She was very generous. She bought tables for many community organizations’ galas over the decades, and filled them with influential guests and introduced them to Asian community leaders. She was a bridge builder in every sense of the word. She treated many politicians and Asians for lunch and dinner so she could find out what’s going on, and connect them with others in the community. She had empowered the Asian community without wanting anything for herself. There was and never will be another person like Ruth Woo in the Asian community. 

She had a great attitude, she always smiled and was cheerful all the time.

Lastly, she loved politics.  She is a wise political guru and many people listened to her advice. She understood the importance of politics and how it affected ethnic communities especially the Asian community.  She used to work for our former governor Dan Evans, as secretary. Under her wings, she has mentored many, including former King Country Executive Ron Sims, governor Gary Locke, Dolores Sibonga, late Kip Tokuda, Sharon Tomiko Santos, Martha Choe.  

C: Ruth was effective because she served and worked tirelessly her whole life for the community and people of influence. She was likable, always willing to listen and help without prejudice but with a single focus on her value to better her community. We all can do well to emulate these qualities in our lives.

Article by Apace Votes / News

APACEvotes condemns the racist and misogynistic ki APACEvotes condemns the racist and misogynistic killings of eight massage parlor workers and customers in Atlanta, Georgia that occurred on March 16, 2021.

Six of the victims were Asian women. As a community, we grieve this tragedy and wish unconditional love and healing for the victims and their families. The intersections of race, class and gender cannot be ignored in this incident. We recognize the event to be part of the deeper issue of colonial white supremacy.

We call to action our local, state and national elected officials to openly condemn and recognize the Atlanta murders as anti-Asian hate violence, a byproduct of systemic racism. Sidestepping the issue will only encourage more violence against our Asian communities. 

Additionally, we reject all calls to action that suggest increasing police power, presence, and surveillance. Such actions have historically acted as agents of harm toward Black communities, unhoused people, immigrants, and low-income families - the communities that were promised to be protected.

The oppression of Asians who face misogyny is the result of a legacy of orientalism, in which people from Asia (inappropriately named “the Orient”) are viewed as submissive and subservient. Feminine presenting Asians are often hypersexualized in the media, being represented as promiscuous and sexually submissive. This creates harmful narratives with dangerous consequences, ranging from catcalling and online harassment to sexual assault and death.

Many massage parlor workers across the United States are Asian immigrants, who work long hours with low pay to support their children and families. Low-income Asian community members are vulnerable to violence and abuse, but are often unable to seek assistance due to lack of available culturally competent in-language support and safety resources. Society’s devaluation of feminized care work, such as massage work and sex work, exacerbate this struggle. We urge everyone to extend their support to the Asian community, especially massage parlor workers during this time.
🌟 FEATURING performance by poet Hira Singh! @sh 🌟 FEATURING performance by poet Hira Singh! @shinebrightlikeaheera 🎙

APACE is hosting a text bank! Together we will text Asian and Pacific Islanders of Seattle to encourage them to use their democracy vouchers.

Sign up at bit.ly/apacetexts

Time/Date: March 11 @ 5:30pm-6:30pm PST
Location: Zoom

Image Description

SLIDE 1:
Event info appears as a pink color event notification.
In blue text: Important Reminder.
In bold black text: democracy voucher text bank.
Below in black text: Thursday March 11 5:30pm-6:30pm pacific standard time.
Below in italic black text: sign up at bit.ly/apacetexts

SLIDE 2:
In bold black font: What are democracy vouchers?
In black font: Democracy Vouchers are publicly funded vouchers that can be used to support candidates in the upcoming Seattle Elections.

Seattle residents no longer have to donate directly out of their pockets. They can financially support candidates with City funding!

SLIDE 3:
In bold black font: Why text about the vouchers?
in black font: We want to remind the ANHPI community in Seattle to use their Democracy Vouchers as soon as possible.

Textbanking is a form of outreach that accommodates busy individuals & politically neglected communities. We make civic engagement easier by providing real-time education & direct digital communication.
The 9th annual Seattle Asian American Film Festiva The 9th annual Seattle Asian American Film Festival (SAAFF) presents our biggest film festival online from March 4-14, 2021. Most programs are available on-demand for the entire festival, but selected programmings are only available for a limited time. All films are only available to viewers in United States, while some films are geo-blocked to the US West Coast or Pacific Northwest regions. Please check each film program for viewing windows and geographic restrictions. To learn more about the festival schedule and live events, please visit www.seattleaaff.org. Purchase a Festival Pass or Ticket Package at bit.ly/saaffpass.

FROM HERE is a hopeful story of artists and activists based in Berlin and New York whose lives hang in the balance of immigration and integration debates. The protagonists move from their 20s into their 30s as they fight for citizenship, start families, and find room for creative expression. This sensitive and nuanced documentary captures their journeys to define what it means to “belong” in societies that are increasingly hostile to their existence. Filmed over a decade in two of the world’s largest immigration countries–the U.S. and Germany–their individual stories echo the millions of young people from immigrant families coming of age during this era of rising nationalism. FROM HERE showcases not only their struggles, but enormous power.
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