Image Description: NQAPIA logo
The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, or NQAPIA, defines itself as a “federation of …LGBTQ+…AAPI organizations” that work to end racism and homophobia through grassroots movements around the United States. NQAPIA is integral to the queer Asian American community because of its ability to empower marginalized groups through solidarity and accessible education to assist with the understanding of the impact of queer AAPI identity. Being queer and AAPI is not often societally accepted and cast down below just the ‘model minority’ or ‘perpetual alien’ myths that have been covered extensively in Asian American social justice communities. Diverging from the hetersexual norm while simultaneously being a part of the AAPI community not only is often accompanied by rejection from the larger society as a whole, but also the AAPI community itself. As an organization, it is focused on the validation of the voices of Asian American and Pacific Islanders that are marginalized due to sexuality within their communities, family, or AAPI society at large. Additionally, NQAPIA assists the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in standing in solidarity with different groups by either translating or producing accessible resources in a wide variety of Asian languages, as linked below.
가족은 언제나 가족이니까요 [Family is Still Family (Korean with English subtitles)]
Gia đình vẫn là gia đình [Family Is Still Family (Vietnamese with English subtitles)]
Family Is Still Family [Hindi w/ English Subtitles]
Family Is Still Family [English w/ Hindi Subtitles]
Ang Pamilya Ay Pamilya [Family Is Still Family (English with Tagalog subtitles)]
家人還是家人 [Family Is Still Family (Mandarin with English subtitles)]
家人還是家人 [Family Is Still Family (Cantonese with English subtitles)]
家族は家族だし [Family Is Still Family (English with Japanese subtitles)]
ຄອບຄົວກໍ່ຈະຕອ້ງເປັນຄອບຄົວເໝືອນ ເດີມ [Family Is Still Family (English with Lao subtitles)]
Gia đình vẫn là gia đình [Family Is Still Family (Vietnamese with English subtitles)]
The main presence of the NQAPIA is on the internet, with representation on many popular social media platforms that are widely accessible to the AAPI community. The NQAPIA is active in facilitating discussions and discourse in partnership with other AAPI social justice groups. There is a triennial cycle of national conferences and regular regional conferences held throughout the nation to discuss the intersection of race and sexuality specifically experienced by queer Asian American Pacific Islanders and how to best cope with the impact of the identities. NQAPIA empowers subordinated groups in American society through an active social media presence and the enablement of different AAPI grassroots organizations to connect with each other and a wider national audience.
Image Description: Rainbow Colored United States Presidential White House beside the text “We’re Thankful for these Precautions before Trump Takes Office”
A major activity that the NQAPIA is engaged in now is helping the AAPI community understand the results of the upcoming election while educating the community on the possible impact the election holds. The ability to participate in national discussions impacting queer AAPI is valuable social justice work. By simultaneously educating and empowering queer AAPI and their families, the NQAPIA ensures growing representation in American society despite the continuous subordination of both identities.
The NQAPIA fights to bring queer AAPI voices to the forefront of different issues facing American society, specifically those impacting people of color and other marginalized groups. The engagement of the NQAPIA with different topics, such as immigrant rights, the Asian American right to vote, the LGBTQ+ right to vote, the Black Lives Matter movement, and solidarity with the American Islamic community demonstrates an acknowledgement of the power of solidarity and action through social justice. As a national organization with the main goal of amplifying the voices of LGBTQ+ AAPI, NQAPIA allows the voice of those that identify within said group to both assist in the struggle of other intersectional identities and be heard on issues that affect both the AAPI community and the LGBTQ+ community as a whole.
nqapia.org