Honoring AANHPI Movements for Liberation this Month and Beyond
This May, as we celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, Groundswell Action Fund honors the transformative power of AANHPI-led movements. We remain steadfast in our commitment to resourcing their bold visions for justice, healing, and liberation.
AANHPI organizers have long led the charge—defending bodily autonomy, resisting militarism and surveillance, and organizing alongside other communities of color for a world free from criminalization and systemic harm.
Trailblazing leaders like Haunani-Kay Trask, Larry Itliong, and Helen Zia lit the path forward, linking AANHPI liberation to labor rights, Indigenous sovereignty, and anti-imperialist struggle. They inspire today’s organizers who continue to fight back against injustice and build alternative futures.
Amid growing state repression, including expanded surveillance programs targeting Muslim and South Asian communities and anti-immigrant legislation threatening asylum seekers, AANHPI communities face relentless attacks. But they are not backing down.
AANHPI movements organize, resist, and reimagine what safety, justice, and power can look like on their terms. From local mutual aid efforts to statewide electoral campaigns, they forge a future rooted in care, solidarity, and liberation.
As a leading C4 funder of women, trans, and gender-expansive people of color-led organizing, Groundswell Action Fund is proud to support AANHPI leaders building power from the ground up. Their work is vital to realizing a multiracial feminist democracy, and they need continued, unapologetic support.
Grantee Spotlight
Asian American Advocacy Fund
The Asian American Advocacy Fund (AAAF) builds lasting political power for AAPI communities across Georgia through bold, grassroots organizing. In 2025, AAAF led a high-impact voter engagement campaign in Cobb County’s District 2 special election, knocking on over 7,700 doors, making more than 67,000 calls, and running a digital ad campaign with over 800,000 impressions. Their efforts helped elect a progressive candidate who champions housing justice, public transit, and reproductive rights on the Cobb County Commission.
AAAF is cultivating the next generation of AAPI leaders through its Metro Atlanta Changemakers Fellowship, which trains organizers in racial justice, immigrant rights, and civic power. They’re also mobilizing communities around urgent issues—from opposing harmful legislation like HB 30 to calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
AAAF’s work is a testament to the power of sustained, community-rooted organizing—and a reminder that AAPI communities are not just participating in democracy but reshaping it.
APEN Action
In Richmond, California, APEN Action secured a landmark $550 million settlement from Chevron—a historic environmental justice victory years in the making. Fueled by grassroots power, this win will bring urgently needed investments in clean air and water, parks, public health programs, and youth services to build a future beyond oil in one of the most impacted communities in the state.
APEN Action also deepened civic engagement in 2024 by reaching thousands of Asian American voters through trusted platforms like WeChat and multilingual voter guides. Their culturally relevant outreach empowered first-time voters and expanded AANHPI political power in Oakland, Richmond, and South LA before the presidential election.
When devastating wildfires swept through Los Angeles in January 2025, APEN Action was again on the frontlines. Recognizing how climate disasters disproportionately harm immigrant and working-class families, they distributed emergency wildfire kits, vital resources, and safety information, ensuring that communities often left behind had the tools to stay safe and informed.
From environmental justice to electoral power to disaster response, APEN Action shows what it means to organize—and win—for the long haul.