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| Korean
American Coalition |
| In
early 1983, a handful of visionary community activists in Los
Angeles saw a need to address the chasm that kept the Korean
American immigrant community apart from American systems and
institutions. They realized that the lack of Korean American
participation and representation in politics and the media perpetuated
the community's insular practice of remaining comfortably within
its ethnic shell, rather than venturing outward.
They also
recognized another gap that was deepening inside the Korean
American community itself-between the predominantly Korean-speaking
first generation immigrants and the English-speaking generations
of Korean Americans born or raised in the United States since
early childhood.
The pioneers
met in Koreatown to do something about it. They plotted a
three-part strategy to educate, organize, and empower Korean
Americans, and named the group, Korean American "Coalition"
to symbolize their desires to build bridges and bring people
together.
Today,
KAC
continues to build bridges between citizens and their governments,
the community and the media that covers it, merchants and
consumers, and parents and children. KAC also continues to
bring people together all over the nation, across race, ethnicity,
generations, philosophies, and political affiliations, to
address important needs of the Korean American communities.
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| Korean
American Alliance |
| In
1992, a group of Korean American young professionals met in
the Washington, D.C., area, to share their collective concerns
about the future of our community in the aftermath of the devastating
civil riots that victimized hundreds of Korean American businesses
in South Central Los Angeles. These activists formed the Korean
American Alliance (KAA) to serve the interests of Korean Americans
in the national capital region to ensure that nothing like the
L.A. Riots will ever take place again.
Along
the way, members of KAC and KAA met and supported each other's
efforts to create a voice for Korean Americans in the American
mainstream. Recognizing that they shared many similar programs
(such as naturalization assistance, voter registration, community
education, advocacy, and youth leadership development), KAA,
in 1999, agreed to affiliate with KAC, which, by then, had
become much larger, with several chapters and affiliates across
the country.
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| Korean
American Coalition- Washington, D.C. Area Chapter |
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After
a year of working closely together, KAA and KAC recently decided
to pull their resources and efforts together to build one
strong voice for Korean Americans. As the founders had envisioned,
KAC is continuing to bring people together to build a better
community for all. We hope you will join us.
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