Fulcrum Democracy Forum: John Yang

John C. Yang is the president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC.

At Advancing Justice | AAJC, Yang leads the organization’s efforts to fight for civil rights and empower Asian Americans to create a more just America for all through public policy advocacy, education, and litigation.

His extensive legal background enables Advancing Justice | AAJC to address systemic policies, programs, and legislative attempts to discriminate against and marginalize Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and other minority communities.

I spoke with Mr. Yang on a recent episode of Fulcrum Democracy Forum (FDF). The program engages citizens in evolving government to meet all people's needs better. Consistent with the Fulcrum's mission, FDF strives to share many perspectives to widen our readers' viewpoints.

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Mr. Yang provided insights about AAJC endorsing the reintroduction of the Reuniting Families Act,legislation that would promote family unity in the country’s immigration system, reduce the family-based immigration backlogs, and update our laws to reflect how families immigrate to the United States.

Most recently, the organization joined Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (WLC) and OCA -Asian Pacific American Advocates (OCA) in announcing a new lawsuit “challenging President Trump’s authority to unilaterally strip citizenship from babies born in the U.S. to parents who are here on temporary visas or are undocumented.” The lawsuit was filed on January 30, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

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AAJC also spoke out against President Donald Trump’s scapegoating comments over the deadly collision of American Airlines flight 5342 with a military United States Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan International Airport, on Wednesday, January 29.

“We are devastated by the aviation tragedy that took place last night. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families and friends who mourn their loss. We grieve together with the rest of a compassionate nation. In the face of such a devastating loss, it is reprehensible that the President chose to use his airtime to attempt to cast blame on diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in Federal Aviation Administration for the incident.

Mr. Yang has been a leader in the Asian American and Pacific Islander and broader civic community for many years. His experience includes serving in the Obama Administration as Senior Advisor for Trade and Strategic Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Yang graduated with honors from George Washington University Law School, where he served on the George Washington Law Review and the Moot Court Board. Chambers USA recognized John as one of “America’s Leading Business Lawyers” and as a Washington, D.C. “Super Lawyer” by Law & Politics.

Here are other Change Leaders who I had the opportunity to interview as part of the Fulcrum Democracy Forum series:

• Sam Daley Harris, founder of Civic Courage
• Sylvia Puente, President & CEO, Latino Policy Forum
• Jaisal Noor, Solutions Journalism Network's Democracy Cohort Manager
• Audra Watson, Chief of Youth Civic Programs, Institute for Citizens & Scholars
• Darrious Hilmon, Executive Director of CAN TV
• Dr. Ulcca Joshi Hansen, author of the award-winning book The Future of Smart