Asian American Institute Secures Victory for Asian American contractors

For Immediate Release: PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday, April 11, 2007 Contact: Myron Quon
(773) 865-6742 (Cell)
(773) 271-0899 (Office)
myron@aaichicago.org

Chicago, April 11, 2007 – The Asian American Institute (AAI) announces that, following a vote by Chicago City Council earlier today, the City has repaired its public contracting minority- and women-owned business enterprise (M/WBE) ordinance to include Asian Americans as a minority group.

“After nearly three years of confusion that has harmed Asian American contractors, the City Council has finally recognized the anecdotal and numerical evidence that Asian Americans face ongoing discrimination and exclusion from the ‘old boys’ network,” said AAI Legal Director Myron Dean Quon.

“This is the fair outcome that ensures that Asian American have equal footing in the public contracting arena,” he added.

After a federal court decision in 2003, the City redrafted the M/WBE ordinance, and Asian Americans were removed as a presumptive minority group based on the assertion that there was insufficient statistical evidence that Asian Americans suffered from discrimination. AAI has worked with the Association of Asian Construction Enterprises, since before the redrafting stage to the present, to regain the inclusion of Asian American contractors, attempting to dispel the “model minority” myth of Asian Americans.

We are glad that the City of Chicago has fixed the harm and confusion caused by different treatment of Asian American contractors versus other minority contractors,” said Eric Mah, Association of Asian Construction Enterprises member.

“While we are very pleased with the City Council’s vote today, our work is not done,” said Tuyet Le, AAI Executive Director. Before the ordinance sunsets in 2009, another comprehensive study of minority contractors must be completed. “We must have researchers who study and understand minority communities.”

# # #

The Asian American Institute (www.aaichicago.org) is the region’s pan-Asian nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering the Asian American and Pacific Islander community through advocacy, by utilizing coalition-building, education, and research.