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Together We Build Power

Since 1972, we’ve been fighting with Asian American and Pacific Islander communities for civil rights and systemic change that builds a more just and caring world.

Explore our work

From the 1970s to the 2020s

We are fearless

SPOTLIGHT

2022

For years, Valstock Management harassed elderly tenants in Chinatown with intimidation tactics and created a climate of fear. The tenants advocated for their rights and in 2022, they won settlement in a discrimination case to remain in their long-time, rent-controlled homes without harassment.

Our Work
4 individuals pose together for a photo next to a scroll of Chinese calligraphy.
SPOTLIGHT

2002

Amid the heightened anti-immigrant discrimination and scapegoating following 9/11, Bay Area Filipino airport screeners were treated as security risks based solely on their lawful non-citizenship status. ALC, Filipino Advocates for Justice, and other community groups helped them organize and fight for their jobs back.

News & Resources
An overshot view of an airport check-in with many people in line carrying luggage.
SPOTLIGHT

1982

With other local organizations, we sued the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services (the precursor to ICE) to stop illegal workplace raids in factories. As a result of the lawsuit, International Molders & Allied Workers Union Local 164 v. Nelson, the federal agency banned warrantless raids.

Issues
An empty factory showing machines, hardhats, and other equipment.
SPOTLIGHT

1972

In one of our earliest cases, Chann v. Scott, we defended Chinatown youth against the San Francisco Police Department’s racially discriminatory dragnets. The successful class action lawsuit solidified our role as the country’s first legal aid organization focused on serving low-income Asian Americans.

Our History
News clipping with the heading 'Chinatown Arrest Brutality Charged'.