The Korean American League for
Civic Action is a leading non-partisan, non-profit community advocacy
organization dedicated to promoting the civic participation of Korean
Americans and Asian Pacific Americans.
The Korean American League for
Civic Action, Inc. (KALCA) is accepting applications for the 2008
College Internship Program.
The Program, now entering its eighth year, is a unique opportunity for
college students and recent graduates of Asian Pacific American descent
with demonstrated leadership potential to gain practical, hands-on
exposure to government, politics and non-profit advocacy. The program
is focused on community leadership and public service.
To view the 2008 College Internship Program Application, click here.
Interested candidates must fill out the attached application form and
provide the following:
- Resume
- Official Transcript
- Letters of Reference (Academic; Community or public
service)
Applications must be postmarked on or before Feburary
25, 2008 and sent to:
Korean American League for Civic Action,
Inc.
149 West 24th St. 6th Floor
New York, NY 10011
Finalists will be required to be available for in-person interviews on Saturday,
March 29, 2008 in New York City.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please
contact:
Amy Hong at (212) 902-3010;
Wonkyung Lee at (516) 998-5162
Jane Kim at (626) 823-4763
Aug 6, 2007, KALCA
hosted a lecture on Japanese forced incarceration during World War II
led by Floyd Mori, National Executive Director of Japanese American
Citizens League. Mr. Mori discussed the relevance of Japanese American
internment to civil rights violations today.
Aug 1, 2007, KALCA and
Grooted.org co-hosted the screenings of "Sa-I-Gu" and "Wet Sand", which
were followed by a panel discussion to broach the racial tensions
before and after the riots. John Choe, Chief of Staff to Hon. John Liu
moderated the panel discussion, which included the following panelists:
Eric Williams, WBAI 99.5 FM Reporter; Dai-Sil Kim-Gibson, Film
Producer; David Chu, SVP of ImaginAsian Entertainment; Grace
Lyu-Volckhausen, NYC Human Rights Commissioner; Angela Perry, Director
of Public Relations and Marketing of National Urban Fellows, Inc.; and
Joel Magallan, Executive Director of Tepeyac Asociacion de New York.
Sa-I-Gu
(4-2-9 in Korean) symbolizes the events and social meltdown related to
the acquittal of four police officers in the case of the beating of
Rodney King on April 29th, 1992. This also triggered inner-city race
tensions throughout urban America, including organized boycotts against
small businesses. By commemorating this time of societal meltdown, the
panelists and the audience examined how far we have come since Sa-I-Gu
and discussed how we should move forward with everything we have
learned from this incident.
The event was supported by a number of community-based nonprofit
groups, including the Korean American Voters' Council, Korean Americans
for Political Advancement, Museum of Chinese in the Americas, APA for
Progress, Korean American Youth Foundation, Korean American Empowerment
Council, and Korean American Democrats of New York.
To continue the discussion, please visit the online forums at www.grooted.org.
July 31, 2007 6:00 PM, KALCA
hosted the Third Party Forum: The Growing Importance of the Third Party
and Issues Relevant to the Asian American Community.
For generations American politics have been shaped by two major
parties: Republican and Democratic. Proponents of the two-party system
state that this system provides stability by preventing abrupt policy
changes and allows policy makers to adhere to moderate positions,
generally, appealing to the median voter.
Are there alternative viewpoints that are being crowded out by this
system? What are those viewpoints and can third parties provide valid
solutions to address current issues regarding health care policy, the
war in Iraq and immigration reform?
Panelists: Alvaader Frazer, Esq., NY
Independence Party
Martin Hassner, First Vice-Chair, Liberal Party
Joseph Dobrian, Libertarian Party
Moderator: Irene Asbury, KALCA Board member
July 26, 2007, Kyung Yoon, Co-Founder of the
Korean American Community Foundation, led KALCA members in a discussion
on how the Korean American community has evolved over the years.
"The Korean American community is at an important
crossroad. Even just 10 or certainly 20 years ago, when Koreans were a
relatively new immigrant community, we were so busy struggling to
survive and focused on making a better life for our immediate families,
we honestly did not have the capacity to even think of ourselves as a
community in an organized way. But now, we are at a different place in
our immigrant history, one where we have the opportunity to shape our
future as active participants and leaders—a community that takes its
place in the driver's seat of our journey in America, rather than being
passive passengers. It is a place of enormous potential to
connect with each other, help each other, and to determine and
articulate the needs and direction of our community—and if we don't
seize this moment, it will be a wasted opportunity for ourselves and
for our children and their children. - Kyung Yoon
July 18, 2007, KALCA College
Internship Program toured the New York State Supreme Courthouse and New
York City Hall with Justice Doris Ling-Cohan, the first Asian American
female judge in New York's Supreme Court history and Council Member
John Liu, an ardent supporter of Asian American issues.
Judge Ling-Cohan gave the interns an overview of the judiciary system
and discussed the importance of encouraging Asian American presence in
the court system. She also discussed her career and explained that
being Asian American has helped her to become a great mediator, as she
grew up as an observer and has developed the ability to understand many
different perspectives. However, Judge Ling-Cohan emphasized the
importance of Asian Americans to be more articulate and assertive.
At the courthouse, the KALCA interns were taken on a tour of the
facilities, learned about the court system, and attended an actual
trial. The courthouse visit gave the KALCA interns a firsthand
opportunity to experience our justice system in action.
The KALCA interns met with New York City Council Member John Liu in the
City Council Assembly Room at City Hall. Among items discussed was that
two-thirds of City Council seats will be open in 2009, providing a
great opportunity for minorities, especially Asian Americans, to win
increase presence in City government. Currently there are only two
Asian Americans who have indicated interest in running. Judge
Ling-Cohan suggested that the community needs more seminars on the
"how-to's" of campaigning, since running for office requires more than
just a will to represent the community.
Should you be interested in pursuing a career in the justice system,
there are many positions open within the New York State court system.
Also, we encourage the public to attend daily hearings held at the New
York City Council, which are open to the public.
Judge Ling-Cohan and Council Member John Liu have opened their offices
to the KALCA interns every year.
July 16, 2007, KALCA hosted the
first lecture in the 2007 Summer Lecture series. Dave Pollack of the
NYS Democratic Party joined KALCA members in a discussion on how "New
Media" has changed campaigning styles much like the "Fire Side Chats"
and television have for the 30s, 40s and the 60s.
July 12, 2007, KALCA and KAVC
interns travelled to D.C. to lobby congressmen to co-sponsor H.RES 121,
legislation advising the Japanese government to publically and
unequivocally acknowledge its involvement in the creation and operation
of "Comfort Stations" during WWII. The trip resulted in 6 new
co-sponsors!
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
events
Campaign
Management and Political Advocacy:
Preparing
for the 2008 Election Cycle
Lerner Cinema, Lerner Hall
Columbia University
Saturday, November 10, 2007
11:30AM - 1:30PM
Get an overview of modern campaign
management; understand how messages are developed in political
campaigns; and learn about the citizenship and voting patterns of Asian
Americans. The discussion will be led by Mayor Jun Choi
of Edison, NJ who became the first popularly elected mayor of
Korean descent in the contiguous United States, and served as the
Founding Chair of the Korean American League for Civic Action.
Event is co-sponsored by the Asian
American Alliance, Korean Student Association and APALSA of Columbia
Univeristy.
-----------
Amplify: The 2nd Annual New York Asian
American Leadership Summit
NYU Silver Center Building, Room 703
100 Washington Square East
New York, NY 10003
(Enter from Washington Square North)
Saturday, November 17, 2007
8 AM – 5 PM
Amplify is a 1-day summit open to
the public, offering five innovative personal and leadership
development workshops. Designed by and for Asian Americans, these
workshops will teach participants to amplify and leverage their
leadership skills, polish their networking skills, and lead community
action in the Asian American community.
Featured
Workshops: -Intercultural
Communication -Being a 21st
Century Leader -Making a Great 1st
Impression & Developing Your Personal Brand -Effective
Communication Styles -The Power of
Networking
Cost|$10 student / $25
non-profit / $50 general (includes
breakfast, lunch, and materials)
