A small, but PROUD group of St. Louisans finally joined the AAPI conference call this year! We were very excited to be included in the conversation. The conference call definitely sparked insightful dialogue about the status of Asian Pacific Americans not only in the nation as a whole, but specifically in St. Louis.

Participants of the house party were excited to enage in discussion on the core issues of Asian communities nationwide. Discussion spurred by the Conference Call ranged from the nation's response to Arizona's immigration policies to what needs to be done to mobilize the Asian community.

The group decided as a whole that St. Louis itself has a lot of work to do in order for the Asian community to be recognized as a minority community in the same way that the Asian communities in bigger cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., etc. are recognized. Participants recognized that every region has its own issues, and for St. Louis, a city based on gender and a white/black divide, issues affecting the Asian community often go unnoticed. In St. Louis, "diversity" events are not geared towards recruitment of the Asian community; by and large, the Asian community is often invisible to the gender issues and white/black divide that is deeply engrained in the city.

On a nationwide scale, the group was interested in further comments from Conference Call attendees on:

- Racial profiling

-Trade

-What the Obama administration is doing to help students and the workforce as a whole

-Representation of AAPI's in leadership roles different communities

At the heart of St. Louis' discussion was what needs to be done to mobilize the Asian community to take charge?