API Equality – Northern California is an American social justice advocacy non-profit whose mission is to build the power and increase the visibility of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Asian Pacific Islander (LGBTQ API) community.
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The organization was founded in 2004 in response to a large rally against same-sex marriage organized by the Chinese Christian community in the San Francisco Bay Area. It organized the first ever contingent in support of same-sex marriage to appear in San Francisco’s Chinese New Year Parade and was a founding member of the campaign against California’s anti-same-sex marriage ballot initiative, Proposition 8.
Its current programming includes its LGBTQ API leadership development program and the Dragon Fruit Project.
History
On April 25, 2004, a largely Asian American and Christian crowd of more than 7,000, organized by Chinese Christian leaders, rallied in San Francisco to protest the legalization of same-sex marriage.
API Equality – Northern California was founded in 2004 in response to this rally to provide a voice from the API community in support of same-sex marriage. At its inception, it was called “Asian Equality” and was a national ad hoc coalition of API individuals and organizations that advocated for same-sex marriage. API Equality – Northern California has since evolved into a multi-issue organization working for equality and justice in Northern California and in the state’s API and LGBTQ communities.
API Equality – Northern California is fiscally sponsored by Chinese for Affirmative Action, an API civil rights organization based in Northern California that advances social justice for the Chinese and API communities.
API Equality – Northern California now includes Monna Wong (Executive Director), Tracy Nguyen (Program Coordinator), and Sammie Wills (Program Assistant).