Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) is an advocacy organization based in San Francisco that provides services for people at the local level (such as translation services), trains community leaders, and gets them involved in local politics. It also advocates for left-of-center policies at the state and national levels.

Background

Chinese for Affirmative Action was founded in 1969 by a collective of activists looking to advance civil rights and left-of-center social programs for Chinese Americans. It counts among its historical achievements its role in preparing the U.S. Supreme Court case Lau v. Nichols over the San Francisco school system’s lack of English classes for Chinese-speaking students, protesting the “hate crime murder” of Vincent Chin, achieving state and local immigration legislation, and securing the permanence of the Chinatown campus of the City College of San Francisco. ^{1 2}

Activities

Chinese for Affirmative Action provides services for people at the local level (such as translation services), trains prospective advocacy leaders, and gets them involved in local politics. It also advocates for left-of-center policies at the state and national levels. ³

Controversies

Chinese for Affirmative Action found itself in the center of national controversy when one of its employees, Kelly Wong, a Chinese national without American citizenship, was appointed to San Francisco’s election commission on February 14th, 2024. Wong reportedly moved from Hong Kong to the United States in 2019. Wong was only able to get appointed to the board because the state of California had passed a measure in 2020 to remove citizenship as a requirement to hold seats on government boards. According to KQED, which interviewed Wong, she plans to continue working for CAA as an advocate. Wong helps Chinese speakers navigate forms written in English, particularly voting registration forms. ^{4 5 6}

“I’ve seen how language and cultural barriers prevent immigrants with limited English proficiency from fully exercising their right to vote,” Wong told KQED. “Is there a way to do voter outreach that is not just about translation but can touch on political education while maintaining neutrality and impartiality in elections?” ⁷

Financials

In 2021, Chinese for Affirmative Action had a revenue of $48,725,620, expenses of $9,077,900, and net assets of $45,166,761. ⁸

In 2022, CAA had a revenue of $13,816,264, expenses of $13,209,349, and net assets of $42,720,402. ⁹

In 2022, CAA paid: Fenton Communications $365,155 for media strategy and press support services; the University Corp of San Francisco State $155,898 for its role as a partner in the “Stop AAPI Hate” initiative; Dan Nguyen-Tan LLC $149,090 for his operations and planning services in the “Stop AAPI Hate” initiative; Blueprint Interactive $145,000 for its digital strategy; and the Arab Resource and Organizing Center $102,704 for its Partnership role in the Language Access Network program. ¹⁰

The organization gave out no reportable grants in 2022. Its top six officers each received a salary of more than $100,000. ¹¹

Leadership

As of April 2024, Chinese for Affirmative Action was led by co-executive directors Vincent Pan and Cynthia Choi. The chair of the board was Randall Lowe, who guided it alongside vice chair Olivia Lee and chair emeritus Germaine Wong. ¹²

1. ^[1] Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA). “Mission, Vision, History.” Accessed April 20, 2024. https://caasf.org/mission-vision-history/.
2. “Developing Programs for English Language Learners: Lau vs. Nichols.” U.S. Department of Education – Office of Civil Rights (OCR), January 21, 1974. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/ell/lau.html.
3. “How We Create Change.” Chinese for Affirmative Action. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://caasf.org/how-we-create-change/.
4. Dahlstrom-Eckman, Azul. “San Francisco Appoints First Noncitizen to Serve on Elections Commission.” KQED, February 15, 2024. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://www.kqed.org/news/11976026/san-francisco-appoints-first-non-citizen-to-serve-on-elections-commission.
5. Koenig, Melissa. “Non-citizen Chinese immigrant is sworn in on San Francisco’s Election Commission.” New York Post, February 21, 2024. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://nypost.com/2024/02/21/us-news/non-citizen-chinese-immigrant-is-sworn-in-on-sfs-election-commission/.
6. Lind, Michael. “The War on Citizenship.” Tablet Mag, March 24, 2024. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/war-on-citizenship.
7. Dahlstrom-Eckman, Azul. “San Francisco Appoints First Noncitizen to Serve on Elections Commission.” KQED, February 15, 2024. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://www.kqed.org/news/11976026/san-francisco-appoints-first-non-citizen-to-serve-on-elections-commission.
8. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Chinese for Affirmative Action. 2021. Part I, lines 12, 18, 22.
9. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Chinese for Affirmative Action. 2022. Part I, lines 12, 18, 22.
10. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Chinese for Affirmative Action. 2022. Part VII. Section B. – Independent Contractors.
11. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Chinese for Affirmative Action. 2022. Part II – Officers, Directors, Trustees, Key Employees, and Highest Compensated Employees.
12. “Staff and Board.” Chinese for Affirmative Action. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://caasf.org/people/.