end of all the sponsors as i read them. so starting at the top level, i want to say our heritage sponsor, we want to say a special mahalo and thank you to pacific gas and electric company on the heritage level. i'm going to read them all. heritage level sponsors. we want to say special mahalo and thank you. bank of america. kraft foods. wells fargo bank. from the heritage friends level, at&t, comcast, and ecology, u.s. bank, and from the heritage he tends level, day crossing and bills and, for all those heritage level sponsors, come on -- one big giant thank you. thank you, thank you, thank you. [applause]

and now, i want to say -- it is my business, so you have to really help me thank them. our media sponsors. and our media sponsors, i want to say special thanks to abc7, comcast, once again, inquire.net, sfgovtv, the sense francisco examiner, world channel, and am 1400. please help me bank of the media sponsors. [applause] now, please help me welcome the woman who is an incredible force, the woman who had the vision to bring this together, to bring us all together -- she is the founder and chair of the apa heritage celebration committee. come on out, claudine. [applause]

>> welcome to the 2010 celebration of asian pacific american heritage month. on behalf of the celebration committee, all the names are here. which includes representatives from city officials and executives from over 10 @ nicholas in the asian-pacific american family. i welcome you here. -- over 10 representatives. with the demographics we have in san francisco, everyone should be and can be celebrated as asian-pacific american heritage month. i cannot agree more. but looking around the room tonight, it is really a true do like that so many friends from the communities, from all communities, from all walks of life have decided to join us for

our celebration. and it really means a lot to us. the truth of the matter is in a diverse city like san francisco where we call home, not only every month can be asian pacific american heritage month, every month can be african american heritage month. every month can be seen the demise of. every month could be irish american, every month could be women's history month. don't you agree with me? [applause] this is a place where we all call home. we recognize there are a lot of issues in our communities these days, but this is a place we all call home, so the message that the apa heritage celebration committee would like you to take with you after this celebration is that we believe heritage and

culture is something that we are proud of and something that we can all share. there is common ground in many traditions and common values among communities of all colors that we can all appreciate. we, the committee, are committed to take every opportunity to invite all communities to come together in occasions like this, to connect, to open doors ..., to get to know each other more. we need to do that in this city, and i know that today is not the first day, but every day can be the first day of forever. i want to thank you for coming as we celebrate three individuals and organizations in our community, and thank you for being here. [applause] as we continue with this celebration, alan mistress of ceremonies has introduced some

of our major smartest response tonight. i would like at this time to invite them up to present them a special gift of appreciation because we really appreciate your support -- our mistress of ceremonies has introduced some of our major sponsors tonight. to begin with, our heritage jim van supporter, pacific gas and electric. we have our friend, mr. jimmy harris, please join me. [applause] and every year, our presentation guests are handmade by a japanese american artist. this is actually a very special piece of artwork of japanese origami. [applause]

next, at the heritage partner level, i would like to first call off our bank of america fund, a senior vice president. [applause] then, one of our best food companies in the country and in the web, kraft foods has joined us this year, and i would like to invite the area vice president to join us as well. [applause]

[applause] our last one as for our friend, wells fargo, who is always with us since 2005. is the sentence is the metro district manager here? i think he is still on his break. thank you for joining us in this celebration. this is the official celebration of the city, and it has really touched me every year to see our major bout here with us. it means a lot with us. -- to see our mayer brown here with us. it means a lot to us. >> these and gentlemen, da

mayor, willie brown. [applause] >> thank you very much. i am, of course, delighted to again be part of this celebration. claudine is absolutely correct. in a city and county of sentences, the diversity that exists here in terms of age, sexual orientation, race, national origin, religious interests, all of those items are part of what we each celebrate with each other, even though we may not be technically a part of it. that is what makes it such a very special city. as indicated, we are meeting some challenges now, facing ourselves, with reference to conduct our people, but be advised -- we will get through this, as we have gotten through everything in this city, and we will only be better for having done so. so we will do so in the manner in which we always have.

[applause] thank you very much for being here. [applause] >> as the evening goes on, we will hear from supervisors chiu, chu, and mar. i would like to invite our public defender up to share a few words with us. jeff. [applause] >> thank you very much. good evening, everyone. tonight, we celebrate our individual and collective histories, our culture, our language, and our art. there is an old saying -- we can not only live for ourselves, one that and fibers connect all of us to our fellow human beings. that is not true of only asian cultures. when i grew up, it was japanese against chinese against koreans. we did not even know why we were fighting. it was because that was what we

learned growing up from our parents. i think the greatest thing that our generation has achieved is that we now call each other asian americans, and we see each other as kindred cousin saw. the recent incidents of violence involving asian and african americans in the two fatal assaults involving elderly asian-american victims allegedly committed by african-american youths has raised the question of whether the growing interracial tensions in cities like san francisco and oakland are partly to blame. i think most of us hope that the election of president obama would transcend the racial divide. however, even if this divide were somehow overcome, it would not address the racial divide amongst minorities in this country. the reality is that the same prejudice that exists between

blacks and whites exist between asians, latinos, and african- americans. the thing of it is that we share so much in common. african-americans and asian- americans. do you novak when the agent exclusion act, the chinese exclusion act was before congress in 1870, the first national leader to speak out against that was frederick douglass. the same man who fought against slavery. do you know that when the chinese exclusion act was voted on in congress, there was one black senator named blanche bruce, the only african-american in the u.s. senate, voted against it. similarly, we work side-by-side for semel -- civil rights and improve public education. in '86, and laundry owner sued the san francisco board of supervisors for a racially

discriminatory law, and it brought equal protection to minorities, and that overturned the 1857 dread scott case, which held that minorities were not protected by the u.s. constitution. we have the landmark case of brown harris is board of education, 1954, to thank for equality in education. -- brown v. board of education. seven years later, the chinese community here worked shoulder to shoulder with the african- american community to expand civil rights and public education. we have a history of working together. mayer brown, and reverend brown knows very well. in the early 1970's, a community leader from japan town and let the board informed of the african american roundtable to improve relations between japanese and african americans in the western addition, but it is going to take a lot more than just groups coming together to

talk about stereotypes and misperceptions. for these tragic deaths, they must rise a responsibility to reach out beyond our communities and make sure that we understand that there is a cost to holding misperceptions and believes that oppress us all. thank you. [applause] >> we have got a great program for you, and for those of you who have attended in years past, you know that we celebrate with song. we celebrate with dance, and we celebrate recognizing different cultures from around the world, so leading off today is a wonderful performance by students -- yes, they are all students. they are -- their organization is called the golden gate bong what association.

these young women are students at san francisco state university and the university of san francisco, and they practice every sunday morning -- that is called dedication. they have got beautiful costumes. you are going to see them perform with their props here, but they celebrate the bunjabi full dance and their culture, and i think it is a wonderful way of celebrating our heritage month. would you please give a warm welcome to six lovely students? come on, everybody. let's give them a hand. [applause] ♪

[singing in foreign language]

[applause]

>> , on, everyone. part of a fabulous -- com onee , everyone. weren't the fabulous? we are all here for these awards, the asian pacific american heritage award honors individuals and organizations who have made direct impact to their communities. the apa heritage awards are being presented in three categories. for individuals, we have awards for the emerging leadership and lifetime achievements, and the community organizations. we have the community impact award. 50 nominations were received -- 50 -- and top finalists in each category were submitted to a panel of three judges -- the

steelers, i might add, and the judges are vicki wong, president and ceo of date advertising, and cindy, a longtime japanese american community activist and volunteer community, and edwin lee, our city administrator. now, presenting the emerging leadership award, please welcome back to the stage supervisor eric mar. [applause] and the key -- and vicky. >> thank you. the evening. supervisor mar and i are pleased to announce finalists and recipients for the emerging leadership award. in the interests of time, the criteria of the award is listed

in the program book. emerging leadership, this category is particularly dear to our heart. maybe to you as well, supervisor, as both of us have young children at home. the finalists are all great models, and we all know that it is important for us to recognize the next generation of leaders whose talent, passion, and commitment to serving the apa community is critical in ensuring that our voices continue to be heard and addressed. finalists in the emerging leadership category are -- i'm looking at the screen to see if they are listed. harriet wu, thomas lee, anna

liu. >> this feels a little bit like the academy awards, and i wish i had an tombolo and said, "and the winner is." the thank you very much to the organizers for acknowledging up- and-coming leaders in our community for they are the ones that will unite and bring our communities together with a stronger voice but also with and that the and support for other communities as well, so it is my pleasure to announce that the recipients of the 2010 apa heritage award in the emerging leadership category is thomas lee. [applause] thomas, please join us on stage. i'm going to start reading my script so you know about thomas's incredible leadership.

i know we have done great work with the community youth center and many community-based organizations. thomas has participated in at least two service projects per week since 2007. carly estop more pursuing a degree in marketing, he has also been active in the community from a very young age and has volunteered for callous area nonprofit organizations. graphic and by design has always been his passion. he has always volunteered he's design skills for countless organizations, which include building web sites for the chinatown neighborhood center, north beach neighborhood associations, american or in performing arts, and the asian american pageant. he was also a project coordinator ad a community youth center where he spearheaded community clubhouses after school programs. i even visited a program that he created, and he has taught asian youth graphics and web design,

so we are honored to announce his leadership in the community. >> i would like the coordinator this year to join us. [applause] >> congratulations to thomas. do you want to say a few words? >> thank you for this amazing award. i want to thank my parents, my brother, friends and family, but one person that stood out to me is my role model, rose chung,

also known as my godmom. she taught me that in the world, that with a little perseverance and dedication, that you should. you should give it a try even though you can make it. throughout the years, she taught me that obstacles are nothing but steppingstones to prepare you for life's challenges to be a better leader, to be a better service and to the community, and being a better friend, and threw her guidance and support, i stand here today as a proud role model to use -- youth in the community. i thank you, and together, we can build a better, stronger asian community. >> congratulations, and thank you. one more media sponsor i missed -- media is important to me, so

i just want to say thank you to our asian week media sponsors. all right, now, to present the community impact award, please welcome city administrator ed lee and city supervisor carmen chu. come on up. [applause] >> good evening. thank you. supervisor chu are also proud to be here with you tonight and to join you in announcing this category of finalists and recipients for the community impact award. of course, in the interests of time, please refer to your program to see the specific criteria for this award. we also felt it was important to recognize community

organizations and the impact they make in our community, especially where the differences they may have a profound and lasting effect on our health, our social, political, and economic well-being of our daily lives. the finalists in the community impact award category are the asian-pacific islander wellness center, the asian student union, the san francisco state university, the california dragon boat association, and the state workshop. >> now, it is my pleasure to announce that the recipient of the 2010 apa hedge award in the community impact category is -- ready? the asian and pacific islander wellness center. [applause]

founded in 1987 as a grass-roots response to the hiv/aids crisis in the asian and pacific islander community, whose center is a health services and education, research and policy organization, his mission is to educate, support, and power and advocate for asian and pacific islander communities, and particularly, for those living with or at risk for hiv/aids, as the oldest american not as profit that focuses on api communities are and how and a teddy services, the organization has been effective in putting innovative and holistic and effective programs and services in place and programs that benefit all communities. in addition to help and counseling services, the organization has lost numerous innovative initiatives to fight stigma as well as from a generational understanding of issues facing the asian-pacific american families and communities. congratulations. [applause]

>> the good evening. thank you so much. of i and the executive director of asian and pacific islander wellness center, and it is actually not just me. it is my staff of 40, my board of nine amazing individuals who are api wellness center. we have been providing for the past 23 years hiv and health- related services for the asian- pacific islander communities here in san francisco and throughout the san francisco bay area in over 20 different languages. what we believe, actually, is very much related to the theme this year.

is very much about foster and unity. hiv, hepatitis, many health- related illnesses that disproportionately affect our communities will take all of us together to fight these diseases, but also to fight the stigma and the discrimination that actually perpetuate diseases like hiv in our community. not only do we provide services -- and top-notch services in san francisco -- but because of its believe, we actually produce a national social marketing campaign, and on may 19, the national asian, pacific islander hiv/aids awareness day, and as all of you to check our web site to find out about the press conference, the big events we are having here to give light to hiv and the stigma and discrimination that is within our communities and perpetuating