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

>> weren't they great? i think they deserve another round of your thanks. they are thurgood marshall high school like school crew. -- light show crew. they were formed to demonstrate asian culture through the art of glow sticks. glow sticks are synonymous with the buyer dancing from hawaii. they did a great job with those close sticks. -- with those glow stick.

i am going to serve as your mc. >> i like to welcome you to the multipurpose room. we did a ribbon cutting with the -- on friday. it houses the health center and child development center. this is a gorgeous green building and we are happy to be in this building to make a special announcement. many of you