From Erika Moritsugu’s LinkedIn profile
Recently, we sat down with Erika Moritsugu, Deputy Assistant to the President / Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Senior Liaison at the White House.
She shared that she participated in several significant events and engagements that highlighted the strength and resilience of our diverse communities.
This is her one-on-one interview.
Northwest Asian Weekly
– What is the objective of your Seattle visit?
I had the honor of an invitation from the Nisei Veterans Committee to deliver remarks at the 78th Annual Memorial Day Service and share President Biden’s Proclamation on a Memorial Day Prayer for Peace recognizing the servicemembers who paid the ultimate sacrifice in defending our freedoms.
As a Yonsei with many family members who fought with great distinction in the military and uniformed services, it was particularly significant for me to join this time-honored tradition of paying tribute to the “Nisei soldiers” who served with great heroism and patriotism during World War II while their families were incarcerated. After the service, I had the privilege of meeting with Gold Star families, Veterans and service members at the Lake View Cemetery Nisei Memorial Monument and Memorial Hall, where I learned more about the coalition of ethnic communities that the National Veterans Network has supported.
Later that day, I also participated at the Memorial Day Ceremony at the Cathay Post 186 in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District, one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 most endangered historic places for 2023, with Seattle-based Commissioners of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AA and NHPIs).
Meanwhile, my two colleagues who make up the tiny muscular team here at the White House supporting the President’s commitment to our communities, attended memorial ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery and the Korean Veterans War Memorial with descendants, Veterans, and community members too. We reflected afterwards about the call to service our elders answered during wartime. And how it compelled each of us to public service. These are the values that we hold as proud Americans and proud Asian Americans, whose lives of privilege to serve were only made possible by the sacrifice and courage of our forebears.
I extended my visit in Seattle to celebrate the start of Pride Month with the leadership of United Territories of Pacific Islanders Alliance (UTOPIA) Washington, a queer and trans people of color-led, grassroots organization born out of resilience of the Queer and Trans Pacific Islander (QTPI) community in South King County. We visited the newly-expanded Mapu Maia Clinic, which provides quality health care and resources to the LGBTQI+ community +. I was inspired to learn about UTOPIA’s work to support the QTPI community to effect change through larger environmental and community changes such as community education, advocacy, coalition building, and immigration support services.
I also met with the leaders and community resource specialists of Neighborhood House, one of the oldest human services agencies in King County, at their High Point Service Center. They explained the challenges faced by citizens of Compacts of Free Association nations (Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau). This helped to inform the listening sessions that I will be convening for Federal officials and organizations serving our Micronesian brothers and sisters throughout the country.
– What have been your proudest moments so far in your role?
I am moved and reminded everyday about the beauty of our diverse community and proud of the historic and unprecedented ways President Biden and Vice President Harris uplifted our community.
One of my favorite memories was the ability to see the lion dance before the President and First Lady at the first-ever Lunar New Year celebration at the White House, and later again at the first-ever Lunar New Year celebration at the Vice President’s Residence. It was a very historic moment for the stakeholders and leaders from all communities that celebrate Lunar New Year, including the Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, and Burmese diaspora.
This took place right after the tragedies in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, and it meant so much to the community to just be together—to share tears and laughter, over prayers and…dumplings. It was healing. It was comforting.
We’re really fortunate to have a President and Vice President who sincerely care about us. They have made historic firsts to ensure our community is heard, seen, and valued, that even the smallest groups within our community are uplifted.
Three years ago, the Second Gentleman hosted the first-ever Vesak Lighting Ceremony with every stream of American Buddhists; we just celebrated our third Vesak celebration at the White House in May—with more attendees and in a larger space. We also honor Hmong New Year, Tibetan New Year and celebrate Diwali, Losar and Eid.
I’m tremendously proud to be part of the Biden-Harris Administration that celebrates our community’s heritage as a collective while also honoring our community’s uniqueness and rich diversity.
– What are some of the Administration’s accomplishments for AA and NHPIs and what do you hope to accomplish the rest of the year?
Since his first day in office, President Biden made clear that it is a priority of the Biden-Harris Administration to advance equity for underserved communities, including Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.
President Biden reauthorized and reinvigorated the White House Initiative and the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in May of 2021, both co-chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai, who is the first Asian American to serve in this role.
Indeed, we have the most diverse government in U.S. history, with an unprecedented AA and NHPI representation in the Administration—including Vice President Kamala Harris, the first South Asian American to serve in the second highest office in the Nation! Currently, 15 percent of our appointees and nominees identify as AA and NHPI—double the share of the population.
And the President has been delivering on his promise and improving the lives of everyone in our country and community. This Administration has made once-in-a-generation investments to support our AA and NHPI communities, provide direct relief, strengthen mental health, and expand economic opportunity—through the historic passage of the American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act.
The President’s [FY 2024] budget details a roadmap to build on the historic progress over the last two years and lower costs for AA and NHPI families including for health insurance, child care, prescription drugs, housing, college, energy and more.
We are working to help our community rise above our trauma from the racism and violence that rose during the pandemic. Among our top priorities have been efforts to address anti-Asian hate, prioritize data disaggregation, promote language access, and ensure an equitable COVID-19 recovery. Thanks to the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act that the President signed into law, the Department of Justice has designated its first Anti-Hate Resources Coordinator as well as its first-ever full-time Language Access Coordinator.
At the start of this year, we released the first-ever National Strategy to Advance Equity, Justice, and Opportunity for AA and NHPI Communities that details our whole-of-government approach to address barriers impacting our communities – including efforts to improve interagency policymaking, program development, and outreach. We have also traveled across the country to meet with many of you through our AA and NHPI Economic Summits and other engagements we are hosting in different cities to connect local communities with federal resources.
Over the past two years, from San Francisco to New York City, and everywhere in between, we’ve been meeting with the AA and NHPI community and have witnessed the impact of the President’s agenda – as well as the tremendous strength and resilience of our community.
But the work isn’t finished. As the President said during the State of the Union: we are doing everything we can to continue to deliver results for the American people.
– How can Asian communities continue to stay strong and support each other after all the AAPI hate incidents/mass shootings, etc.?
Upon taking office, the President signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act which included the Jabara Heyer No HATE Act, to help protect our communities from the rise of hate crimes and hate incidents that spiked during the pandemic.
President Biden has taken more executive action to combat gun violence than any president. In addition to signing the most significant gun safety legislation in 30 years – the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – the President has continued to implement dozens of executive actions to help reduce gun violence and keep firearms out of dangerous hands. And he has consistently called for Congress to enact commonsense policies that reduce gun violence and save lives. And he will not stop fighting.
I was honored to be there with both the President and Vice President when they traveled to Monterey Park to meet with the families of the victims – and demonstrate with their words , and their actions, and their presence, how much they sincerely care for our community.
I found hope, when I recently went to Dallas, Texas, to read the Vice President’s letter at a community-wide vigil, to mourn and honor the lives lost in the Allen Outlet Mall Shooting. This vigil united numerous Asian American, Black, Tribal and Latino community groups in the Dallas region—and provided a space for remembrance, healing, and allyship as they called for racial solidarity, end of gun violence and safer environment for all Americans.
We all need allies – inside and outside our own communities. We must keep marching together – and build an interreligious, interracial and intersectional coalition – to stand up against any forms of hate and violence. We are a resilient community coming together to heal and standing in solidarity with other marginalized communities to support each other.
As Dr. King said: “Hate cannot drive out hate; only Love can do that.”