Community Events

My name is Daren Dien and I'm a Vietnamese American filmmaker. In 2020, a rude disturbance shook our world…Asian Hate. I had just left my Sony career to write a light hearted screenplay, but I couldn’t focus while my brothers, sisters, and elders were being attacked physically, verbally, and mentally. I began to think about the beginnings of hate… where it starts, and how it spreads.

Disturbed by the crimes but inspired by the #StopAsianHate movement, I wrote a screenplay called Birth of a Mind - a short film about the origins of hate through the eyes of our children. And yes, the film's title is a play on "Birth of a Nation", the 1915 racist movie that sparked the resurgence of the KKK.

I am reaching out today because our short film needs help raising funds. Initially, we thought the #nohate message alone would do the work, but it's been 16 days and we've raised $7,000 out of $15,750, and only have 7 days left to go.

This is where APABA has graciously stepped in. By hearing about us from ARC, the Anti-Racism Committee of South Pasadena, APABA has granted us $500 for the project - Yay!

We've also gained some attention from organizations: 1) LA vs. Hate and 2) the Asian Youth Center; and both have expressed interest in helping the film and eventually showcasing it to students and at events in the near future.

And of course, we're not solely seeking funds from your organization; my team is just scrambling to pursue better ways to highlight our short film to more eyes and we hope you could help. Would you have any advice or connections to further make the community aware of this #nohate short film? Anything would be greatly appreciated!

Here's the kickstarter link for more information: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darendien/birth-of-a-mind

We wanted to make you aware of an upcoming Women In Law Discovering the True Meaning of Success webinar on May 25th at 2:00p ET.

Tatia Gordon-Troy, CEO of Ramses House Publishing, will be moderating an insightful webinar featuring authors, Elena Kohn, Associate Regional Chief Legal Officer for AdventHealth, Jenn Deal, Partner at Kilpatrick Townsend, and Nhu-Y Le, SVP of Operations for BVD Solutions.

A panel of accomplished female lawyers will discuss their book, Women in Law Discovering the True Meaning of Success, which recounts the stories of 23 women as they each embark on a journey to define for themselves what "success" means in law—and in life.

All are welcome to attend this FREE webinar and can learn more and register here.

https://www.aaaicdrfoundation.org/diversity-scholarship-fund

Bet Tzedek’s Small Business Development Project assists small business owners from underrepresented and marginalized communities, with their transactional legal issues as they seek to start, maintain, or grow their business. The Small Business Development Project does this in two ways: (1) conducting educational outreach, such as webinars and clinics on pertinent topics like entity formation, commercial leasing, contracts basics, employment laws, and intellectual property, and (2) arranging for direct representation (through our pro bono network) for eligible small business owners for their transactional issues.

The webinar will be a panel discussion on decarceration and public safety.

Our panel features:

Pamela Price - Civil Rights Attorney and Alameda County District Attorney Candidate

Bianca Samuel - Deputy Attorney General, Investigations Group of the Employment & Administrative Mandate Section

More panelists will be added soon!

General admission is $25, student admission is $15, and sponsorships are available starting at $100.

We are also relaunching our 10 part webinar series.

The webinar features courses on topics such as mass incarceration, racial equity, diversity and community organizing.

Registrants can choose courses a-la-carte, or they can sign up for the entire 10-week course, with the option to earn a certificate in Social Justice Training.

The certificate program, priced at various levels for students, attorneys, and the general public, includes an economic hardship scholarship option for those who are impacted by COVID-19, health, undocumented immigration, homelessness, former incarceration, domestic violence, and systemic oppression and discrimination of any kind.

tinyurl.com/vanguard-bdog

https://bit.ly/diversity-certificate

https://www.davisvanguard.org