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The Indian-Americans
Sayu Bhojwani – People Like Us, Leaders for a New America
The New Wave of Candidates Knocking at Democracy’s Door
Sayu Bhojwani herself is an immigrant and her mission is to make sure there is room for all immigrants at America’s table. Her America is a very different one from that of Donald Trump’s. It is an America where immigrants are central to the story and where the country thrives because of their participation. Yet it is an America where power lies in other hands: white men currently make up only 31 percent of the population but they hold 65 percent of the elected positions in state and local government. It is a scenario which needs to be changed and Bhojwani is an activist who is rooting for the immigrants.
“For nearly two decades, I was politically homeless,” she writes in her book ‘People Like Us.” “A citizen of Belize I moved to the United States at the age of seventeen for college, and like other immigrants before me, I was seduced by the promise of America. I had been living in the United States for sixteen years before I could vote. ” In December 2000, she finally became an American citizen.
Her 2016 TED talk ‘Immigrant Voices Make Democracy Stronger’ was viewed over 800,000 times – and remains her life’s mantra. Many years ago, as a young activist, the advocacy group that she founded and which is still thriving is South Asian Youth Action (SAYA) which looked after the aspirations of young people in immigrant communities and helped level the playing field for them in mainstream America by a series of initiatives in schools and through mentorship
Mayor Bloomberg tapped her as Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs, just six months after the trauma of 9/11 when immigrants were under a brutal microscope. Bhojwani recalls, “So I really understood what it meant to have my voice at the table as our communities were experiencing harassment and profiling. And because of that experience, a few years later, in 2010 as there were more and more anti-immigrant laws being passed at the state level, and as Congress was failing to pass immigration reform, I decided that we basically needed to be the leaders that were not working on our behalf.”
Bhojwani has reinforced this by founding New American Leaders, an organization which is preparing and training immigrant Americans to run for public office. As the mid-term elections draw nearer, in the ensuing battle between Republicans and Democrats to get American votes, she says at least 50 immigrants NAL has trained are now running for public office.
She has also written a blueprint for getting this done with her just published book, ‘People Like Us: the New Wave of Candidates Knocking at Democracy’s Door’ in which she outlines solutions to creating a truly representative democracy.
Recently she was honored by Girl Be Heard, an empowerment group for young women, for her work with young people in getting them politically involved and aware, along with Mandy Gondalez, the star of the Broadway super hit ‘Hamilton’, who has also encouraged political activism amongst the young with her group Fearless Squad.
Jessica Greer Morris, Executive Director of Girl Be Heard, calls Sayu Bhojwani a national treasure: “If you want to solve our country’s epidemic of xenophobia you need immigrants in positions of power. Sayu Bhojwani is the leader we have been waiting for, courageously and relentlessly paving the way for first generation immigrants in the US to run for – and win public office.”
The evening’s theme was Immigrants Get the Job Done, as shown by the work of Sayu Bhojwani, as Founder and President of New American Leaders. Beyond her work paving the way for first- and second-generation Americans to build power and potential to run for public office, Sayu’s book, People Like Us: Knocking at Democracy’s Door, captures the current political moment and offers a roadmap for a more inclusive democracy. Empowering immigrants has always been Sayu’s mantra, whether as New York City’s first Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs, or as the founder of South Asian Youth Action, a community-based organization in Queens.
As she points out, there is a real maturing of people in the South Asian community as there is a record number running for office at all different levels in many states. “What we are able to show is that we can represent any community in the US and it doesn’t have to be a majority Indian community,” she says.
Anti-Muslim rhetoric has also not stopped American Muslims from applying for and running for office and Bhojwani believes people are definitely more vocal than they were ten years ago and it is this spirit of advocacy and participation which will help bring about change.
(A shorter version of this article ran in my weekly column India in America in CNBCTV18.com )
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