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DWB Efforts Expand Outreach to Asian Community

Friday, May 14, 1999

The ACLU launched the " Driving While Black or Brown (DWB)" campaign to address race-based traffic stops by the police. In an effort to reach the Asian community, outreach materials have been translated into several Asian languages, including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog and Japanese. The Asian outreach project differs from the English and Spanish campaign in that there is no hotline available in the Asian languages. Translators who speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog and Japanese will call people directly after a request form and/or a survey has been completed. Request forms and surveys are in their native languages. We hope to expand the number of languages to include Laotian and Cambodian in the near future.

Translated materials are being sent to Asian and Pacific Islander organizations throughout the state. Our goal is to include the Asian community in the discussions concerning hate crimes, police harrassment and other civil rights issues. ACLU/SC Field Director, Kimi Lee stated . Too often Asians and Asian Americans are not seen as people of color who face prejudice and discrimination. We do not want language barriers to continue this type of separation or isolation.

In addition to supporting California Senate Bill SB78, which would mandate that data on race in police traffic stops be collected and reported by the Department of Justice, the ACLU has set up a toll-free number (1-877- DWB STOP and 1-877-PARA LOS) where people leave their name and address and are then sent a survey about the incident. Recently, the ACLU expanded the campaign beyond the hotline and now has radio ads and billboards in English and Spanish.

The ACLU encourages Asian Americans to call the 1-877-DWB-STOP hotline. For translated materials and speakers, please contact the ACLU of Southern California.

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