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What makes 80-20 effective


II. For Dignity and Against Discrimination

Date of Call to Action Purpose (PP) & Method (MD) Date Result(s) Achieved
April 25th, 2005: 101.5 FM's "Jersey Guys" radio talkshow hosts call Asian-Americans "Damn Orientals and Indians" and a "foreign group", and they should not have influence in American elections. 80-20 works with New Jersey Coalition for Asian American Civil Rights, including 80-20's NJ chapter, to achieve our goals. The coalition successfully persuades Hyundai, Cingular, and Bank of America to pull their ads from 101.5 FM. PP: To aid the New Jersey Asian-American community in getting 101.5 FM to meet their demands.

MD: On May 19th, 80-20 sends out a mass e-mail urging supporters to e-mail the 3 largest national sponsors of 101.5 FM-- Verizon, Comcast and Dish Network, demanding these companies withdraw their sponsorship or face boycotts.

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3 days after 80-20's mass e-mail, 101.5 FM agrees to invite Jun Choi, the principle target of the talkshow's slurs, to the show and issues a public apology. Comcast replies that they no longer advertise on "Jersey Guys" and will meet with 101.5 FM management.

 

January 20, 2004, 4:15 pm: 80-20 asks TNT to call back regarding Yao Ming being called "7'6" Chinaman" by Steve Kerr on a TNT broadcast the night before.

PP: To get a sincere apology.

MD: Using the established reputation of 80-20 as a tough but fair organization helping the AsAm community to win equal opportunity.

3 hours later, Steve Kerr and TNT Senior VP Jeff Banky calls to relay a very sincere apology through 80-20 to APAs with a letter from Mr. Kerr.

April 17, 2002: Asian Pacific American college students and young professionals email 80-20, asking it to take action. They are outraged because Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), an upscale retailer, put out a new line of 4 T-shirts with derogatory portrayals of Asians. PP: To have A&F remove the t-shirts and apologize to the APA community.

MD: April 18, 2002, 10:50 am: 80-20 president, S.B. Woo, calls Michael Jeffries, Chairman and CEO of A&F. Mr. Jefferies is out of his office, so Woo leaves a message expressing the wish for A&F to withdraw the products. He also requests a call back.

April 18, 2002, 1:12 pm: (within two hours of 80-20's call) Mr. Seth Johnson, A&F C.O.O., calls back. He says that he calls on behalf of Mr. Jeffries who is not in town. He says that the products have been pulled off the market. An A&F spokesman in a press conference announces the withdrawal of the T-shirts.

February 22, 2002: After the figure skating finals of this year's Olympics, the Seattle Times headlined on February 22:
"Hughes good as gold: American outshines Kwan, Slutskaya in skating surprise"

PP: To have the Seattle Times apologize for the offensive implications of its headline. The Seattle Times, on February 23, 2002, retracts the headline with an apology for the "misunderstanding."

MD: March 1, 2002: 80-20 publicizes the headline in an email to its 410,000 supporters.

March 3, 2002: The Seattle Times issues its SECOND apology. It is drastically different in content, tone, style and length from its first apology. Seattle Times Executive Editor Mike Fancher specifically addresses the offensive implications of the headline, and adds his personal apology.
May 10, 2003: 80-20 learns that 5 Chinese-American teachers and artists from the NYC Chinese Cultural Center were turned away from their contracted jobs at a Vineland, NJ school because some parents had complained that the 5 might have SARS. The school knew, however, that the 5 had not been to a SARS-affected area in at least 2 years.

PP: To prevent the spread of SARS hysteria by obtaining a public apology to the 5, compensation for their jobs, reinstitution of the cancelled program this or next semester, and an educational program for the entire school district to prevent SARS hysteria

MD: May 13, 2003: 80-20 uses the "carrot-or-stick" strategy with the Vineland School District to induce the results listed above.

May 15, 2003, 10:30 am: A conference call between Woo and the Superintendent and his Assistant Superintendent takes place. A win-win situation is created. The results are announced in a press release that praises the Superintendent.

September 6, 2003: The Historic Luncheon with Howard Dean Keynoting, a pro-active empowering program. Since it is not reactive, we do not issue a "call for action."
PP: To induce Presidential candidates to address APA concerns.

MD: 80-20 invites the top 4 Democratic Presidential candidates and Pres. Bush to an 80-20 fundraiser. The first to respond is Gov. Howard Dean.

1) Inviting the leading Presidential candidates to attend a fundraiser for an APA organization. Such is common in mainstream groups but unprecedented in the APA community.

2) Gov. Davis initiated a request to attend our event.

October 27, 2000

PP: To have the infamous “daisy TV ad,” which perpetrated “yellow peril” fear mongering, taken off the air.

MD: a) Massive electronic protest, threats to vote against Bush, and b) great support from mainstream reporters asking why such a spot was permitted by Bush.

Oct. 28, 2000: The ad is pulled off the air. To our knowledge, 80-20 was the only organization in the nation that called for the pulling of the ad.

December 16, 2002, 11:00 am: 80-20 calls on Republican leaders to hold a re-vote on the incoming Senate Majority leader Trent Lott, who applauded Sen. Strom Thurmond for his segregation platform in a 1948 presidential campaign.

80-20 and others believe Sen. Lott might attempt to turn back the clock on civil rights.

PP: Talk can lead to action. By severely punishing politicians who make pro-segregationist statements, 80-20 ensures that segregation does not return to America.

MD: December 16, 2002, 11:00 am: 80-20 President, S.B. Woo, faxes a letter to key Republican leaders calling for a re-vote. He mentions that 80-20 can reach 500,000 APA voters in one day. 80-20 also issues a press release and an email to supporters urging them to fax Republican leaders as well.

Same day! The decision by the Republican Caucus to re-vote is achieved only 5 hours later, December 16, 2002, 4pm.

The real result, the severe punishment of a politician who makes such a statement, is achieved 4 days later, on December 20, 2002, when Sen. Lott resigns as Senate Majority Leader.