Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California Celebrates Local Hero and 40th Anniversary

In commemoration of its 40th anniversary, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL) is holding a year-long series of events that culminates in its annual gala.

At the October event in Los Angeles, the organization will honor Brandon Tsay of San Marino, California. After a gunman opened fire at Tsay's parents' dance studio in nearby Monterey Park during a Lunar New Year celebration in January, killing 11 people and injuring nine others, Tsay wrested a submachine gun from the shooter, saving many more lives. 

In response to that mass shooting — and two more in Half Moon Bay only a few days later — AJSOCAL launched the Monterey Park Lunar New Year Victims Fund and the Half Moon Bay Victims Fund. "For May's AAPI Heritage Month, we joined the residents of Monterey Park and Alhambra for celebration and healing in the wake of the Lunar New Year tragedy to show the world that we are proud of all of our Asian ancestries, languages, and current experiences as Americans," AJSOCAL CEO Connie Chung Joe said in a statement.

A GRoW grantee-partner, AJSOCAL has championed civil rights for Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) since 1983. Visit AJSOCAL here to learn more about the annual gala, which also will salute Congresswoman Judy Chu and philanthropists Walter and Shirley Wang.