Aapi rainbow coalition
Established in the summer of 2024, the Asian Pacific Islander (API) Rainbow Coalition, known as ARC, is a new alliance of organizations and individuals of diverse backgrounds, ages, and identities committed to centering the unique needs and challenges of LGBTQ+ persons within the AAPI community. ARC celebrates diversity and unity through collaboration with other LGBTQ+ and AAPI organizations to amplify their voices, create stronger support systems for the vulnerable, and raise awareness about the intersectionality of being AAPI and LGBTQ+. To combat misinformation, stigma, and discrimination and promote inclusion and empowerment, ARC facilitates community education workshops, cultural sensitivity trainings, campaigns, and community visibility. Founding member organizations include API-PFLAG, Okaeri: A Nikkei LGBTQ+ Community, Search to Involved Pilipino Americans (SIPA), the K.W. Lee Center for Leadership, and the West Los Angeles United Methodist Church.
Ichi-mi
Ichi-Mi’s mission as Jōdo Shinshū Buddhists is to provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ identifying people within the Sangha, their family members, and allies, in order to create conditions for everyone to safely hear the Nenbutsu teaching.
japanese american national musem
The mission of the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) is to promote understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience. As the national repository of Japanese American history, JANM creates groundbreaking historical and arts exhibitions, educational public programs, award-winning documentaries, and innovative curriculum that illuminate the stories and the rich cultural heritage of people of Japanese ancestry in the United States.
Japantown Rainbow Coalition
The Japantown Rainbow Coalition (JRC) is committed to raising awareness and celebrating queer identities within San Francisco Japantown by fostering inclusive spaces, promoting representation, and strengthening ties between the Japanese American and LGBTQ+ communities. Through events such as the annual Pride Flag raising established in 2022, JRC strives to assert and celebrate the intersectionality of these identities.
j-SEI
J-Sei is a community care and cultural organization that brings families and generations together to nurture and pass on Nikkei values and traditions that remain at the core of its services. Its pursuit of the expanded mission will be guided by community values of dignity, trust, independence, social connection, open communication, and respect for elders. Its commitment to serving seniors is unwavering, but J-Sei is broadening its impact by serving its multi-generational and multi-ethnic community.
Omusubi
Omusubi is a fun and caring multigenerational community of LGBTQ+ women and trans people of Japanese ancestry based in the Bay Area. Omusubi started out from a caucus meeting at the 1989 National Asian and Pacific-Islander Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Network (APLBN) Conference in LA. At that time there were approximately 10 women who met each other and decided to keep in touch. The Omusubi listserv officially started on September 27, 1999 on YahooGroups. Since then the listserv has grown to over 150 queer women and trans folks, with people in the Bay Area, LA, Hawai’i, Japan and the East Coast. Omusubi is committed to inclusion, empowerment, safety and racial, gender, economic and ecological justice. “Musubu” means to tie together. Omusubi is tied together by an appreciation of diasporic histories and cultures, shared values, and engagement in social, cultural and political activities.
PFLAG San Gabriel Valley, Asian American Pacific Islander Chapter
The mission of PFLAG San Gabriel Valley, Asian American Pacific Islander Chapter (PFLAG SGV API) is to promote inter-generational and inter-ethnic dialogue among Asian, Asian-American, Pacific-Islander, Southeast Asian, and South Asian parents, families, and their lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender children, family members, and friends.