UPDATE: The audio is now online!
Get ready for a special treat this Thursday evening (Apr. 16). Here’s your chance to chat with the man who launched a thousand blog posts: Yale and UChicago-educated lawyer, leader, and role model Ramey Ko.
Late last week, Ramey — who also doubles as the Founder of Asian Americans for Obama — testified in the Texas House of Representatives, against a bill (SB 362) that threatens to disenfranchise thousands of Asian Americans and all communities of color.
Little did he know his appearance would set off a national firestorm. During his testimony, Texas GOP Rep. Betty Brown asked a litany of racially tinged remarks, including: Why can’t Asian Americans have names that are “easier for Americans?” Americans of all stripes expressed their outrage — forcing Rep. Brown to issue a formal apology.
On Thursday night, we’ll catch up with Vietnamese American State Rep. Hubert Vo, US Congressman Mike Honda (invited), Mini Timmaraju of Asian American Democrats of Texas, and Ramey Ko. In the process, we’ll ask Ramey about his experience, and learn what all of us can do to make a difference in Texas and across the nation on voting rights and other issues. We’ll also open up the call to your questions! (While we can’t guarantee we’ll get to every question, we’ll do our best to get to as many as we can.)
Here are the full details. To join the call, you must rsvp (details below). We’ll then send you the call info:
What: AAA-Fund Chats w/ Ramey Ko, TX Rep. Hubert Vo, Mini Timmaraju, and Congressman Mike Honda (invited)
When: Th, Apr. 16, 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT
RSVP: Helen Tran (helentra@usc.edu; 626.484.9702). Note: you must rsvp to join the call. If you would like to ask Ramey a question during the call, please include your question in your rsvp. The media are welcome to join the call.
Please join us as we recognize Ramey Ko for standing up for all Americans.
– Gautam Dutta
Now there’s an “I Liked Ramey Ko BEFORE He Was Cool!” group on Facebook.
By Justin on April 14th, 2009