Asian/Pacific AIDS Coalition records

Title: Asian/Pacific AIDS Coalition records

Dates: 1987-1995

Collection Number: 1996-24

Creator/Collector: Asian/Pacific AIDS Coalition

Extent: 4.75 linear feet (2 manuscript boxes, 3 cartons)

Repository: GLBT Historical Society

Abstract: The Asian/Pacific AIDS Coalition (APAC) was originally formed as the Asian/Pacific AIDS Task Force in 1987. APAC, like the Black and the Latino Coalitions on AIDS, was part of the second wave of People of Color AIDS groups in San Francisco. It served primarily as an advocacy group and a bridge between various Asian political, healthcare, and other organizations. It also helped numerous AIDS-related groups to secure emergency funding and to develop organizational skills. Its demise in June of 1996 was due in large part to its success in nurturing other groups. The APAC records document these activities thoroughly.

Language of Material: English

Collection is open for research. This collection has been digitized through a partnership with Gale/Cengage. Contact the GLBT Historical Society Archivist for information regarding access to the digital collection.

Copyright to unpublished manuscript materials has been transferred to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.

[Identification of item]. Asian/Pacific AIDS Coalition records. Collection Number: 1996-24. GLBT Historical Society

Donated by Larry Paradis, Gary Harmon and Randy Lane in 1991, with an accretion added by William Davis in 1994.

The Asian Pacific AIDS Coalition (APAC), founded in 1988, was originally called the Asian AIDS Task Force. It coalesced to address the gaps in education, prevention, and direct services to Asian and Pacific Islanders affected by HIV. Like several similar groups organized around specific communities (African-American, Latino, Native American, Women, Sex Workers, Transsexuals, etc), APAC came into being because the needs of the people it addressed were not being adequately met by the larger, more general AIDS service providers such as the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Shanti. The Coalition started with five institutional members. These were The Asian AIDS Project, Asian American Communities Against AIDS, Filipino Task Force on AIDS, and Gay Asian Pacific Alliance's Community HIV Project, all from San Francisco, and Asian Health Services HIV/AIDS Project in Oakland (about 15% of Alameda county's population is of Asian heritage). One of APAC's most important contributions was the identification of unmet needs and the creation of programs aimed at meeting them. After their creation, these programs were transferred over to the appropriate member agency. APAC's other major emphasis was in the realm of Public Policy. In the long run, however, the constituent member groups were seldom actively supportive of the Coalition, leaving APAC staff feeling isolated and frustrated. During 1994-1995 this ongoing contradiction was discussed repeatedly at Board meetings and retreats. Finally, in August of 1995 a motion to dissolve the organization was passed by the APAC Board. The last several months of activity were spent meeting prior obligations, finishing projects, and closing down the office as well as the organization. The Board was perceptive enough to spend some of their last funds to have their records processed by a professional archivist familiar with community-based AIDS organizations, and the resulting collection was placed in the GLBT Historical Society Archives.

The materials in this collection outline the origins, development, problems, and decline of APAC as an organization. Also found in this collection are files on issues, organizations, events, and public policy specific to AIDS among Asian/Pacific Islanders. The last series contains four significant public policy papers written by Rafael Chang, who was APAC's Public Policy Director. The collection is organized into 10 series: Series 1. Administration. Series 2. Meetings. Series 3. Documents. Series 4. Communications. Series 5. Development. Series 6. Grants and Loans. Series 7. Issues. Series 8. Organizations. Series 9. Events. Series 10. Public Policy. The Public Policy series is further organized into five sub-series: National Policy Groups and Activities, California Policy Groups and Activities, San Francisco Policy Groups and Activities, APAC Policy Papers and Reports, and Other Policy Papers and Reports. The Events series is organized into two sub-series: Outreach and Conferences and Meetings. Series 1. Administration, 1987-1995 This series consists of documents outlining the structure and organization of the APAC. Among these items can be found the articles of incorporation, an organizational chart, and materials from various committees within the organization. Series 2. Meetings, 1987-1996 This series consists of meeting minutes, agendas and other materials produced during various regularly scheduled meetings. Included here are materials from Board of Directors, General organizational, and Steering Committee meetings. Series 3. Documents, 1991-1995 This series consists of miscellaneous documents produced by the organization. Included here are materials from audits, ephemera, awards, photographs, membership lists, various Memoranda of Understanding, and a restricted file containing personnel documents. Also of note are materials relating to the dissolution of the organization. Series 4. Communications, 1993-1995 This series consists of reports, memos, correspondence, and press releases produced by the APAC. The Correspondence is arranged topically and then chronologically within each folder. Among the notable correspondents found in this series are President Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Willie Brown, Diane Feinstein, and Barbara Boxer. Series 5. Development, 1992-1995 This series contains materials documenting APAC's efforts at fundraising and development. Most of these materials are grant applications reflecting the continuing attempts to raise money. Series 6. Grants and Loans, 1990-1992 This series consists of materials documenting loans and grants made by the APAC to other organizations, most of them providing services to the Asian and Pacific Islander population of the Bay Area. Series 7. Issues, 1988-1995 This series consists of materials from various issues in which the APAC was involved, either directly or peripherally. Series 8. Organization, 1988-1995 Finding aid of the Asian/Pacific AIDS Coalition Records 1996-24 4 This series contains materials from other organizations also serving the Asian/ Pacific Islander population in the Bay Area. These materials document APAC's cooperative involvement with various community-based health, AIDS-related, GLBT, and Asian/Pacific Islander organizations. Series 9. Events, 1987-1995 This series documents some of the many events in which the APAC participated. The series is divided into two sub-series: Outreach and Conferences and Meeting. The Outreach sub-series contains materials documenting the organization's efforts at visibility raising and community involvement. Among the materials found in this sub-series are documents from the Tet and Cherry Blossom Festivals, Folsom Street Fair, the Asian American Journalist Association Conference, and several other outreach events. The second sub-series, Conferences and Meetings, consist of materials from various conferences in which the APAC participated. These materials demonstrate the organization's high level of involvement on issues relating to HIV and Asians/Pacific Islanders. Series 10. Public Policy, 1987-1995 This series documents APAC's extensive involvement in policy issues relating to AIDS and Asian/Pacific Islanders on both the national and local level. The materials in this series are organized into five sub-series: National Policy Groups and Activities, California Policy Groups and Activities, San Francisco Policy Groups and Activities, APAC Policy Papers and Reports, and Other Policy Papers and Reports. The sub-series National Policy Groups and Activities documents APAC's involvement in national HIV policy discussions. Included in this sub-series are materials from the APAC's involvement on the National Minority AIDS Council and the National HIV Prevention Reform Working Group. The sub-series California Policy Groups and Activities contains materials illustrating the organizations involvement in statewide policy issues relating to HIV and Asians/Pacific Islanders. Included in this sub-series are materials documenting the APAC involvement with the California Department of Health Service and the LIFE AIDS Lobby, a California group that lobbies on GLBT and HIV/AIDS related issues. The San Francisco Policy Groups and Activities sub-series contains materials illustrating APAC's involvement in city politics and policy debates revolving around AIDS/HIV issues and the Asian/Pacific Islander population of San Francisco. Prominent in this sub-series are materials relating APAC's interaction with San Francisco's Department of Public Health. The APAC Policy Papers and Reports sub-series contains policy papers and reports produced by Rafael Chang, APAC's Public Policy Coordinator. The sub-series, Other Policy Papers and Reports, consists of publications produced by other organizations on the topic of HIV/AIDS and people of color, particularly Asian/Pacific Islanders.