ABAS President's Message
By Lara Diaz Dunbar

The Asian/Pacific Bar Association of Sacramento (ABAS) has been very active the first half of 2004. On February 14, several ABAS members and friends participated in the Legal Services of Northern California Valentine’s Day Run. On March 25, ABAS hosted a reception for Bill Tamayo, Regional Director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The reception was held at Reeves & Associates.

ABAS’ April events included the ABAS Scholarship Mixer on April 20 at the Huki Lau Island Grill. At this event, the ABAS law foundation awarded deserving law students several scholarships which were also matched by the Council of Asian Pacific Islanders Together for Advocacy & Leadership (“CAPITAL”). On April 21, ABAS co-sponsored a reception for Wan J. Kim, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The event was co-sponsored with CAPITAL and the Korean American Community of Sacramento. Mr. Kim is one of the highest-ranking Asian Americans in the Department of Justice and is also a member of the Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Commission established by Congress. Mr. Kim was visiting Sacramento to attend the special second world premiere of the movie “Separate But Equal,” in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Brown decision.

On May 8, ABAS hosted an Immigration Law and Rights Law Day. ABAS hosted the event with Legal Services of Northern California and Asian Legal Service Outreach. Several ABAS member attorneys volunteered their time and presented an open free clinic on immigration law at the Bethany Presbyterian Church. ABAS members met with immigrants and offered advice and answered questions relating to immigration law. The ABAS volunteers attended training prior to the clinic and worked with other experienced immigration attorneys to serve the community. Bilingual ABAS members such as Jeannie Lee, who is fluent in Cantonese, were able to offer services to non-English speaking persons in their native language.

On May 17, ABAS, along with the Sacramento County Bar Association and other affiliate bar organizations, co-sponsored a reception in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision which ended the legal basis for school segregation. The reception followed the symposium sponsored by the Judicial Council of California entitled the “Brown v. Board of Education Symposium: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” The reception, which was held at the Library & Courts Building II, was well attended by the legal community, including many judges, justices, elected officials and state, local and minority bar association representatives, to name a few.

On May 20, ABAS also co-sponsored a reception honoring ABAS Vice-President, Darrel Woo, for his recent appointment to the Sacramento Planning Commission. The event was co-sponsored by the Sacramento Asian/Pacific Chamber of Commerce, California Bank & Trust and the South Sacramento/Greenhaven Chamber of Commerce. The event was held at the California Bank & Trust building in Sacramento.

On May 27, the ABAS Law Foundation held the Second Annual Wine Tasting and Auction at the Pavilions Courtyard. Several Northern California wineries poured and tasty hors d’oeuvres were served. Proceeds will be used to fund scholarships for law students.

In addition to these ABAS events, ABAS has also served as an event sponsor at several other community functions this year. These functions include the Martin Luther King Dinner on January 10, the Asian Resources 2nd Annual Lunar New Year Dinner on February 19, the CAPITAL Annual Dinner and Monte Carlo Night on April 3, the Asian Pacific State Employees Association Dinner on April 29, and the Asian Peace Officers Association’s Dinner on June 4.

ABAS members are now working on coordinating the upcoming Unity Dinner in Fall 2004.