South Asian American

Andolan Records

APA Staff

Colored photograph of Andolan protestors marching. Date Range: 1999-2008
Creator: Andolan

History: Andolan is a non-profit, membership based organization that advocates on behalf of South Asian immigrant workers. Founded in 1998 by executive director Gulnahar Alam, the collective continues to be led by members, comprised primarily of low-wage female workers. The organization addresses gaps in social services and government agencies by providing legal assistance and a membership network support system for undocumented South Asian workers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Andolan, meaning “movement” in various South Asian languages, mobilizes workers for coalition building to ensure South Asian communities reach self-determinacy. Cornerstone to their mission is a commitment to helping all workers realize their legal rights in order to empower working class immigrant communities. As most members are domestic workers (babysitters, housekeepers), retail and restaurant workers, these marginalized and invisible groups often face obstacles such as worker exploitation, abuse, sexual harassment and domestic violence. Andolan encourages members to take on leadership roles in organizing, to transform their struggles and experiences into practical knowledge that works towards liberating female workers from inter-dependency and oppressive systems.

Andolan operates through three types of community programming: providing support to workers, promoting legal advocacy and community campaigning. Andolan’s member network holds meetings and educational workshops to address changes and issues surrounding immigration law, health, labor and domestic issues. The member network is sensitive to the immediate and cultural needs of the community by offering constant support through referrals for medical assistance and refuge, as well as counseling and translation services. Andolan’s implementation plans involve filing lawsuits in order to heighten public awareness of the various issues domestic workers face. Lawsuits Andolan brought to public attention include cases on federal violation of state minimum wages, sexual harassment, assault, and imprisonment upon false charges. Additionally, Andolan has launched several successful campaigns to protect worker’s rights, including the Campaign against Diplomatic Immunity of UN Employees, which aimed to hold diplomats accountable for their abusive treatment towards domestic workers. Andolan has co-coordinated with CAAAV for the Campaign to Increase the Minimum Wage, which strives to increase working wages through dialogue with local and state officials. Andolan also organizes protests and demonstrations in order to receive immediate responses to specific grievances. As a founding member of Domestic Workers United, Andolan continues to collaborate with DWU to advance the movement to end worker exploitation.

Within the past decade, Andolan had several legal victories in lawsuits against abusive employers. In a landmark settlement case, Andolan’s client received the largest reparations in U.S. legal history for a domestic worker, thereby setting a precedent for other low-wage immigrant workers. Another monumental victory for Andolan is marked by the City Hall approval of a bill in 2003, which requires employers and agencies to provide a contract to workers that guarantees minimum wage and overtime pay, health insurance, regular working hours and enforcement of labor standards.

In recognition of their achievements and social impact in the community, Andolan was awarded the Union Square Social Justice Award in 2001.

Summary: Totaling 6.0 linear feet, Andolan’s records consist of client court case files, administrative, board and fiscal operations, programming and development files, grant support and publicity materials.

Measuring approximately 3.0 linear feet, the bulk of records are confidential court files that document Andolan’s litigation role in client cases from 1998 to 2006. Separate, but precursory to Andolan’s formal filing of legal cases are client intake files documenting personal background information in Hindi and Bengali. Legal cases relate to wage compensation, political asylum and domestic violence against workers and women. These files trace case progression with legal proceedings, attorney correspondences, affidavits of support, court petitions and transcripts.

The second largest volume of materials are organizational development files which cover primarily the administrative and board functions, as well as fiscal records from 2000 to 2006. Within these files are annual directors meeting minutes, agendas, organizational structure models, by-laws and article of incorporation. Of note are board evaluation records of Andolan’s progress up until 2006, supplemented by the article of members and an outlined explanation of board roles. Contained within the organizational files are directories of members and community contacts organized in binders. The organization’s development files also hold fiscal records, which document operational expenses with invoices, annual budget outlines, and tax forms.

Organizational funding files on grant applications and grassroots fundraising measure 1.0 linear feet and span between 2000 and 2008. Within these files are grant contracts, interim progress reports, budget sheet narratives, fundraising plans, grant award correspondences and letters of intent. Together, these components of the grant application files reflect organizational history and progression, as well as detailed project descriptions.

Comprising of .75 linear feet, Andolan’s project files date from 2000 to 2007, documenting global and local initiatives. Important campaign files include the Domestic Violence Project, “No One Signs Up to be a Slave,” a campaign against Human Trafficking. Files of significant Andolan international initiatives include the International Human Rights Watch (2004) and the Women’s Rights Hearing, part of the United Nations Conference against Racism, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance (2001). Documentation of more creative projects includes drafts of “We are Andolan” song for street performances, transcripts of member’s testimonies and a script for a play based on true stories of Andolan members.

Publicity materials range from the years 1999 -2005, spotlighting Andolan’s larger advocacy programs, public events and legal case milestones. Flyers, brochures and press releases document community initiatives and collaborations with other non-profit organizations such as DESI, DRUM, AALDEF, CAAAV and Domestic Workers United to create projects such as the Free Women’s Clinic and educational workshops on self-defense. Some of these materials are bi-lingual, or are in Bengali. There are also collected newspaper clippings from local and national newspapers, including India Times, New York Times with articles on founder Gulnahar Alam, Andolan’s active role in the campaign against U.N. Diplomatic Immunity and worker exploitation in the restaurant lawsuits against Malabar Palace. In addition, there are collected original clippings of Andolan’s advertisements of their services in Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian newspapers.

Sources: Andolan – Organizing South Asian Workers.

Aliya Hussain, “Trouble at Home: Domestic Workers Speak Out Against Exploitation and Abuse,” April 10, 2010, accessed February 13, 2012. http://www.aclu.org/blog/human-rights-womens-rights/trouble-home-domestic-workers-speak-out-against-exploitation-and.

Jessica Shattuck “October Hellraiser: Nahar Alam, Fighting for the Rights of Domestic Workers,” http://motherjones.com/politics/1998/09/october-hellraiser. September/October 1998 Issue.

Andolan: Organizing South Asian Workers: “Revaluing ‘Women’s Work:’ Ending the Exploitation and Abuse of Domestic Workers.”

Total size: 6.0 linear feet
APA-related size: 6.0 linear feet
Location: Private residence

South Asian Womxn’s Creative Collective Records

APA Staff
Date Range: 1997 – 2009
Survey Conducted: Tue, 2009-11-10
Creator: South Asian Womxn’s Creative Collective

History: In 1997, Jaishri Abichandani founded the South Asian Womxn’s Creative Collective (formerly known as the South Asian Women’s Creative Collective) to foster a sense of community among South Asian womxn artists and creative professionals in New York City. Fourteen womxn, who were invited through community-based organizations such as Sakhi for South Asian Women and the South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association (SALGA), attended SAWCC’s first meeting in the offices of the Sister Fund. In March 1998, the collective held its first annual fundraiser and art show, “Karma Kollage,” which drew a crowd of over 300. Soon, SAWCC, the only New York–based South Asian arts organization at the time, began meeting monthly at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, providing a space for members to collaborate, network, share their work, and gain exposure.

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South Asian Journalists Association Records

APA Staff
Date Range: 1994 – 2010
Survey Conducted: Tue, 2010-02-09
Creator: South Asian Journalists Association

History: In the Spring of 1994, four South Asian journalists and friends met in a New York City restaurant and founded the South Asian Journalists Association—an organization committed to providing networking opportunities for journalists of South Asian descent and those with an interest in South Asia and its diaspora. Among them was Sreenath Sreenivasan, who at the time of this survey, served as Dean of Student Affairs and Professor of Professional Practice in the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University and whose office SAJA’s records resided. By 1995, the organization had 200 New York City-based members and was hosting monthly meetings. Members included correspondents, reporters, and editors for South Asia-based publications (e.g. Associated Press of Pakistan, India Today), ethnic media outlets based in the United States (e.g. India Abroad, Minaret), and mainstream news sources (e.g. Time, Wall Street Journal). Read more →

Serpent’s Tail/High Risk Records

APA Staff
Date Range: 1990 – 1997
Survey Conducted: Tue, 2009-10-06
Creator: Serpent’s Tail/High Risk Archive

History: High Risk Books was founded in New York City in 1993 by Ira Silverberg as an imprint of Serpent’s Tail Press in London. Dedicated to publishing challenging, innovative, and progressive literature, High Risk Books transcended the traditional boundaries of publishing to provoke and inspire a new generation of writers and readers. Ira Silverberg told The New York Times in a March 13, 1994 interview that he and his co-editor Amy Scholder wanted to “catch an area of the market that’s being overlooked by mainstream houses. We’re working with a lot of gay men, lesbians, and African Americans, because the voices of under served communities tend to shed more light on societal conditions than the voices of the people who have the franchise. That’s not to say we won’t publish straight white men.” While connected by a certain subversive impulse, authors as diverse as William Burroughs, Kathy Acker, June Jordan, Sapphire, Ameena Meer, Kenzaburo Oe and many others were published by High Risk.
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SALGA-NYC, Serving the Queer Desi Community Records

APA Staff
Date Range: 1995 – 2008
Survey Conducted: Fri, 2010-08-13
Creator: SALGA-NYC, Serving the Queer Desi Community Report

History: SALGA-NYC, Serving the Queer Desi Community is committed to combating all forms of oppression and discrimination. The all-volunteer non-profit organization promotes “awareness, tolerance, acceptance, empowerment and safe spaces for sexual minorities and people of all gender identities, who trace their heritage to South Asia or who identify as South Asian.” Its programming includes monthly support group meetings (open to people who identify as both queer and South Asian), workshops, a weekly hotline (supported by Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS, The Stonewall Foundation, and Trikone, San Francisco), and political, cultural, and social events that are open to the general public. The recognitions that the organization has received include the 1995 Community Service Award from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Read more →

SAKHI for South Asian Women Records

APA Staff
Date Range: 1990 – 2009
Survey Conducted: Tue, 2010-04-20
Creator: SAKHI for South Asian Women

History: SAKHI for South Asian Women is a New York City-based not-for-profit dedicated to ending domestic violence against women. Founded in 1989 by a group of five South Asian women from diverse professional backgrounds, SAKHI, meaning “woman friend,” provides culturally-sensitive and language-specific support to survivors of domestic violence. The organization works to mobilize the South Asian community to actively engage in the movement to end violence against women, challenging the silence surrounding domestic abuse within the community. Their work with survivors includes crisis intervention, monthly support groups, assistance in accessing free or low-cost legal representation, health services, public benefits and housing, and accompaniments and translation assistance in court, during health care visits, and at welfare agencies. Their Economic Empowerment Program assists survivors on their paths to self-sufficiency, providing classes and workshops on basic computer literacy, English communication, resume writing, and internet job-searching. Their Swarna Chalasani Economic empowerment fund provides small grants to qualified survivors to pursue career and educational opportunities. Read more →

NYPD Desi Society Records

APA Staff
Date Range: 2006 – 2010
Survey Conducted: Fri, 2010-10-15
Creator: NYPD Desi Society

History: The NYPD Desi Society, the first South Asian American fraternal law enforcement organization in the United States, was formed at the gathering of about seventy South Asian American NYPD Police Officers on January 20, 2004. The organization was incorporated on November 4, 2004 to help improve mutual understanding between the NYPD and South Asian communities, increase the number of South Asian American officers in the NYPD, support NYPD officers of South Asian descent, and promote ethnic and racial tolerance within the NYPD. In 2006, the NYPD recognized the organization, and in 2008 the NYPD Desi Society was admitted as a member organization of the Police Society. Read more →

New York Taxi Workers Alliance Records

APA Staff
NYTWA logoDate Range: 1998 – 2009
Survey Conducted: Thu, 2009-04-23
Creator: New York Taxi Workers Alliance

History: The New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) was founded in 1998 by members of the Lease Drivers Coalition (LDC), an advocacy project of the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence (CAAAV). The union fights for structural change in the taxi driving industry, ranked by the Department of Labor as the most dangerous job in the country, and supports individual drivers through comprehensive services and advocacy efforts for economic justice, safety and health rights.

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Robert Lee and Eleanor Yung Papers, Asian American Arts Centre Collection

APA Staff
Date Range: 1968 – 2001
Survey Conducted: Tue, 2011-01-25
Creator: Lee, Robert (b.1944) and Yung, Eleanor (b.1946); Asian American Arts Centre

History: Partners Robert Lee, an author and curator, and Eleanor Yung, a choreographer and acupuncturist, were both involved in establishing the Asian American Arts Centre (AAAC). In addition to the AAAC, Lee and Yung have held leadership roles in national and New York City-based Asian American cultural and political organizations, dedicating their careers to supporting Asian American artists and their work. Read more →

Indo-American Arts Council Records

APA Staff
Date Range: 1998 – 2010
Survey Conducted: Tue, 2010-02-02
Creator: Indo-American Arts Council

History: The Indo-American Arts Council is a not-for-profit resource arts organization that provides platforms for artists, filmmakers, dancers, and writers of Indian origin to showcase their work to audiences across the United States. Through arts-based events, programming, and festivals, the organization works to support the creation and dissemination of work by Indian artists from around the world. Read more →