Chloe Bennet Spearheads Campaign to Get More Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to Vote
By Ryan General
Actress Chloe Bennet is spearheading a campaign to get more Asian Americans to vote in the 2020 election.
Rock the vote: The “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” star, a known advocate for better Asian American representation in media, has joined producer Brad Jenkins (Funny or Die) in enlisting help from personalities to increase voter turnout, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
- Bennet and Jenkins, who launched the RUN AAPI (aka Represent Us Now) in 2017, have started the campaign called #TheNew.
- “We need to rebrand what it means to be Asian-American. We need to make sure we instill pride in our community,” Bennet was quoted as saying. “You might not be represented yet but look at what we’re doing so far. Let’s bring it all together to bring pride in our community.”
- #TheNew has so far gained support from renowned celebrities from the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.
- Actors John Cho, Steven Yeun, Lana Condor, filmmakers Taika Waititi (“Thor: Ragnarok”) and Lulu Wang (“The Farewell”), as well as many others, have expressed support for the campaign.
How it started: The idea to involve the AAPI communities came to Bennet and Jenkins after attending a panel shortly following the 2016 election.
- “It was a very sad panel. It was supposed to be this celebration of the Asian-American experience, and it essentially ended up like a wake,” Jenkins shared.
- He recalled how it was made apparent that many Asian Americans did not show up at the polls.
- “The Asian-American community is so vibrant and powerful and creative and we weren’t seeing it,” he shared.
- According to Bennet, it is crucial for the communities to get involved as it has become “a bigger culture issue.”
- “The lack of pride in our community comes from generations not seeing ourselves on screen, not seeing ourselves in politics, not seeing ourselves represented. When you see yourself, you are inspired,” she added.
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