#civic-participation

#civic-participation

The order names a problem that anyone who has spent time in civic life recognizes. Too often, "community" is defined by the few who repeatedly show up or happen to be in the room. That is not because they care more, but because they have the time, flexibility, and familiarity with civic processes that many New Yorkers do not. When those voices are treated as synonymous with an entire district, our understanding of the public and consensus becomes distorted.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor raised the concern over whether Americans understand the difference between a king and a president at a New York Law School event Tuesday. At a Constitution and Citizenship Day Summit panel discussion aimed at fostering conversation about how to improve civic participation with the law school's dean and several other state and federal judges, Sotomayor asked the question without referencing either political party or President Donald Trump.

I think the visibility and the level that the increased participation of organizations in Asian Pacific Heritage Month activities is also an indication of the increasing voice of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in civic life.