Alex Tom

Alex Tom

Alex T. Tom is a second generation Chinese American born and raised in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Alex got politicized in high school youth programs in the Bay Area and spent nearly a decade organizing youth and college students in San Diego and the U.S./Mexico Border Region. He is the former Executive Director of the Chinese Progressive Association (San Francisco), and has played a leadership role in building CPA’s service, organizing, and civic engagement programs. Before becoming Executive Director, Alex served as the Campaign Coordinator where he built the CPA Worker Organizing Center and led campaigns to organize workers in the garment and restaurant industries, winning over a million dollars in back wages.

Alex has also played a key role in local and national movement building. On a local level, Alex serves on the Leadership Committee of the San Francisco Rising Alliance, a nine-member grassroots multiracial electoral movement building alliance. He serves on the Board of Directors of the School of Unity and Liberation (SOUL) and is on the Coordinating Committee of Grassroots APIs Risings, a new national initiative for grassroots AAPI organizations. Last summer, CPA launched Seeding Change: A Center for Asian American Movement Building, CPA's national project that includes building a national pipeline for the next generation of organizers; creating an infrastructure for grassroots organizing; and building power and scale for our movements toward a vibrant social and economic justice movement.

Currently, he is the Executive Director of the Center for Empowered Politics, a new capacity-building project that aims to train and develop new leaders of color and grow movement infrastructure. Last year, Alex received the OSF Racial Justice Fellowship to develop a toolkit to counter the rise of the new Chinese Right Wing in the U.S.

He is the partner of Mychi Nguyen.

Education

Alex Tom has a BA in Political Science and Ethnic studies with a minor in Education from the University of California, San Diego. Graduated in early 2000s.

Co-founders

Chinese American Progressive Action co-founders were Janelle Wong, Chang Chiu, Alex Tom.

Seed the Vote

In 2020 Alex Tom of the Center for Empowered Politics was a supporter of Seed the Vote.

Alex Tom and Alicia Garza

Alex Tom and Alicia Garza.

Student radical

Asian American Racial Justice Toolkit

This toolkit is a project of love from the grassroots, from and by Asian American communities.

As Asian Americans, we believe that our liberation is tied to Black liberation and we continue to dream about a world where all of our people will be free. The toolkit would not have been possible without the following organizations and individuals:

Project Coordinators

• Lucia Lin and Timmy Lu

Writing Consultants

• Janelle Ishida and Soya Jung

We thank Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, Rosenberg Foundation, Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, The California Endowment, The California Wellness Foundation, Unbound Philanthropy for their generous support of this project.

Special thanks to the Friends Doing Good giving circle, National CAPACD and Cathy Cha.

Thank you to the following racial justice organizers and fighters at the grassroots who have made this toolkit possible:

Alex T. Tom, Aiden Pham, Alvina Wong, Ashley Uyeda, Cathy Dang, Chhaya Chhoum, Christopher Cara, Dae Joong Yoon, Fahd Ahmed, InHe Choi, Joshua Fisher Lee, Kabzuag Vaj, Khamarin Nhann, Lai Wa Wu, Lillian Galedo, Mia-lia Kiernan, Minh Thanh Nguyen, Nancy Dung Nguyen, Naved Husain, Rachel Aceberos, Rishi Singh, Sarath Suong, Steven Dy, Naroen Chhin, Sandy Saeteurn.

US and China relations

This sixth installment of the Friday Night Forums series CPE hosted in collaboration with The Red Nation and Arab Resource and Organizing Center examines the dynamics of US and China relations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The webinar features presentations by Kevin Li Qiao Collective, Amanda Yee, and Alex Tom and is moderated by Hassan Muhammad - a member of The Red Nation.

Streamed live on May 22, 2020.

Open Letter to the Biden Campaign on “Unprepared”

Open Letter to the Biden Campaign on “Unprepared” was released May 12 2020.

":Our demands: The country’s greatest priority at this moment is to beat the COVID-19 crisis, and this requires embracing principles of antiracist solidarity and international cooperation. The Biden campaign can and should beat Trump and the GOP with a message centered on our real public health needs and the progressive values that are required to meet those needs. The “Unprepared” ad must be taken down, and all campaign messaging that fuels anti-Asian racism and China-bashing must end. We refuse to allow the Biden campaign to sacrifice our dignity in the name of political expediency."

Signatories included Alex Tom, Center for Empowered Politics.

San Francisco CPP friends

Rose Pak, Pam Tau Lee, Alex Tom.

Lui Cheng 2007 American tour

The American Center for International Labor Solidarity and the National Labor College recently hosted Professor Liu Cheng for Shanghai Normal University to discuss the evolution of the new draft contract labor law in China. Cheng’s visit to the NLC on March 27th was the culmination of a multi-state tour meeting with union leaders and members of Congress.

For the report by Global Labor Strategies analyzing the impact of transnational corporations on the first draft of the Contract Law go to: UNDUE INFLUENCE: Corporation Gain Ground in Battle Over Chinas New Labor Law

Liu Cheng's tour included nearly 45 events over 17 days, in the Bay Area, Boston, Amherst, New York and Washington DC. A partial list of the many sponsoring organizations, and their key contact, includes:

• Chinese Progressive Association (San Francisco), - Alex Tom

China Education and Exposure Program

In 2012, Alex Tom , along with other Asian activists and organizers, formed the China Education and Exposure Program (CEEP) to build a deeper analysis of China for US progressives and leftists and to build relationships with the grassroots movement in China.

Support City College of San Francisco

Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), July 31, 2012.

Chinese for Affirmative Action joins several community leaders to support City College of San Francisco during these tough budget times for our public education system. Supervisors Eric Mar and David Chiu introduced a supportive resolution at 2pm today to the BOS. — with Alex T. Tom, Henry Der, Eric Mar, Vincent Pan, and David Chiu.

Eric Mar supporters

Eric Mar April 21, 2012.

With Raymond Fong, Chris Jackson, Myrna Melgar, Gabriel Haaland, Michael Tong, David Campos, John Avalos, Amy Bacharach, Ken Wang, Conny Ford, Robynn Takayama, Jane Kim, John Rizzo, Chris Gembinski, Steve Ngo, Evan Brown, Pam Tau Lee, Jeff Adachi, Rafael Mandelman, Wendolyn Aragon, Nicole Derse, Hene Kelly, Alex T. Tom, Sasha Cuttler, Myron Lee, Richard Rothman, Shaw San Liu, Jen Kwart, Mike Alonso, Nick Pagoulatos, Leah Taylor Pimentel, Alex Walker, Viva Mogi, Yvonne Liu, Linshao Chin, Dan Nguyen-Tan, Wyatt Lim-Tepper and Kelly Welsh Dwyer.

Asian Americans and the New Racial Justice Movement

Join Asian American and African American leaders, thinkers, and organizers in a conversation focused on the current Civil Rights crisis; placing #BlackLivesMatter within historic context, and articulating connections between the experience of Asian Americans and African Americans in the United States. Moderated by journalist William Gee Wong; panelists include Alex Tom, Executive Director, Chinese Progressive Association (San Francisco); Nadia Khastagir, Design Action Collective & Asian Americans for Black Lives; Jeff Adachi, San Francisco Public Defender’s Office; and, Karissa Lewis, #BlackLivesMatter.

Left Forum 2013

Panel Title: From Chinatown to China - Building Grassroots Solidarity through Organizing

Moderator: Helena Wong: CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities

Speakers/Co-Facilitators:

• Ellen David Friedman: Has just completed her 7th year as a Visiting Scholar at the International Center for Joint Labor Research at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, where she teaches labor studies and is active in various levels of the labor movement.
• Esther Wang Texas-born writer and organizer based in New York City, currently living on the opposite side of the world in Beijing. Most recently, she was a community organizer with CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities, working with Chinese immigrants around issues of housing justice, displacement, and accountable development. Her writing has been published in Left Turn magazine, Racialicious.com, and the Austin American-Statesman.
• Alex Tom: Chinese Progressive Association (San Francisco).

California comrades

Nat Anderson-Lippert with Calvin Cheung-Miaw, Kayan Cheung-Miaw, Emily Ja-ming Lee, Linda Lee, Melanie Ann Tom, Owen Li, Timmy Lu and Alex T. Tom, August 20, 2013.

Ear to the Ground Project

Ear to the Ground Project;

We would like to express our deep respect and appreciation for everyone who took the time to talk with us, and the organizations that generously hosted us during our travels. Interviews were confidential, but the following people have agreed to have their names listed for this publication:

Most of those listed were connected to Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Alex Tom was among those on the list.

Oakland Rising 5 year birthday party

June 2013 Oakland Rising poster; ·

Our 5 year birthday party is just 10 days away! Do you have your ticket yet? — with Richard Raya, Nikki Fortunato Bas, Pamela Drake, Jahmese Kathleen Myres, Michael Riemenschneider, Andy Katz, Mimi Ho, Igor Tregub, Andy Kelley, Steven Pitts, Melanie Cervantes, Nicole Derse, Lailan Sandra Huen, Kim Carter Martinez, Nwamaka Agbo, Brooke Anderson, Mary Thomas, Kate O'Hara, Timmy Lu, Peggy Moore, Dani McClain, EO Okiwelu, Lanese Martin, Marc Philpart, Rebecca Saltzman, Alex T. Tom, Jose A. Dorado, Rachel Richman, Tonya Love, Sheryl Walton, Andrea Lee, Aimee Allison, Sharon Rose, Rebecca Kaplan, Esperanza Tervalon-Daumont|Esperanza Tervalon-Garrett, Cole B. Cole, Jessamyn Sabbag, Malcolm Amado Uno, Phil Hutchings, Michelle Matos and Maria Poblet.

Mapping Socialist Strategies

Mapping Socialist Strategies was convened from August 1-4 in Briarcliff Manor, NY, by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung—New York Office. It brang together 100 influential progressives and leftists from across the United States, Canada, and Europe for an “un-conference” on socialist strategies.

Attendees included Alex Tom.

Nation article

Alex Tom is the executive director of the Chinese Progressive Association (San Francisco) and Seeding Change: Center for Asian American Movement Building. Alix Mariko Webb is the executive director of Asian Americans United, Philadelphia.

Together they wrote an article for The Nation "Chinese Americans Want NYPD Officer Peter Liang Held Accountable, Too". .

LeftRoots HangOut with Willie Baptist

Please join LeftRoots Friday August 15th (2014) for our next HangOut with Willie Baptist about the importance of leadership, leadership development and understanding who the ruling class is and what their strategies are.

On May 1, 1990, the National Union of the Homeless (NUH) launched a nationally coordinated campaign taking over federally-owned houses in eight cities across the country. Willie Baptist, our guest on the next LeftRoots HangOut, was one of the organizers of the NUH.

Founded in 1985 by formerly homeless people, the Union was on the move in the late 1980s. At its height, the Homeless Union counted on 25 chapters with as many as 15,000 members. Then, through a combination of drugs, prison-sentencing and co-optation, the ruling class mounted a concerted effort to break the Union. The organization dissolved by 1993.

Willie Baptist is one of the best examples of a movement intellectual. Willie is a formerly homeless father who came out of the Watts Uprisings, the Black Student Movement and has been an organizer with the United Steelworkers as well as the National Union of the Homeless and the Kensington Welfare Rights Union. Today, Willie is the Scholar-in-Residence with the Poverty Initiative.

The LeftRoots CC: Alex Tom, Alicia Garza, Cinthya Munoz, Josh Warren-White, Maria Poblet, N’Tanya Lee, Steve Williams and Timmy Lu.

Key Bay Area comrades

Chelsea Boilard February 9 2014 :

with Alex Tom, Mario Yedidia, Nikki Fortunato Bas, Esperanza Tervalon-Garrett, N'Tanya Lee, Jessamyn Sabbag.

LeftRoots leaders

The LeftRoots Coordinating Committee, August 2014;

Subject: Celebrate LeftRoots 1st Anniversary! Become a LeftRoots Compa! /Celebrar el Primer Aniversario de LeftRoots!

Alicia Garza, Maria Poblet, Timmy Lu, Josh Warren-White, Alex Tom, Cinthya Munoz, Steve Williams, N'Tanya Lee.

Pro-China comrades

Eric Mar, Alex Tom, Rev. Norman Fong, Jiro B. Yamamoto, Don Misumi, Gen Fujioka, Ken Tray, Michael Wong.

Comrades

Chelsea Boilard June 12, 2016 ·

Fun times in The Town. — with Emily Ja-ming Lee, Lucia Lin, Linshao Chin, Alex Tom, Ellen Love and Timmy Lu.

Mario Yedidia event

Chelsea Boilard March 18, 2016 ·

With With Vanessa Moses, Mario Yedidia and Alex Tom, Antonio Diaz.

Celebrating Grace Lee Boggs

Brooke Anderson Photography: Stills of Our Stories & Struggles March 21,2016 ·

With Margo Okazawa-Rey, Phil Hutchings, Gwyn Kirk, Shirley Strong, Alex T. Tom, Lauren Liu, N'Tanya Lee, Nancy Vogl, Rob Yanagida, Linda Lee, Brenda Salgado, Alice Kuang, Shea Howell, Ellen Choy, Tawana Petty, Roberto E. Vargas, Kweli Tutashinda, Michelle Puckett, Nobuko Miyamoto, Le Tim Ly, Star Hawk, Grace Lee and Invincible Ill Weaver.

Rockwood Leadership Institute

Alex Tom, Executive Director, Chinese Progressive Association (San Francisco), was a 2016 Rockwood Leadership Institute National Leading From the Inside Out Alum.

Dump Trump

DUMP TRUMP, DEFEAT RACISM AND MISOGYNY, BUILD THE LEFT was an open letter to the left from 47 grassroots organizers. October 17, 2016.

A lot of us see something really clearly, but few of us—radical and revolutionary organizers—are willing to say it out loud.

So we’re going to say it. Defeating Trump in the presidential election is a top priority for the left. And at a minimum, that means mobilizing voters for Hillary Clinton in swing states even if you vote for another candidate in a safe state. We’ve got to beat Trump and Trumpism while building movements that will fight, resist and disrupt a Clinton administration that will be militaristic and pro-corporate...

As we mentioned at the beginning, defeating Trump is not enough. We need movements strong enough to fight a Clinton administration on several fronts—whether Israel/Palestine, free trade agreements, climate change, a $15 minimum wage, or the prison-industrial complex. And neutralizing the appeal of the far right means we need to both strengthen our movements for racial justice and win over white workers to a progressive class politics as an alternative to Trump’s racist economic nationalism. Finally, we need to build a left that can help anchor a visionary alternative to corporate Democrats. It won’t be easy, but we’ve come this far. Let’s defend what we’ve got in this election, and keep our eye on collective liberation.

Signatories included Alex Tom, community organizer.

Revolutionary Strategies to Beat the Rising Right Wing

Revolutionary Strategies to Beat the Rising Right Wing, was a nationwide conference call organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Sunday October 30, 2016.

What's the nature of this right-wing threat? What has this election cycle changed about the political terrain we're fighting on? How do we need to prepare for whats coming after the election? Hear about these crucial questions from our panel of top political strategists, including Nelini Stamp, Bill Fletcher, Jr., Linda Burnham, and Sendolo Diaminah.

Those invited, on Facebook included Alex Tom.

Now What? Defying Trump and the Left's Way Forward

Now What? Defying Trump and the Left's Way Forward was a phone in webinar organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization in the wake of the 2016 election.

Now what? We’re all asking ourselves that question in the wake of Trump’s victory. We’ve got urgent strategizing and work to do, together. Join Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson of the Movement for Black Lives and Freedom Road, Calvin Cheung-Miaw, Jodeen Olguin-Taylor of Mijente and WFP, Joe Schwartz of the Democratic Socialists of America, and Sendolo Diaminah of Freedom Road for a discussion of what happened, and what we should be doing to build mass defiance. And above all, how do we build the Left in this, which we know is the only solution to the crises we face?

This event will take place Tuesday November 15, 2016 at 9pm Eastern/8pm Central/6pm Pacific.

Those expressing interest in attending, on Facebook included Alex Tom.

CPA 40th anniversary

On August 4th 2012 to celebrate Chinese Progressive Association (San Francisco)'s 40th Anniversary. CPA was proud to honor the National Guestworkers Alliance and New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice, the Free MUNI for Youth Coalition, and Jobs with Justice San Francisco.

Attendees included: Dee An, Alvina Wong, Linda Lee, Kevin Tang, Katie Li, Ken Wang, Calvin Miaw, Sophat Phea, Andy Kuang, Pam Tau Lee, Drake Nguyen, Annelisa Luong, Jia Hong Situ, Bob Wing, Mike Murase, Alex Tom, Kayan Cheung-Miaw, Heidi Hong, Scott Kurashige, Saket Soni, Kimi Lee, Stephanie Chan, Sophia Cheng, Vivian Yi Huang, Lung San Louie, Minh Nguyen, Don Misumi, Tammy Bang Luu, Alice Thx, Victor Yang, Anna Lei, Helena Wong, Mark Liu, Steve Lew, Timmy Lu, Ruodi Duan, Natalie Gee-McGilley, Xu Lin, Victoria Yee, Mabel Tsang, Lucia Lin, Stacy Kono.

Chinese Progressive Association (San Francisco), CA · at SF County Fair Building.

Sarah H. Tam, Joyce Lam, Linda Lee, Natalie Gee-McGilley, Jessie Yu, Katie Li, Shaw San Liu, Alex T. Tom, Emily Ja-ming Lee, Pam Tau Lee, Ken Wang, Le Tim Ly, Fei Yi Chen.

Alex Tom with Mychi Nguyen.