Programs

In Recognition of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May 28, 2021

As Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month comes to a close, The Council of State Governments Justice Center unequivocally condemns the alarming spike in acts of bias, violence, and hate crimes toward people of Asian descent.

The organization Stop AAPI Hate has documented at least 3,795 hate incidents toward Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders since they began tracking last year. Racially motivated acts of intolerance are unacceptable and impede our progress as a nation.

The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Bill signed into law earlier this month by President Biden, with overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress, is an important first step. The CSG Justice Center will continue to support city, county, and state leaders across the U.S. working to address injustices wherever they exist.

All of us at the CSG Justice Center remain committed to advancing safety and justice for the AAPI community.

About the Author

Megan Quattlebaum

Director

As director of the CSG Justice Center, Megan Quattlebaum leads a staff of approximately 120 who work across an array of specialties that span the criminal justice continuum to develop research-driven strategies to increase public safety and strengthen communities. Before

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joining the organization, Megan most recently served as a research scholar in law and the program director of the Justice Collaboratory at the Yale Law School, where she taught as well as developed and oversaw research projects and led the organization’s work on behalf of the National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice. She was also the Senior Liman Fellow in Residence for the Arthur Liman Center for Public Interest Law and served as a lecturer in law at Columbia Law School. Additionally, she has served as a practicing criminal and civil defense attorney with Zuckerman Spaeder LLP in New York and an Arthur Liman Public Interest Fellow and attorney at the Neighborhood Legal Services Association in Pittsburgh. She also clerked for the Hon. Julio M. Fuentes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and her JD from the Yale Law School.