JANUARY 27, 2023 / 7-9 PM
HISTORIC GATHERING OF INFLUENTIAL INDIAN
AMERICANS AT MARRIOTT UNIONDALE
LONG ISLAND MARRIOTT, 101 JAMES DOOLITTLE BLVD,
UNIONDALE, NY 11553
ABOUT THE EVENT
The Indian American community is entering government like never before, achieving huge wins in the political arena. In 2020, New York State elected its first Indian American woman to state office Jenifer Rajkumar. The highest-ranking woman in U.S. government is Vice President Kamala Harris, who speaks often of her Indian heritage.
In every human society, it is of supreme importance to acknowledge and honor the cultural diversity among families belonging to various faiths and ethnicities. So, it is time that we acknowledge the more than 200,000 New Yorkers, belonging to Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain and other faiths, who celebrate Diwali – the Festival of Lights – every year.
Over the greater part of the last century and well into the current one, Indian Americans have been making significant contributions in various spheres of American life. Their impact has been felt in politics & economy, industry & commerce, arts & entertainment, science & technology, society & education and almost every other area imaginable. From food to yoga, engineers to cab drivers, the LGBT community to hip hop – the contributions made by Indian Americans have helped shaped U.S. over the years and continue to do so till this day.
It is amazing to know that though Indians make up about 1 percent of the country’s entire population, they comprise 8% of the founders of high-tech companies and one-third of technology startups in Silicon Valley! From Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai to Sunita Williams and Kalpana Chawla, from M Night Shyamalan and Mira Nair to Salman Rushdie and Jhumpa Lahiri, to Nobel laureates like Amartya Sen, Abhijeet Banerjee, and Har Gobind Khorana – the list is a long and illustrious one.
To be able to have Diwali declared as a holiday across every public school in New York will be a true mark of acknowledging the entire Indian American population which stands at over 4.4 million today. To take inspiration from Neil Armstrong’s famous words on the historic occasion of the moon landing, it might be a small step for us of New York, but a giant leap for every Indian American in every corner of this great land. It is pertinent to note in this regard that New York City has the highest Indian American population than any other city in the U.S., estimated at 246,454 as of 2017.
Just this year, the possibility of Diwali becoming a School Holiday in New York City Schools made international news. We are close to achieving this goal, whereby the largest school district in the nation will formally recognize Diwali and Diwali will truly become an American holiday.
State Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar, who holds the distinction of being the first South Asian-American woman to be elected to a state office in New York, has been tirelessly fighting to make Diwali a holiday for public schools across the State.
Now is the time for the Indian American community to make itself heard in the halls of power, and to foster the next generation of political leaders where we can become state-wide and national players in the United States.
On Friday, January 27th from 7pm to 9pm, Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar is hosting a historic gathering of influential Indian Americans at Marriott Uniondale, to raise money for one of the State’s most powerful political leaders—the honorable Speaker of the New York State Assembly Carl E. Heastie.
Please join us.
ABOUT CARL E. HEASTIE
Carl E. Heastie is the first African American to serve as Speaker of the New York State Assembly, elected by his Assembly colleagues on February 3, 2015. A lifelong advocate for worker’s rights, he served as chair of Assembly Labor Committee. He has been leading the Assembly Majority in efforts to uplift communities and believing in promoting a Families First Agenda that prioritizes investments in the health, safety, economic and social well-being of New York’s families. Carl was also successful in negotiating increases in unemployment insurance benefits, which had been stagnant since 1998. He was the prime sponsor of the Wage Theft Prevention Act which provided stiffer penalties for employers that steal wages from employees.
ABOUT JENIFER RAJKUMAR
Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar is a lawyer, professor, and prominent government leader with the unique distinction of being the first South Asian-American woman to be elected to a state office in New York. She is currently serving as an Assembly member for District 38 of New York.
A graduate from Stanford Law School and the University of Pennsylvania, Jenifer is nationally recognized chiefly for her legislative achievements in helping, serving, and empowering people – both in her own community and across the nation – achieve better living standards. Being a strong advocate for public safety, she has also been instrumental in introducing significant legislation to compensate victims of crime. She also passed a landmark bill establishing New York State’s first-ever Asian American & Pacific Island (AAPI) Commission.
As a long-term community activist, she plans to advance social justice and cultural reforms for all.
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