Honorees John Duval, Inseon Hwang, Rana Park, Mark Sanchez, and Waree Sunlee were each presented with the Distinguished Service Award, the Rockland County Legislature’s highest honor.
Each honoree is a member of the Asian American community, one of the fastest growing in the nation, with New York state home to more than 1.6 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI).
“As an Asian Indian, I can say that here in Rockland, we have long enjoyed vibrant AAPI communities,” Legislator Paul said. “But we must also acknowledge that these proud communities have often encountered racism and other forms of prejudice.”
Last year, Legislator Paul sponsored a local forum that included representatives of Gov. Hochul’s Administration to discuss the massive increase in hate incidents – both physical and verbal – toward the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and to identify possible solutions. In 2022, she sponsored a resolution calling for public schools to provide Asian American history and civic impact studies to elementary and high school students that was unanimously supported by the County Legislature.
Despite the many challenges Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have faced throughout history, they have continuously worked to overcome social, economic, educational, and cultural obstacles; to uproot harmful and painful stereotypes; and to seek their rightful place in daily American life.
“We acknowledge the struggles undertaken and the sacrifices made by members of these communities in order to build better futures and we join with them in celebrating their many successes,” Legislator Paul said.