AAPI Inaugural Ball: Breaking Barriers
IMPACT will host the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s official Asian American inaugural ball. The event will honor and recognize President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, the first Indian American and Black American ever to be elected Vice President of the U.S., and will feature remarks from a wide array of AAPI political leaders, organizers, and artists.
IMPACT will also use the historic day to launch an Indian American recruiting and training program that will identify promising young political leaders who are interested in a career in public service. The initiative will be called the “First But Not the Last” program in a nod to Harris’ popular refrain that, while she may be the first woman, Indian American, and Black American to ever hold the office of the Vice President, she wouldn’t be the last.
The event will be hosted in partnership with RUN AAPI, a top Asian American voter outreach organization.
The event will feature remarks from OMB Director-designate Neera Tanden; Reps. Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal, Andy Kim, and Raja Krishnamoorthi; former Olympian Michelle Kwan; actors Kal Penn, John Cho, Kumail Nanjiani, and Chloe Bennet; and performances by Japanese Breakfast, Ari Afsar, and Raja Kumari.