Our Relay Race: A Compilation of Selected Articles and Speeches

Our Relay Race is a compilation of selected articles and speeches the author has written during the past ten years. 1986 to 1996 was a very significant decade for the Indian American community. It was during these few years that this community of over one million began to involve itself seriously and actively in the political life of the U.S. This book describes how a small but active ethnic community influenced the American ethic of fairness to win equal opportunities in public life. The author describes his involvement with public life beginning with the establishment and development of a small community organization (Indian American Forum for Political Education). He then assisted in the building of the influential Asian American Voters Coalition which attracted the attention of the White House and Congress. This led him to a subcabinet-level presidential appointment as a Commissioner on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under the administrations of Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton (1987-1993). This book will serve as a reference for the eight-million-strong Asian American community focusing on the Indian American experience, and as a guide for emerging ethnic American communities with origins from Europe, Africa and the Americas.