Mission and Values
"Low votes, that's the crux of the matter, because with not as much participation in the political process, there isn't as much attention to our needs"
- Greg Tanaka, Founder of 8by8
The issue
Founded by Palo Alto City Councilmember Greg Tanaka, 8by8 is a movement and campaign to stop Asian hate by increasing voter registration in Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, which have been historically underrepresented in elected office and have one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the nation.
In 2020, we saw an unprecedented 150% spike in anti-Asian hate crimes, a trend that is already continuing into 2021. This is both a national and a local problem: in the California Bay Area alone, there were over 700 such hate crimes during the pandemic, a rate of over 2 per day. We believe that the path to fixing this problem starts with closing the representation gap in Asian American communities; Asian American turnout rate has historically remained below 60%, and while Asian Americans make up 7% of the population, only 3% of Congress is AAPI.
photo credit: Jim Colton
Who we are
8by8 focuses on technology-driven solutions, tailored to the specific needs of our Asian American communities, to bridge the political participation gap among Asian Americans.
8by8 Challenge
A social and technology solution that creates positive, community-building incentivization to register to vote, rewarding users for advocating to their friends while driving traffic to local businesses.
8by8 Network
A community solution that fosters collaboration between our diverse Asian American activism groups, to support each other through cross-promotion and build joint initiatives.
Visit our partner 1 Thing Against Racism
The Solution
We know that closing the voter registration gap has to be a community effort, so we're asking everyone to join us in taking the 8by8 challenge and registering 8 of their friends, family, or coworkers to vote in 8 days. Our goal is to build civic participation and bring awareness to the struggles of AAPI citizens, while encouraging community involvement and investment. Towards this end, we're working with community, business, and tech leaders to create voter registration solutions that work.
8by8 is run by dedicated volunteers from the California Bay Area and across the nation. We are always looking for people who share our passion for the Stop Asian Hate movement and believe in the importance of voter registration. If you're interested to join us, please feel free to check out our "Join Us" page.
Our Core Values
Commitment to Political Participation
8by8 is committed to encouraging political participation at all levels, beginning with voter registration and political awareness. By developing technology-driven solutions we will harness the passion, creativity, and ingenuity of our community to make impactful social change. 8by8 also seeks to build community involvement through analogue efforts, such as virtual and in-person rallies, panels, and other events. To accomplish these goals, 8by8 prioritizes the building of consensus and relationships with other groups and stakeholders, pooling resources and launching joint ventures to amplify our impact.
Building the Next Gen AAPI Leaders
8by8 is dedicated to the mentorship and growth of our volunteers, as future leaders and change-makers in our AAPI communities. All volunteers will be encouraged to learn new, valuable skills in their area of choice, and work with industry mentors who will help prepare them for future success. Taking initiative is a central part of 8by8's work culture, thus a variety of micro-leadership opportunities are available to interested volunteers, as well as more significant leadership roles for any with the time and dedication to pursue them. Our goal is to prepare volunteers to pursue leadership opportunities later in life, whether that be in a political or professional capacity.
Open-Source Culture
8by8's work culture and ethic is built around transparency, accountability, and clear, measurable results. As such, materials will be made publicly available to the team whenever possible, and collaboration between teams will be strongly encouraged, both officially and unofficially. All volunteers will have clearly defined roles and obligations, and will participate in an active culture of accountability and responsibility. On a broader level, 8by8 will maintain defined, reasonable targets and goals, allowing both internal and external actors to easily measure our progress.