APA Spotlight is a weekly interview of Asian Pacific Islander Americans (APIA) community leaders. It is a spotlight on individuals who have dedicated their careers to issues surrounding the APIA community with the goal of bringing much deserved recognition to their work and cause(s).
Stewart Kwoh is the President and Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California (APALC). Under Kwoh’s leadership, the APALC has become the largest and most diverse legal assistance and civil rights organization targeting Asian Pacific American in the United States. He is also Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), which was co-founded by APALC in 1991. AAJC is the country’s first national pan Asian civil rights organization.
Stewart Kwoh earned his Bachelor of Arts at UCLA and his Juris Doctorate degree from the UCLA Law School. He was a grader for the California State Bar Exam and has been President of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association. He is also an instructor at UCLA for “Asian Americans and the Law.”
Having grown up in Los Angeles, Stewart Kwoh has actively pursued interests in a wide range of community issues. He is a board member of numerous community organizations. He has been a steering committee member of the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), and President of the UCLA Asian Pacific Alumni Association. He served as an appointed board member of the city of Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission. Stewart Kwoh has been a board member of the El Pueblo Historical Monument Authority Commissioners, which governs the area known as the birthplace of Los Angeles. He was also on the executive committee of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning council, which is a coalition of 50 human service programs.
Stewart is very active with foundations, other philanthropic organizations, and nonprofit organization. He has been Chair of the Board of Directors (2000-2002) of The California Endowment, which is the largest health foundation in California. He is one of the first Asian Americans to chair the board of a large foundation in the U.S. He is a trustee of the Methodist Urban Foundation, California Consumer Protection Foundation, The California Endowment, The California Wellness Foundation, The Tang Family Foundation, and The Fannie Mae Foundation. He serves on the board of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles. Stewart serves on the boards of a public television station, KCET, and a public radio station, SCPR. Stewart also serves as chair of the 1010 Development Corporation which is a faith based nonprofit that has built affordable housing for low-income seniors and families. He is also involved in several educational reform organizations and is an active member of several corporate advisory panels.
After the Civil unrest in Los Angeles in 1992, Stewart Kwoh helped to initiate the Multicultural Collaborative, a committee of 11 minority organizations dedicated to develop a comprehensive plan for human relations improvement in Los Angeles. He also assisted the development of the joint dispute resolution program between the Martin Luther King Dispute Resolution Center and the Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center, a program that aimed to resolve interethnic conflicts by teaming African American, Korean American and other mediators. Finally, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center has partnered with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Central American Resource Center to develop the Leadership Development in Interethnic Relations (LDIR) program that has trained hundreds of participants in skills to improve human relations. The core of the program is a six month voluntary training and work experience format that brings 30 participants together at one time to go through the course and project.
Due to his extensive involvement, Stewart Kwoh has received Lawyer of the Year recognition by the California Lawyer magazine in 1998, and was named one of the top 100 most influential Asian Americans of the decade by A magazine in 1999. He has been recognized for his passion for justice by the California Community foundation and the Liberty Hill Foundation. He has been a recipient of various awards including: Mayor’s Award, L.A. City Human Relations Commission, 1996; Honorary Doctor of Law Degree at Williams College in 1996; President’s Award from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater L.A. and Martin Luther King Legacy Association (King Week Festival) in 1994; Faith and Freedom Award from the University Religious Conference at UCLA in 1993; CORO Public Affairs Award in 1993; Asian Pacific Heritage Month Award in 1993; ACLU Award in 1993; Professional Award from the L.A. County Human Relations Commission in 1992; and “The Individual” Award from the Public Counsel in 1991.
The mission of Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California is to advocate for civil rights, provide legal services and education and build coalitions to positively influence and impact Asian Pacific Americans and to create a more equitable and harmonious society.
What is the mission statement of your life?
My mission is to help achieve justice for all Americans, particularly people of color and Asian American and Pacific Islanders. I believe the United States should to live up to its ideals and principals.
How did you end up doing what you’re doing?
My parents were very community-minded Christians. My mother was an activist in entertainment, and founded East West Players in the basement of her church. My father also was very involved with the church.
I also was influenced by the civil rights movement and the fight for freedom by African Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans. A particular moment that stood out for me was when I was an undergraduate at UCLA. I was president of the Asian American Student Alliance when the U.S. troops invaded Cambodia in 1970. There were protests at UCLA, I helped bail some protesters out of jail. That was a transformative moment for me. I decided to apply for law school instead of medical school.
If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like
to see play the lead role as you?
Ken Watanabe
How can people find out more about your organization or get involved?
The Asian Pacific American Legal Center’s main office is in Los Angeles. Our phone number is (213) 977-7500. Our website is www.apalc.org, but we have a more active presence on Facebook: www.facebook.com/APALC.
If you had a crystal ball, what do you see for the future of the Asian Pacific Islander American community?
I see a community that will continue to grow in both population and political activism. About 15.5 percent of California’s population consists of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Nationally, we are at 5 percent.
The future of our community will depend on our ability to become more active and engaged AAPIs and to connect with other racial and ethnic groups. But we will still be confronted with discrimination. One wildcard will be what happens to U.S. and China relations, and how that will affect how all AAPIs are treated.
Bonus Question: What advice do you have for young professionals?
I’d say to them, ‘Follow your passion. Get involved in community groups.’ Hopefully they will become passionate about volunteering in their community.
Bonus Question: What are your comfort foods and what memories do you have associated with them?
I remember when I was young, my mother used to cook beef roast. It is still my favorite comfort food.
Bonus Question: What’s your guilty pleasure?
If I could, I wish fish every day. But my wife only allows me to keep a certain amount of fish in the freezer.
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