Empowering Marginalized Asian Communities - EMAC

06/18/2026

🔥 NEXT WEEK 🔥 Join us for good times and good food for a good cause! Get tix to our BBQ stick cook-off and deportation defense fundraiser now: www.tinyurl.com/emac-day-26

Also…‼️ EXCITING NEWS‼️

After careful consideration, we have made the call to roll out sliding scale options for tickets to increase accessibility to our event. While this might mean we may not hit our original fundraising goal, we want to make sure that our event can be attended by working families and individuals in Stockton who make up the core of our community. With that, we now have options to purchase tickets at the $20, $30, and $40 level in addition to the standard price of $50. We’ve also added a $75 deal for families of 4! Please purchase tickets at the level that works best for you. If you have the means, please purchase the standard ticket, or sponsor someone else in the community to attend who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it through the purchase of the solidarity ticket option. 🙏🏽🌊

Please spread the word and invite your people! See you next Saturday! 🥳😋

A special thank you to our event sponsors:
Asian Prisoner Support Committee
Bruce Hou
Councilmember Mario Enriquez
Faith In The Valley
New Breath Foundation
New Light Wellness
Nkauj Iab Yang
Pacific Legal Immigration
Veridian Collective

EMAC is hosting a BBQ stick competition as a fundraiser for our legal defense fund! Join us for a fun and flavorful community event.

06/16/2026

🌈 Happy Pride ✨ Art by on IG

We stand with our q***r and trans siblings in the fight for collective liberation. As Audre Lorde said, “There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.” Q***r and trans folks are impacted by immigration, Southeast Asian folks are q***r and trans, all of our working-class communities hold multiple lived experiences at the margins that make us targets of the criminal legal system. Together we are powerful and together we will win. Immigrant rights are human rights, trans rights are human rights, the people united will never be defeated!

06/16/2026

EMAC’s BBQ Cook-Off & Fundraiser is less than 2 weeks away! Get your tickets now: www.tinyurl.com/emac-day-26

🌟 BBQ Stick Cook-Off Spotlight 🌟

Introducing…Contestant Nolan and his team, Lucky777!

I’m Nolan Legaspi, been in Stockton since 2023 and I am representing Lucky 777 in Oakland. My grandma and family immigrated to Oakland in the 1970s where we’ve gathered for decades enjoying the California sun and using that prime time to barbecue. In 2013, my cousins opened up Lucky Three Seven off of Fruitvale Avenue in Oakland and have been a quintessential Filipino-American restaurant in the Bay Area for over 13 years.

In 2025, we lost our Auntie Cielito, who was the Matriarch of our restaurant and absolute genius in the kitchen. My father Noel, sister Nikki, and I are utilizing a recipe that’s been in the family for decades and we hope our Filipino Kapampangan roots ensure that you are fed. If it tastes good, definitely say this out loud: “Manyaman!”

We’re thrilled to have Lucky777 competing in our cookoff! Get a taste of what they’re serving on Saturday, June 27th 🙂 Get tickets now: www.tinyurl.com/emac-day-26

06/12/2026

🌟 BBQ Stick Cook-Off Spotlight: Introducing…Judge Nika! 🌟

Nika is the Co-Owner & Pastry Chef of Nika’s Mad Sweets, a Filipino, Asian, and Pacific Island-inspired bake shop in Stockton. She is a 2nd-generation Filipino-American, born and raised in San Diego and proud to call Stockton home since 2021. Nika is excited to serve as a BBQ Stick Judge and celebrate our community’s incredible food culture! Follow her on IG

We’re so excited to have Nika and her culinary experience on our judging panel! Come say hi on Saturday, June 27th 🙂 Get your tickets to our BBQ stick cook-off while they’re still available: www.tinyurl.com/emac-day-26

06/10/2026

We’re less than 3 weeks away! Don’t miss your chance to eat some delicious BBQ sticks while enjoying music, community, and fun activities 😋🎶❤️‍🔥🎊 Help us decide which BBQ stick reigns supreme!

What are you waiting for?! Get tickets now: www.tinyurl.com/emac-day-26

We also still have 2 slots open for contestants! Enter our BBQ stick cookoff for a chance to win up to $1,500! Register here by Friday 6/12: www.tinyurl.com/emac-cookoff-entry

06/05/2026

🎟️ ‼️GOOD FOOD AND GOOD TIMES FOR A GOOD CAUSE—TICKETS ARE NOW LIVE FOR OUR BBQ STICK COOK-OFF & FUNDRAISER‼️🎟️

EMAC is hosting a BBQ stick competition as a fundraiser for our critical work in advocating for immigrant rights and building power for a safer, thriving Southeast Asian community. Join us for a fun, family-friendly event where you can sample entries and help us decide which BBQ stick reigns supreme! Come support our organization while celebrating the cultural assets of our vibrant and diverse city through music, food, and connection. 🎶🍚👐🏼🌊💛 Tickets include BBQ stick tasting! Get tickets now: www.tinyurl.com/emac-day-26

❣️ Invite your friends and fam, spread the word ❣️

Interested in competing? More details including registration here: www.tinyurl.com/emac-cookoff-entry

06/04/2026

✨ COMMUNITY VICTORY ✨
Last month on May 20th, our community welcomed home a beloved community member released from ICE detention after an incredible outpouring of support, advocacy, and care.

While we are keeping their identity private for safety and healing, we want to celebrate this moment with everyone who stood beside them during an incredibly difficult time. This community member has been part of the EMAC family for years and is also an alumni of our Homies Circle cohort.

After time in detention, they are finally back home with their wife and children — surrounded by love, care, and community.

Thank you to everyone who wrote support letters, called elected officials, donated to legal defense efforts, checked in on loved ones, shared resources, and kept hope alive. Every action mattered.

Moments like this remind us that detention and deportation impact real families, real healing journeys, and entire communities. They also remind us that community defense is possible when we move together.

We celebrate this homecoming while continuing the fight for all families navigating detention, deportation, and separation.

No one gets free alone. ✊🏽💛

06/01/2026

🚨 URGENT ACTION ALERT 🚨
Today is the deadline to submit your public comment ahead of tomorrow’s San Joaquin County TRUTH Act Forum.

Our immigrant and refugee communities deserve transparency, accountability, and safety. Tomorrow, June 2, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office will report on its cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This annual public meeting is known as the TRUTH Act Forum.

When local law enforcement collaborates with ICE, families are separated, trust is broken, and community members become less likely to seek help or report harm. We deserve answers about how our Sheriff’s Office is working with ICE and what impact that cooperation is having on our communities.

📢 SUBMIT YOUR PUBLIC COMMENT BY 5:00 PM TODAY (JUNE 1)

🔗 Public Comment Form:
https://app.sjgov.org/public-comment/

When submitting:
📅 Date of Meeting: 06/02/2026
📝 Agenda Item: Scheduled Morning Item #3 – Sheriff’s Oral Report

Can’t submit online? Join us in person tomorrow:

📍 San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors
44 N. San Joaquin Street, 6th Floor
Stockton, CA

🕘 Tuesday, June 2 at 9:00 AM

Let’s show up, speak out, and demand accountability from the Sheriff’s Office.

✊🏽 Our voices matter. Our communities deserve answers.

05/22/2026

We’re still looking for cook-off contestants to enter our BBQ competition and fundraiser! Don’t miss this opportunity to win up to $1,500 while giving back to the community! Register by Friday, May 29th: www.tinyurl.com/emac-cookoff-entry

Please spread the word to all your friends and fam who are always serving the best BBQ at the cookout!

05/19/2026

Our immigrant and refugee communities deserve transparency, accountability, and safety. On June 2, 2026, the Sheriff’s Department is planning to share information about their cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This is also known as a TRUTH Act Forum.

When local law enforcement collaborates with ICE, it harms trust, separates families, and makes our communities less safe. This is why we need our community to show up, stay informed, and speak out.

Where and when
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING
Date/Time: Tuesday JUNE 2nd at 9:00 AM
Location: 44 North San Joaquin Street, 6th Floor, Stockton, CA

Join us in making public comments and demanding accountability from the Sheriff’s Office. Our voices matter. ✊🏽