Pacific Islanders included in Illinois definition of "under-represented minority"

We've written extensively about the decades of data on the underrepresentation of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.  But until I read this article in the Daily Eastern News, I didn't know that Illinois state laws also recognize Pacific Islanders as an underrepresented group.  

According to the article, the following groups are included as "minorities" and "under-represented minorities" in laws like the Illinois Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois Act, and the Business Enterprise for Minorities, Females and Persons with Disabilities Act: 

American Indian or Alaskan native, Asian, black or African-American, Hispanic or Latino, and Pacific Islander.

Given our focus on increasing Pacific Islander access to underrepresented minority programs, we were pleased to hear about this.

I was interested in reading the laws and sharing that info with our readers, as we often try to do for posts that mention public policy. (Blame it on my post-college years as a Congressional aide.) For those who want to see the Illinois state law that includes Pacific Islanders in the definition of underrepresented, here it is: link

Mahalo to the state of Illinois for passing laws that reflect the reality of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander underrepresentation.

Kawika 

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For those interested, here is a cut and paste of the law that defines underrepresented to include Pacific Islanders:

    (30 ILCS 577/35-5) 
    Sec. 35-5. Definitions. For the purposes of this Article:
    "Under-represented minority" means a person who is any of the following:
        (1) American Indian or Alaska Native (a person having

origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America, including Central America, and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment).

(2) Asian (a person having origins in any of the

original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, but not limited to, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam).

(3) Black or African American (a person having

origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa). Terms such as "Haitian" or "Negro" can be used in addition to "Black or African American".

(4) Hispanic or Latino (a person of Cuban, Mexican,

Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race).

(5) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (a

person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands).

Additional Underrepresented Minority Scholarship for Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander medical students

This month we've made news about National Medical Fellowships Inc's decision to open its underrepresented minority scholarships to Pacific Islanders after hearing from the Pacfic Islander Access project. For the students and parents who were excited about those scholarships, we'd like to call your attention to another medical studies scholarship that's open to Pacific Islander students, offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee Community Trust, along with the Memphis Chapter of the National Association of Health Service Executives: link

Like National Medical Fellowships Inc, this scholarship is for underrepresented minorities, and it recognizes that Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders are underrepresented. 

Kawika   

Pacific Islander America: Pacific Islanders underrepresented among medical doctors in Hawaii

Last week we shared the great news that National Medical Fellowships Inc is opening up both of its underrepresented minority scholarships to Pacific Islanders, after hearing from the Pacific Islander Access project. Just days later, I found this article while surfing a news site based in my home state.

The data point in the article: in the State of Hawaii, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders make up roughly 25 percent of the state population, but comprise only 4 percent of the state's physicians. In other words, Pacific Islanders are represented in the state's physician profession at a rate over six time lower than their overall population rate.

This mirrors data we shared with National Medical Fellowships Inc regarding the national underrepresentation of Pacific Islanders in medical professions, especially physicians.

Mahalo again to National Medical Fellowships Inc for making the right choice!


Kawika