Monthly Featured Organizations & Programs

Each month, G.L.O.B.A.L. Justice features various advocacy organizations, justice programs, community events, and leaders that are making a significant impact on the pursuit of justice worldwide. Check out the Features for this month:

Featured advocacy Organization:

AAPI culture fest

Rooted in the dreams of immigrants and inspired by the promise of opportunity, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC (Advancing Justice | AAJC) advocates for an America in which all Americans can benefit equally from, and contribute to, the American dream. Our mission is to advance the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and to build and promote a fair and equitable society for all. Advancing Justice | AAJC is a national 501 (c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1991 in Washington, D.C.

Advancing Justice | AAJC is the voice for the Asian American community – the fastest-growing population in the U.S. – fighting for our civil rights through education, litigation, and public policy advocacy. We serve to empower our communities by bringing local and national constituencies together and ensuring Asian Americans are able to participate fully in our democracy.

Featured ArtS:

AAPI Culture fest

The AAPI Culture Fest serves to foster connection, dialogue, and celebration. Join as we unite to honor the stories, struggles, and triumphs of the AAPI community. Together, we will celebrate and honor our heritage, and embrace the diversity that truly defines us.

This year, AAPI Culture Fest is coming to the Civic Center NIGHT MARKET in partnership with the Civic Center Conservancy. At the Civic Center NIGHT MARKET x AAPI Culture Fest, everyone will still be able to explore cultural Community Hubs, performances, and a pop-up art auction.

When
Friday, May 16th, 2025
5 pm - 10 pm

Location
Civic Center Park
101 14th Ave, Denver, CO 80204

Featured Education Program:

Human Development and Family Studies B.S. at CSU Fort Collins

The Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) at Colorado State University focuses on understanding human growth, behavior, and relationships across the lifespan. This interdisciplinary program combines theory, research, and practical experience to prepare students for careers in human services, education, healthcare, counseling, and related fields. With options to specialize in areas such as early childhood development, prevention and intervention science, and leadership and advocacy, the HDFS degree equips graduates with the knowledge and skills to support individuals and families in diverse settings.

Featured Publication:

American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption by Gabrielle Glaser

During the Baby Boom in 1960s America, women were encouraged to stay home and raise large families, but sex and childbirth were taboo subjects. Premarital sex was common, but birth control was hard to get and abortion was illegal. In 1961, sixteen-year-old Margaret Erle fell in love and became pregnant. Her enraged family sent her to a maternity home, and after she gave birth, she wasn't even allowed her to hold her own son. Social workers threatened her with jail until she signed away her parental rights. Her son vanished, his whereabouts and new identity known only to an adoption agency that would never share the slightest detail about his fate.

Claiming to be acting in the best interests of all, the adoption business was founded on secrecy and lies. American Baby lays out how a lucrative and exploitative industry removed children from their birth mothers and placed them with hopeful families, fabricating stories about infants' origins and destinations, then closing the door firmly between the parties forever. Adoption agencies and other organizations that purported to help pregnant women struck unethical deals with doctors and researchers for pseudoscientific "assessments," and shamed millions of women into surrendering their children.

Gabrielle Glaser dramatically demonstrates the power of the expectations and institutions that Margaret faced. Margaret went on to marry and raise a large family with David's father, but she never stopped longing for and worrying about her firstborn. She didn't know he spent the first years of his life living just a few blocks away from her; as he grew, he wondered about where he came from and why he was given up. Their tale--one they share with millions of Americans--is one of loss, love, and the search for identity.

Adoption's closed records are being legally challenged in states nationwide. Open adoption is the rule today, but the identities of many who were adopted or who surrendered a child in the postwar decades are locked in sealed files. American Baby illuminates a dark time in our history and shows a path to reunion that can help heal the wounds inflicted by years of shame and secrecy.