Lynda Edwards reports in the Times Union that the Albany chapters of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs and the NAACP are now working together to fight systemic racism. In July the Asian American group donated 10,000 masks to the Albany chapter of the NAACP and Centro Civico to help low income essential workers and community groups slow the spread of coronavirus. Now the groups are working on voter registration drives. “It’s become clear we need a political presence and we need to unite with other people of color,” APAPA president HP Wang said. NAACP Albany chapter president Debora Brown-Johnson said the collaboration should help both groups. “People of color sometimes believe in stereotypes about each other that were created by the oppressor to keep them divided,” Brown-Johnson said. “We need to have conversations about race, even if they’re uncomfortable at first.” Wang agrees. “There’s an entire racist system that evolved from slavery that suppresses Black Americans,” he said. “But Black and Asian Americans will find some experiences of racism that are similar.” This week there are many protests scheduled locally on a variety of topics. On Aug. 17 in Glens Falls, demonstrators at 3:30 p.m. at City Hall hope to lessen the Glens Falls Police Department budget. On Aug. 19, there are weekly Black Lives Matters protests in Ghent, Chatham, and Kingston. On Aug. 20, protesters meet at 4 p.m. at the Columbia County Jail in Hudson. And on Aug. 22 in Monroe there is a protest to stop human trafficking. Also on Aug. 22, there are demonstrations planned at post offices around the country at 11 a.m. to protest the slowing of mail service, and destruction of mail sorting machines reported this week.