Kumail Nanjiani, Kal Penn Lead #MyNameIs Campaign Against Republican Candidate David Perdue
The 2020 elections in Georgia aren’t over yet and the South Asian community has more to say, specifically to Republican candidate David Perdue with the #MyNameIs campaign.
During October, in the throes of the general election, Senator David Perdue deliberately mispronounced and mocked Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ name. This raised many eyebrows. Including members of the Asian community — particularly the South Asian community.
In response to Perdue’s disrespectful behavior, South Asians and allies rallied to launch the #MyNameIs campaign, which featured actors, media figures and politicians like Hari Kondabolu, Daniel Dae Kim, Ilhan Omar, Ken Jeong, Lea Thompson, Maya Harris and others sharing the origins of their names.
As Georgia’s US Senate runoff nears, Meena Harris and Brad Jenkins’ Phenomenal Productions and the Indian American Impact Fund (IMPACT) released a new video that is part of series of Georgia voting videos that bolster the #MyNameIs message, mobilize AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) voters and bolster the power of representation. The video features Kumail Nanjiani, Kal Penn, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Nik Dodani, Punam Patel, Aparna Nancherla, and AAPI organizers in Georgia. The video is encouraging voter turnout in Georgia for Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
The video highlights the importance of mobilizing the 100k+ eligible South Asian American voters in Georgia — who have emerged as a powerful and crucial voting bloc — ahead of the highly consequential US Senate runoff elections in the state.
“South Asian Americans helped build this country even though at times we’ve been pushed aside and put down or made into a punchline,” Nanjiani says at the top of the video. “In 2020, when our leaders insulted and disrespected us, they know exactly what they’re doing. And so do we.”
“Back in the day, I started going by Kal Penn to help get a job. And I’m happy to give Senator David Perdue some tips on finding a new one of his own,” Penn says in the video.
