Issue 46 • FEBRUARY 6, 2023
PRESENTED BY THE KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION
👋 Good morning, and welcome to The Yappie’s AAPI politics briefing — your guide to the policy news and activism affecting Asian Americans + Pacific Islanders. We might be out of your inboxes for a few weeks as our editor-in-chief Shawna Chen recovers from some health issues. But as always, s
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— Edited by Mary Yang
THE BIG STORY
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Sept. 12, 2021. Photo courtesy of Matt Johnson/Right Cheer via Flickr.
Scaled back African American studies pilot sparks backlash amid broader push for courses on race, history in schools
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The College Board has released a revised framework for its AP African American pilot course after receiving pushback from Florida’s Board of Education. Activists and scholars are speaking out against the decision to remove topics like Black Lives Matter and slavery reparations from the official curriculum, which could have implications for future efforts to expand curricula on race.
🎓 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
In January, Florida’s Department of Education said it would not approve the curriculum unless certain themes, including Black queer studies and intersectionality, were removed. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has repeatedly criticized the course, saying it “significantly lacks educational value.” DeSantis previously said he would ban the course from being taught in Florida schools.
Some of the major changes to the curriculum, which was officially released on Feb. 1, the first day of Black History Month, include cuts to teaching on the Black Lives Matter movement, LGBTQ studies, reparations, and mass incarceration, among others. Some districts, including schools in Florida, have already begun teaching versions of the course.
The College Board, the nonprofit that oversees AP coursework, has said that no states or districts have contributed input to the released framework.
Note: Since 1994, Florida has required that schools teach African American history, but the AP course would provide students a more in-depth curriculum and the chance to earn college credit.
🔎 At the same time, Florida has joined other states in moving toward mandating Asian American history in public schools. Florida state Rep. Susan Plasencia (R) introduced a bill last week that would require “history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to be included in specified instruction.” A similar bill has been introduced in the Florida State Senate.
Critics have said that Florida’s efforts to scale back a Black studies course as some lawmakers push to mandate Asian American history in schools could reinforce a tension that has historically been used to drive a wedge between Asian and Black Americans—comparing and pitting the two groups against one another.
If successful, Florida would join Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, which have all passed legislation mandating Asian American history in schools.
But remember: Two sister bills introduced last year that would have required AAPI history in schools failed in both the State House and Senate. DeSantis' attacks on AP African American Studies could indicate a future rejection of any requirement to teach Asian American history and other curriculum focused on race, a trend that could have profound implications.
🗣️ The impact: "Censoring out some of the most important issues we confront as a society also impedes the ability to understand the great extent to which entrenched racial disparities result from systemic barriers and not the presumed moral failings of subordinated racial and ethnic groups," Fordham University law professor Tanya K. Hernández told NBC’s Suzanne Gamboa.
— By
Katrina Pham
Additional writing by Mary Yang
A MESSAGE FROM THE KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION
As 2023 unfolds, those who work toward an economy that works for everyone share their enthusiasm, apprehensions, and projections as they consider what’s next.
AAPI NATION
The makeshift memorial outside Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park on Jan. 23, 2023. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
🚨 VIOLENCE IN ASIAN AMERICA
Less than a week after a gunman killed seven people,
including five Chinese and two Mexican immigrant workers, in Half Moon Bay, California, workers returned to the site, sparking criticism and raising concerns over the possibility of new traumas.
In her words: “They don’t want to go back to work, but they have to go back to work,” said Darlene Tenes, founder of Farmworker Caravan. “They have to [return] to survive,” Tenes told The Los Angeles Times.
Vigils honoring the 11 people who were killed by a gunman in Monterey Park last month were held across California. During one vigil in front of Monterey Park’s City Hall, people scattered large floral arrangements, wreaths, candles, balloons, and makeshift memorials across a small park, reports USA Today’s Tami Abdollah.
“This was a horrific act of violence, not only against our community, but our humanity,” City Treasurer Amy Lee told mourners. “I wish I had the words to comfort you, to make you feel safe. I wish I could tell you why. But we may never know.”
“Over and over, media reports of the California shootings called the suspects ‘Asian men of retirement age,’” Kalita writes, referring to the shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay last month.
“But retirement is a privilege, often one that bypasses Asian workers both at home and abroad. If your stay in America is connected to working in America, what even is retirement? Where is home? What is your worth?”
CATCH UP
🏆 NUMBER OF THE WEEK
11
That’s the number of Oscar nominations netted by the film Everything Everywhere All At Once, one of the ten films up for Best Picture in this year’s Academy Awards.
Michelle Yeoh is up for Best Actress for her role as Evelyn Wang, a Chinese immigrant mother who owns a laundromat with her husband, played by Ke Huy Quan, who nabbed a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis each received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Stephanie Hsu, Michelle Yeoh, and Ke Huy Quan in a scene from Everything Everywhere All at Once. Photo courtesy of A24.
Here's what else is happening across America...
More Asian Americans in New York are relocating to East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or “El Barrio,” in search of more affordable public housing, Bloomberg’s Amy Yee reports. But some Asian newcomers say they have experienced difficulty finding cultural-specific food.
“More social services are a good step, but it’s not enough for East Harlem’s neglected Asian community, " said Eva Chan, founder of the Upper Manhattan Asian Alliance, a group that supports the local Asian community. “There are just a few Chinese-speaking social workers at area nonprofits to serve thousands of Asian Americans.”
In East Harlem, 44.5% of residents are Hispanic, 30.3% are Black, 14.1% are white, and 8.39% are Asian, according to public data.
Some Asian New Yorkers are also concerned for safety, as anti-Asian violence has risen across the city. In 2021, Yao Pan Ma, a 61-year-old from China, was murdered while collecting cans in East Harlem, an attack that was later identified as a hate crime.
ICYMI: Four immigrant drivers of color are suing New York’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, chaired by Commissioner David Do, for routinely engaging in tactics that manufactured violations of a law barring non-yellow cab drivers from making airport pickups, reports Documented’s Amir Khafagy.
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— By
Preston Lieu
+
Rachel Lee
A MESSAGE FROM THE KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION
The Kauffman Foundation helps unlock opportunity for all so that people can achieve financial stability, upward mobility, and economic prosperity – regardless of race, gender, or geography.