Hi all, 

I'm starting this petition to push our legislature to require our public school systems to teach Asian-American and Pacific-Islander history in Virginia. 

As an Asian-American myself, I have rarely seen the Asian American community represented in my history classes other than the occasional paragraph or discussing immigration. We never discussed the founding of prominent Asian-American communities, the fight for citizenship, or the resistance against discrimination. Our stories have constantly revolved around being "the immigrant" and never about our experience as Americans. 

Representation matters in education. And, it doesn't solely matter for just one group. It matters to everyone to see different groups with unique stories and experiences. Every Virginian student deserves to know their community's history and the stories of those that make our country great. By knowing each other's history and knowing why our country is the way it is, we can do the work of creating a better nation. 

I'm not asking for a separate class or a separate unit in the curriculum. I'm asking for Asian-American history to be more integrated into our existing curriculum and that students learn more about the Asian-American experience throughout history. When we discuss the Transcontinental Railroad and the Chinese laborers who worked on it, I ask that we explore where those laborers went after the construction, what type of communities they built, and their impact on our country today. When we raise our next generation with a more contextual understanding of how our country came to be, we would have a more empathetic group of people to help better their communities. 

To teach Asian-American history as United States history also sends a powerful message that Asian-Americans are just as American as anyone else. It would help dispel the damaging narrative of people with Asian heritage as "foreigners" rather than seeing them as fellow Americans with unique backgrounds. 

I need you to sign the petition to grab the attention of our lawmakers that we need Asian-American history that focuses on the economic, social, and political development of the community in the United States taught at our public schools from the elementary to the high school level within the existing curriculum. Illinois just proved to us that it's possible. Virginia can get it done too. 

Article on Illinois's law in requiring Asian-American history: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/illinois-becomes-first-state-require-teaching-asian-american-history-schools-n1273774 

Thumbnail photo from https://news.virginia.edu/content/race-so-different-asians-and-asian-americans-uvas-history