Include Southeast Asian American ethnic studies in school curricula

Six people wear traditional attire adorned with flowers

Learning about the histories, culture, and experiences of our diverse communities, including SEAAs, benefits all students.

Key resources:

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“I’m constantly telling people about our history, or some of the struggles we are going through, because they don’t get to learn about it. [Teachers] don’t teach it in school. I have to educate people about us, and that’s hard.”

From our “Can You See Me” report

“Next year, it will be 50 years since our Hmong families left their homeland to escape war and come to America, and yet many people still don’t know why we are here and who we are.”

AAPI Coalition of Wisconsin

“Recognizing the Laotian refugee experience in our schools not only provides Southeast Asian American youth with the visibility, acknowledgment, and celebration they deserve but also enriches the education of all students by deepening their understanding around a subject that is historically overlooked.”

Laotian American National Alliance
Shania smiling.

“Ethnic studies is particularly important for Asian Americans because the racialization of Asian Americans is deeply haunted by American and European military intervention and imperialism in Asia and the foundations of settler-colonialism and anti-Blackness in the United States.”

SEARAC intern
People pose, some jumping in the area, around a sign saying Made By Refugees

People Power in Action

Post-its and handwritten messages on a posterboard labeled with the year 1975

Increase federal funding for Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions

These colleges and universities are essential for increasing higher education access and success to low-income, first generation Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander students, including SEAAs.

Increase federal funding to support SEAA students’ success

SEAAs’ refugee history, their invisibility in education data and policy, and systemic racism create barriers to our students’ educational success. Our government must address the disparities that SEAA students experience and invest in their futures.

SEARAC is excited to announce that Between Us, an episode from the Southeast Asian American Journeys docuseries produced by Quyên Nguyen-Le in association with SEARAC and the CAAMFest, will be screened at the 22nd International Queer Women of Color Film Festival on June 14. Between Us follows the multilayered stories of queer Khmer and Vietnamese cultural workers in southern California as they contemplate the in-betweenness of belonging, healing, and carving out spaces of their own.

Learn more and RSVP here: https://qwocmap.org/films/festival/between-us/ or at the link in our bio!

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Join us tomorrow for SEARAC's final installment of our “Rising Up” webinar series at 2:30 pm - 3 pm ET, when we will discuss findings and recommendations for improving SEAAs' participation in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. 

CTE programs can offer a low-cost pathway toward high-demand careers by combining classroom education with hands-on training toward an industry credential.

 We'll also welcome research consultant Theresa Chen and Natalie Truong of @advancingjustice_aajc Link to sign up in bio.

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For millions of Californians, Medi-Cal is a lifeline, especially those who are aging, low-income, live with disabilities, or have various immigration statuses. @CAgovernor is proposing to cut care for the members of our community who are struggling the most in his #CAbudget. Now is the time to get loud and fight back!

Help us make sure #CAleg hears our plea; share this post, make a call, and send a letter at the link in @healthaccessca bio!

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🚨Today, the California state Assembly PASSED AB 1537 by Asm. Bryan, the No Side Jobs for ICE Act!

As ICE tears families apart and terrorizes local communities, it’s also spending millions trying to recruit local law enforcement into its ranks. Despite the protections passed in CA, nothing in state law prevents local police and sheriffs from ‘moonlighting’ as deportation agents.

AB 1537 will CLOSE this loophole and bring urgently needed transparency. THANK You to Asm. Bryan (@isaacgbryan), the co-authors, all legislators who voted “aye,” and all of the community organizations that came out in support. Now, on to the Senate!

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