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.

TODAY IS THE DAY! Join SEARAC, CAAM, and community partners from across the country for our special virtual screening of our docuseries, Southeast Asian American Journeys. We will be sharing our five part docuseries, including our episode "Between Us" which follows LGBTQIA+ Khmer and Vietnamese cultural workers in southern California as they contemplate the in-betweenness of belonging, healing, and carving out spaces of their own. 

How to attend the virtual screening: 
Visit SEARAC's Facebook or Youtube channels (@SEARAC) at 4 pm ET/1pm PT. The full five part docuseries will be livestreamed and includes a Q&A and panel discussion!

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Our special virtual screening is 1 day away and we can't wait to share our award-winning documentary series with you. Southeast Asian American Journeys shines a powerful light on Southeast Asian American stories that are too often ignored in mainstream media. We hope that you join us in celebrating the remarkable experiences of our communities across the country, such as Hmong refugee farmers transforming local foodways in a diversified Minnesota. 

Join us tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 13 from 4-6 pm ET (1-3 pm PT) for this special event. RSVP at bit.ly/journeysrsvp and tune in live on Facebook and YouTube from anywhere in the country.

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Get these SEARAC gifts before they’re gone!

This is your last chance to get beautiful commemorative merchandise for the 50th anniversary of Southeast Asian refugee resettlement in the United States. These designs will be leaving the SEARAC store at the end of this year. Order now to receive your shipment by December 25th!

Browse the SEARAC store at searac.org/shop-searac-merch/

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We are just 4 DAYS AWAY from the national screening of our award-winning documentary series, @seaajourneys_doc. The docuseries bridges coasts and communities with the power of storytelling. With 2025 marking the 50th year of Southeast Asian refugee resettlement in the United States, SEARAC is proud to share these intergenerational stories, including the Montagnard community in North Carolina. 

This series was produced alongside award-winning filmmaker Quyên Nguyen-Le, and @caamedia. Register for the event here: seaapower.com/journeyslivestream

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