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.

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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.

Nyob Zoo Xyoo Tshiab! Happy Hmong New Year! To our Hmong and Southeast Asian community celebrating, SEARAC wishes you a safe and joyful new year celebration. We are welcoming the future with hope and positivity!

SEARAC's offices will be closed for the upcoming holidays and will reopen Dec. 2.

Photo courtesy of KaYing Yang.

Nyob Zoo Xyoo Tshiab! Happy Hmong New Year! To our Hmong and Southeast Asian community celebrating, SEARAC wishes you a safe and joyful new year celebration. We are welcoming the future with hope and positivity!

SEARAC`s offices will be closed for the upcoming holidays and will reopen Dec. 2.

Photo courtesy of KaYing Yang.