American education is racist and fails to instruct students’ in multicultural history. Students are taught everything there is to know about white, Imperialist history and next to nothing on AAPI history. AAPI history is American history; students do not learn history without AAPI history. Within the entirety of my high school career, I counted only a single sentence within textbooks on Asian migrants’ efforts to build the transcontinental railroad. Transformative history, such as the Equal Protection Clause for AAPI’s established through Yick Wo v. Hopkins, are forgotten in time for AAPI students whose education is disadvantaged purely due to their minority identity.
As it stands, the Ohio K-12 public school model curriculum blatantly lacks vital and comprehensive information on minority history. As history curriculums in Ohio prioritize Eurocentric views and ideals, minority students are victimized because the curriculum standard believes that these students do not have a voice. Over the course of my education, as my identity was repeatedly deprived of any sort of recognition in lesson plans, I grew to loathe being Chinese. My feelings went as far as wanting to erase my Chinese name, 楚, to blend in with my white peers.
I found my voice on April 5th, 2022. In solidarity, I ventured to the Ohio Statehouse to lobby for S.B. 214 with Asian Services in Action (ASIA) during their Advocacy Day. Stepping into the legislator’s office was intimidating, but I found strength in bringing awareness to the pain created by a censored education for myself as an AAPI student.
For the first time in my life, I understood the value within my Chinese adoptee identity. What I had perceived as my downfall became an asset. Through the American aspects of my identity, I was able to connect with senators with whom I shared common culture. Through my Chinese appearance, I represented those for whom I was advocating.
Interpersonal connections, created through advocacy, educate and inspire others create change in their own communities. As the president and founder of Dear Asian Youth at Hudson High School, I led a testimony training workshop in support of S.B. 214, an AAPI curriculum bill introduced by Ohio state Senator Tina Maharath and Niraj Antani. My fight continued as I joined Asian Services in Action (ASIA Inc.) as their Advocacy Intern, where I networked with both local and nationwide AAPI organizers and elective officials both at the state and federal level on the importance of a fully inclusive and representative education. Over the last 2 years , I have been a key member of the H.B. 171: Educating for Ohio’s Future campaign, lobbying legislators to advocate for this bill and speaking at the campaign rally at the Ohio Statehouse. If passed, H.B. 171 will update the model curriculum and provide educators with the resources, flexibility, and support to educate their students on marginalized histories. I also serve as the Diversity Officer of the Ohio Democratic Party’s AAPI Caucus where I collaborate with Ohio legislators to advance community priorities and address the needs of Ohio AAPIs.
Advocacy is the means for change. Nationwide, K-12 curricula do not integrate AAPI history in American history. I will keep fighting for change until all students are not ashamed of their identities. Continuing to grow a network of informed citizens through advocacy will ensure an inclusive and representative education for America’s fastest growing minority population. The power I harness as an AAPI Advocate and adoptee is a superpower: I am empathetic towards rejection from a society that tries to silence one’s voice. I have full knowledge of American customs and can bypass stereotypes many US politicians have surrounding my BIPOC identity. Lobbying Ohio legislatures brought me a surge of confidence; I never fail to lose my individuality when facing injustice.