Equity and Anti-Racism Task Force

Please join the Equity and Anti-Racism conversation at Hyde-Addison by joining us on Konstella, utilizing the resources here and/or participating in the monthly Equity and Anti-Racism Task Force virtual meeting at 4pm on the last Friday of every month. As parents, teachers and staff, we are interested in doing our part to promote equity and end racism in constructive, supportive ways.

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month! This website (https://asianpacificheritage.gov/) brings together stories, photos and video resources from the National Park Service, Library of Congress, Smithsonian, Archives and others to celebrate the generations of Asian American and Pacific Islanders who have enriched our nation’s history and culture and are instrumental to its future success.

The U.S. Census Bureau explains: “In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history: the arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843) and contributions of Chinese workers to the building of the transcontinental railroad completed May 10, 1869. In 1992, Congress expanded the observance to a monthlong celebration that is now known as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.”

The AAPI community in the U.S. is incredibly diverse, with individuals from more than 30 different ethnic/nationality groups making up the more than 24 million individuals who identified as AAPI in the 2020 Census. Jasmine Huang and her co-authors explain in this piece for Paradigm: “[W]hile some people in the AAPI community benefit from social and economic privileges, there is also a long history of systemic racism and inequalities against AAPIs in the United States.” The authors explain further: “Many of us have identities that vary wildly depending on our exact roots and our histories, cultures, governments, and experiences with colonialism and imperialism—the experience of Pacific Islanders is different from those of Central Asians, which are also different from those of South Asians, West Asians, East Asians, and Southeast Asians.”

Unfortunately, many of us have been indoctrinated into the myth of the “model minority.” Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn explains in Learning for Justice magazine what this myth is and how it harms not only Asian Americans but all people of color, by pitting one group against another. The “model minority” myth “perpetuates a narrative in which Asian American children are whiz kids or musical geniuses” and “characterizes Asian Americans as a polite, law-abiding group who have achieved a higher level of success than the general population through some combination of innate talent and pull-yourselves-up-by-your-bootstraps immigrant striving.” What’s so bad about the model minority myth? Ms. Blackburn explains:

• Like all stereotypes, the model minority myth erases the differences among individuals.
• The model minority myth ignores the diversity of Asian American cultures.
• The model minority myth operates alongside the myth of Asian Americans as perpetual foreigners.
• The model minority myth erases racism against Asian Americans.
• The model minority myth is harmful to the struggle for racial justice.

Kat Chow’s 2019 piece ‘Model Minority’ Myth Again Used As A Racial Wedge Between Asians And Blacks, for NPR’s Code Switch, dives deeply into this last point—that the “model minority” myth is harmful to the broader fight for racial justice. Chow uses a 2017 New York Magazine piece by Andrew Sullivan as a launching point, and then examines decades of perpetuation of the myth and efforts to stop it.

The DC Public Library is celebrating AAPI Heritage Month with several events and book recommendations, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen and the novel Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, which was recently made into a Hulu original TV series.

The New York Public Library has likewise curated an AAPI Heritage reading list for adults, with more than 30 books across every category type!

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center is a free, online “museum without walls” bringing history, art and culture to the public through innovative experiences and digital initiatives. The Center’s Learning Together page connects K12 educators with programs and resources to address anti-Asian racism and celebrate AAPI culture. The Center also offers films, videos, digital storytelling and other resources exploring AAPI history and culture for people of all ages.

Hyde Addison teachers have compiled a list of their books related to Asian American and Pacific Island heritage. Please click below to see their selections.

Here’s a read aloud of Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice, a children’s book by Nikki Grimes and Laura Freeman about Vice President Kamala Harris—our nation’s first VP of South Asian descent! And here’s a read aloud of We Are Inspiring: The Stories of 32 Inspirational Asian American Women by Angel Trazo.

And for movie night, check out the new Disney/Pixar animated film Turning Red—the story of Mei Lee, a “confident, dorky 13-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence.” Whenever Mei Lee gets excited (spoiler: this happens OFTEN), she “poofs” into a giant red panda! This one’s fun for the whole family, with a view into Chinese-Canadian culture.

Did your student celebrate any holidays or traditions related to their race or ethnicity recently? Please share any photos or videos related to your celebrations via email: hyde.addison@k12.dc.gov.

• Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May 2022)

• Mental Health Awareness Month (May 2022)
• Jewish American Heritage Month (May 2022)
• Cinco de Mayo (May 5, 2022)
• Mother’s Day (May 8, 2022)
• International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (May 17, 2022)
• Malcolm X’s Birthday (May 19)
• LGBTQ+ Pride Month (June 2022)
• Caribbean American Heritage Month (June 2022)
• Loving Day (June 12, 2022)
• Juneteenth (June 19, 2022)
• Father’s Day (June 19, 2022)

Disclaimer: The Hyde-Addison ES Equity and Anti-Racism Task Force is an independent group not associated with DCPS and any viewpoints or activities associated with this group are not endorsed by DCPS.