2023 Newsmaker: Asian
American stories of resistance and joy
11 JUL 2023 CHAO WUOur new article on National School Board
Association’s American School Board Journal.
https://nsba.org/ASBJ/2023/august/newsmaker-aapi-joy-and-resistance
July 11, 2023
Despite persisting discrimination, Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders are pushing for increased visibility of their communities
and their heritage, both inside and outside of the classroom.
The American public school system is changing. As the epidemic of
anti-Asian hate swelled to a new peak during the COVID-19 pandemic,
activists have pushed back against harmful stereotypes. In school
systems across the U.S., policymakers have advocated for changes to
their state’s curriculum to reflect better the diversity of their
student body and surrounding communities. Illinois, the first state
to require the teaching of Asian American history in 2021, began
implementing this new curriculum in public schools this academic
year. In May, Florida became the most recent state to require Asian
American history to be taught in its classrooms.
The progress made by Asian American activists, policymakers, and
educators has been impressive, but the work is not finished.
Anti-Asian hate and ignorance continue to pervade classrooms,
despite these efforts. In May 2023, the Maryland state legislature
passed a bill that provided grants to local school systems to
encourage more student field trips to museums, such as Asian
American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) museums. Yet, students continue
to face discrimination, even with additional efforts to increase
diversity. A first grader in Maryland’s Howard County Public School
System was repeatedly harassed by her peers on the way home from
school, where other students would make inappropriate gestures and
make fun of her Chinese heritage. Moreover, required reading
materials and a lack of nuanced discussions about U.S.-China foreign
policy have increased anti-Chinese sentiments within classrooms.
These sentiments are often directed at Chinese American students.
Linfeng Chen, a Howard County school board member, recalled that his
son felt ostracized when the school morning announcements replayed
news reports about the “spy balloon.”
Other Chinese American students felt uncomfortable reading Red Scarf
Girl in their middle school English classes because they felt that
the book painted the Chinese government in a negative light and
placed those stereotypes on all Chinese people. Nearly half of all
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders nationwide reported
experiencing discrimination in 2023, and Asian American students are
a part of that statistic. Even with the progress in incorporating
Asian American history into school curricula, discrimination and
anti-Asian hate still plague Asian American students. Our public
school system must address this hatred and incorporate more
inclusive, culturally competent changes to classrooms.
In the face of these challenges, the Asian American community in
Howard County has pushed for the school system to recognize their
culture and traditions. The Asian American communities rallied
together for years to petition the school board to add Asian
American holidays to the school calendar, which only included
Christian and Jewish holidays. In 2016, the school board voted to
expand its calendar to include Eid Al-Adha, Lunar New Year, and
Diwali as days for school closure to allow Asian American students
the opportunity to celebrate these holidays with their families at
home.
Asian American students and parents have strived to share their
holidays and cultural traditions with peers and school faculty, as
well. Every year, around Lunar New Year, families visit their
children’s schools and spend their day making dumplings for the
school’s teachers and staff. They also bring paper lanterns and
other red-colored decor to line the hallways. Just as the hallways
are decorated each year around Halloween and Christmas, the Lunar
New Year decorations brighten the hallways and make students excited
about the holiday.
Asian American youth have used their agency as student leaders to
create clubs and events that celebrate the diversity of cultures at
their school. In Howard County, Project Lotus aims to share Asian
American culture. Its members collaborated with other student clubs,
such as the Black Leadership Union and the Muslim Student
Association, to host a Culture Day to celebrate the diversity within
the schools’ student body. Lily Peng, a high school student and the
founder of Project Lotus, expressed that “the months of planning
were all worth it to see the community come together and celebrate
each other’s cultures.” The event boasted performances and cultural
activities that attendees could participate in. Reflecting on the
impact of that night, Lily believed that Culture Day “reaffirmed the
importance of diverse communities” at her school. Asian American
culture and traditions are a part of the diversity that make up our
schools, communities, and country. Recognizing and including the
Asian American community is not adding to the picture of America but
completing it.
Despite persisting discrimination, Asian Americans have pushed for
the visibility of their community and their heritage inside and
outside of the classroom. The Asian American community is an
intrinsic part of the fabric of the U.S. Asian Americans are
students, leaders, mentors, volunteers, and community members in
towns and cities across the nation. Our history, culture, and
traditions deserve to be learned about and celebrated.
Judy Zhou (jz711@georgetown.edu) is a student at Georgetown
University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. Lily Peng and Julia
Chen are 11th-grade students in the Howard County Public School
System, Maryland. Linfeng Chen (linfeng.chen@gmail.com) is a member
of the Howard County School Board. Yun Lu (yun.lu@hcpss.org) is vice
chair of the Howard County School Board. Chao Wu (chao.wu@house.state.md.us)
is a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, District 9A.
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Meet Delegate Chao Wu
I am Dr. Chao Wu. I am a newly elected Maryland State Delegate of
District 9A, representing part of Howard and Montgomery Counties. I
am a data scientist, a husband, a father of two public school
children, an immigrant, a community volunteer and a former school
board member.
The official page is:
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/Details/wu01
I will be serving on the House Ways and Means Committee, Montgomery
County Land Use, Transportation and Public Safety Committee, House
AAPI Caucus, Maryland Transit Caucus.
Please reach out to our office at chao.wu@house.state.md.us for any
questions. We would love to hear from you and help you as needed,
especially for District 9A residents.
I served on the Howard County Board of Education (BOE) (Term
2018-2022). I served as the Board chair, sat on the BOE Audit
Committee and Howard County Spending Affordability Committee, and
was elected as Board of Director of Maryland Association of Board of
Education (MABE).
I am an avid community volunteer. Prior to my service on the Howard
County BOE, I served on the River Hill Village board and the
Columbia Association board. With my long time public service
experience, I am well prepared in serving constituents and making
policies.
My rich and diverse educational, professional, and life experiences
equip me with pragmatic, balanced, and diverse problem-solving
skills. Coming from a low-income family, I eventually received my
Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), a
master’s degree from National University of Singapore (NUS) and a
bachelor’s degree from the University of Science and Technology of
China (USTC). Being trained as a data scientist, I thrive at
producing fact-based, cooperative, long-term, and innovative
solutions to the many social and economic challenges in our great
state of Maryland.
My role on the Maryland State Delegate will focus on the following
areas:
* Improve education system and revise the state funding formulas to
reflect the population growth
* Build better infrastructure and protect environment
* Strengthen community safety and enhance public health
* Address workforce challenges and create more jobs to increase
social mobility
I will bring forward policies that benefit middle-class families
and those trying to rise out of poverty, while these two groups have
often been neglected in the legislative process. I will also strive
to find common grounds for diverse opinions, and to create a shared
vision for all Marylanders.
I am looking forward to having your support. Together, we will make
Maryland a better place for us all!
For official business, please reach out to our office at
chao.wu@house.state.md.us.
More update related to constituent service will come soon.
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