NEW YORK (April 13, 2023) --  The Representing and Empowering AANHPI Community History (REACH) Coalition is working to bring Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander history (AANHPI) to New York State schools. The growing coalition, which was created in 2022, is composed of over 140 community leaders, parents, students, educators, and 50+ organizations that are committed to promoting inclusive and diverse curricula in schools.

The AANHPI community is the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States and New York is home to one of the oldest AANHPI communities in the country. In 2023, we will make up at least 10% of the New York State population. 

Despite this, our history and contributions to our communities remain largely untold, and this lack of understanding and knowledge of Asian American history has contributed to a resurgence of hate crimes against people of Asian descent. In 2021 alone, there was a nearly 262% increase in anti-Asian hate crime in New York City. Additionally, according to the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education, Asian American and Pacific Islander students across the country have reported increased instances of bullying and harassment. 

The REACH Coalition came together because we believe exclusion from curriculum has contributed to long-standing erasure of AANHPI communities, and is a root cause of violence and harassment towards AANHPI people. AANHPI history is American history. Ensuring that AANHPI history is taught in schools is the vital long-term solution to combating the lack of understanding around AANHPI communities that leads to hate.

One of the primary goals of REACH is to advance legislation to ensure that AANHPI history is taught in schools. For the past few months, REACH Coalition has been working with Senator John Liu and Assemblymember Grace Lee’s office to re-introduce legislation that calls for AANHPI history to be taught in schools. 

The REACH Coalition applauds the introduction of S5963, which calls for the integration of AANHPI history into existing social studies curriculum. We are especially proud of our advocacy efforts that ensured the bill language intentionally included Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, calls for a curriculum that teaches the history of solidarity between AANHPIs and other historically marginalized communities, and does not only discuss the contributions made by AANHPIs in all aspects of society, but also, details the structures and events that have harmed or limited the potential of AAHNPIs.

State Senator John C. Liu, sponsor of S5963, stated, "This legislation is vital for both supporting the identity formation of our students and combating the resurgence of anti-Asian violence. While our Asian American communities have always been an integral part of our nation, for too long, our history and experiences have been excluded from the curriculum in our schools. The reality is Asian Americans are a part of the fabric of this nation, and Asian American history is American history. This bill makes sure that our students are afforded the opportunity to learn their history. Thank you to the REACH Coalition and all the students, families and educators who are working to make sure our voices are heard, our histories are learned, and our experiences are understood."

"The REACH Coalition commends the introduction of this bill and hopes this legislation will receive the bipartisan support it deserves as New York State continues to face resurging anti-Asian violence," the REACH Coalition’s Steering Committee said in a joint statement. "We look forward to seeing the AANHPI History bill introduced in the Assembly by Assemblymember Grace Lee in the following days. We are grateful for Senator Liu and Assemblymember Lee’s leadership on this effort and we are eager to continue to work with them to move this bill forward."

“AANHPI history is American history and the introduction of this bill puts us one step closer to acknowledging that historical reality in New York State’s public schools,” said Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung, Co-Executive Directors of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families. “It is necessary that our students are afforded the opportunity to learn about the solidarity between historically marginalized communities - solidarity that has been essential for our survival. Learning the histories of AANHPI communities in school is a vital step to combatting both the ‘perpetual foreigner’ stereotype and the persistent myth of what an American can and should look like. CACF is proud to co-lead the REACH Coalition alongside the New York chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans - Asian Pacific American Advocates (OCA-NY) and we look forward to continuing to push for this important legislation in the weeks ahead.”

"The New York chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans - Asian Pacific American Advocates (OCA-NY) is proud to co-lead with the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) the REACH coalition -  first statewide coalition of community organizations, students and educators, for the integration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) history into existing curriculum used across New York public school systems,” said Brianna Cea, President (OCA-NY) “We are excited to support S5963 - which gives current and future generations of students a real chance to learn the rich history of accomplishments and struggles of AANHPIs throughout the history of the United States. In the face of a resurgence of violence against AANHPI communities across New York, the stakes have never been higher for OCA-NY and our allies to ensure the curriculum taught in our classrooms reflect and empower our diverse communities." 

“As a student, I was not exposed to Asian American history or literature in my school curriculum, nor did I have a teacher or professor who was Asian, until I was in college,” said Ly Dang, NYS Public School History Teacher. “As a teacher, I do my best to uplift narratives of AANHPI history, but the work can oftentimes get drowned out by the Eurocentric dominant-narrative histories in a traditional history curriculum.  To encourage solidarity and civic-minded learning from our young people, we must be willing to make the space necessary to do so in our classrooms.” 

“As a student in New York’s Education system, I feel frightened that no names come to my mind concerning AANHPI history,” said Connie Lin, Student Organizer at the NYCLU’s Teen Activist Project. “We all deserve to be acknowledged for our role in American history. We need this bill to get passed and for our curriculum to change — our history needs to be taught in classrooms, so we can empower the next generation through inclusivity.” 

"The Sikh community has proudly been a part of the fabric of New York for many decades and our contributions to the state of New York are rich and deep,” said Harman Singh, Senior Education Manager of Sikh Coalition.“Today, in nearly every facet of New York’s society and economy, Sikhs are making a profound impact. Yet, the Sikh community and broader AANHPI community are largely excluded from history and social studies in New York's classrooms. The Sikh Coalition is proud to support S5963 - a necessary step to remedy exclusion and minimization of our communities." 

"S5963 is what we have been waiting for. In order to break the ignorance associated with hate, we must start with education,” said Deirdre Levy, Special Education Teacher and Founder of Project Barkada. “As a special educator, I see first hand how students learn in the classroom. Sharing stories and teaching about AANPHI culture and history is integral to NYC's youth. Project Barkada, which stands for friends helping friends, highly encourages the promotion of education to break ignorance in our schools.” 

"As an organization that works closely with Asian and immigrant children and families, we see and understand the direct benefits of education when it’s made to be inclusive and accessible - students are more confident, engaged, and motivated in their learning,” said Beatrice Chen, Executive Director of Immigrant Social Services, Inc (ISS). “AANHPI history is American history. By connecting to students through the diverse narratives of our communities, we can better strive for acculturation rather than assimilation and also spearhead an understanding of our communities that extend beyond the two extremes of the model minority myth and the perpetual foreigner. Passing S5963 is an important step for both students and our community to feel a greater sense of belonging." 

“With the staggering spike in violence against New York’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, we must confront hate and xenophobia at its root," said Kenny Nguyen, Director of Youth Programs at the New York Civil Liberties Union. "By teaching AANHPI history and civic impact in New York schools, this bill will prevent discrimination and promote a sense of belonging for AANHPI students, bringing us one step closer to truly inclusive classrooms.” 

“How can schools prepare students to integrate into American society if we leave our education knowing nothing about our own community’s history?” said Iris Liu, 12th grade student and President of Acknowledge Our History (AOH). “As a first-generation Chinese American immigrant, the void of Asian Americans in history textbooks and lessons made me believe we simply hadn’t contributed to America. Our history, our sacrifices, and contributions are invisible both in the educational curriculum and subsequently, in broader American history. To address both the long history and resurgence of surges of anti-Asian violence, which are founded in ignorance and lack of active anti racist teaching, we must start at the root of the problem: education.” 

“At the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families and the Asian American Student Advocacy Project, we strongly believe that bill S5963 is a key step to combating Asian American hate as well as promoting solidarity among communities,” said Hudson Chou, 12th grade student, Representative of CACF’s Asian American Student Advocacy Project (ASAP). “At my school, I rarely learn about anyone that looks like me, or shares my culture as an Asian American student in NYC. I hope that this bill, in combination with support from local organizations like REACH can help the AANHPI community in NYC and set an example for cities across the country.” 

For more information about the REACH Coalition, please follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @reach_coalition 

To join REACH Coalition, please fill out this form: https://bit.ly/JOINREACH

For more information, please contact Lakshmi Gandhi, CACF’s Senior Communications Coordinator at lgandhi@cacf.org.