Asian American Activism: Voices, Representation, and Resistance
This series of standalone workshops will explore examples of Asian American activism – past and present through the themes of identity, immigration, exclusion, protest, resilience, and expression. In looking to the past, we will work to better understand what it means to be Asian American within a contemporary context.
Beginning on July 28, 2021, with the first workshop in this series, “Anti-Asian Hate Crimes and Resistance: Still Present Past” we will examine the historical legacy of anti-Asian hate crimes. The following day on July 29, the session will explore themes of immigration, identity, and activism vis-à-vis graphic novels by and about Asian Americans. Participants in this workshop will be sent Malaka Gharib’s I Was Their American Dream in advance of the workshop to read and discuss during the workshop. On August 2, the third workshop in this series will utilize excerpts from court decisions related to education (desegregation and language access) and citizenship as we examine the Asian American fight for civil rights. This series will conclude on August 4 as we introduce artistic expressions of resistance by Asian Americans within an historical context to the present.
Overall, this series is designed for secondary teachers in Social Studies, English, Language Arts, History, Government, and Visual Arts. Each workshop will focus on a subset of the themes in the larger series and will have a different curricular focus dependent upon the topic. Elementary educators are welcome and encouraged to join as content is relevant.