President Joseph R. Biden Jr. 

The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C. 20500

 

Dear Mr. President:

 

As you are aware, there is a rising surge in anti-Asian racism.  The COVID-19 pandemic has spawned numerous disturbing incidents of racism and discrimination in the United States.  The severity of hate crimes is alarming and the frequency of race-based harassment against Asians is escalating in the United States. However, the Asian Hate Crimes Act did not pass because Asians are “statistically insignificant” even though in fact Asian-Americans long been part of the US and have shaped the national history and culture of the United States.

 

Asian immigrant history is over 240 years old. The Transcontinental Railroad was build by Chinese immigrants.  The history of Asians in America is not limited to labor history.  Several special fighting forces from the United States, composed of Asian Americans, made significant contributions during World War II. These examples demonstrate the fact that Asians are a part of United States history. 

 

Supportive statements from leaders are not enough.  It is time to change the educational system in the United States to include this rich Asian American history and culture. Each Asian ethnic group has their own unique culture and identity and should never be considered a single ethnicity. Education is one way to stop anti-Asian racism and all forms of oppression.  However, knowledge and experiences of Asian-American culture and history are barely included and taught accurately in K-12 schools.

Here are my proposals: 

1.      K-12 schools shall teach Asian-American culture and history in a wholistic way.

2.      K-12 schools shall develop a specific curriculum that helps students stop anti-Asian hate crimes.

3.      K-12 schools shall refine and improve on Asian American history Month that enhances student understanding of Asian-American culture and history.

4.      AP courses should include additional Asian languages such as Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

We appreciate your recent statement that we need to speak out and we must act. As the director of Korea in Kulture (Amy Hutchinson), it is my honor to speak out about this issue. 

 

Thank you,

Amy Hutchinson

Director, Korea in Kulture