Education and Curricula
Curriculum Development
Once more schools in Pennsylvania begin to include Asian American & Pacific Islander History and Culture into their teaching standards, Make Us Visible Pennsylvania will be there to help with make sure that those standards are thoughtful and comprehensive.
Here are a few unaffiliated organizations that are dedicated to developing Asian American & Pacific Islander Curriculum:
Learn More about Asian American & Pacific Islander Curriculum via the Asian American Education Project.
The history of Asian Americans in the United States is an integral part of American history. Since their arrival as far back as the 1800s, Asian immigrants have contributed and shaped the way the country is today. From labor activism to fighting for school integration and citizenship rights in the courts, and against model minority and perpetual foreigner stereotypes, Asian Americans have faced adversity and fought for opportunities to create roots here in the U.S. From building coalitions with other minority groups, Asian Americans have been a vital part of major historical achievements including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 and Title IX. Today, as one of the fastest–growing populations, Asian Americans continue to make further positive and effective changes towards a better future for the United States, together with all their fellow Americans.
For more information, check out the website https://asianamericanedu.org/
Education
AAPI's Missing in US History
1635 - First "East Asian" brought to Jamestown as indentured servant
1765 - Filipinos develop shrimp industry in Louisiana
1785 - The Continental Congress discuss Chinese soldiers
1790 - Men from Madras, India reported on streets of Salem, MA
1825 - First recorded Chinese American birth in NYC: Willie Brown
1862 - Civil War: Hundreds of Asians & Pacific Islanders serve
1875 - Page Act Excludes Immigration of Chinese women
1882 - Chinese Exclusion Act: era of Ethnic cleansing begins
1890 - First Sikhs came to the US to work in lumber mills of the Pacific
Northwest and farms of California, and to build railroads
1898 - Wong Kim Ark's Supreme Court Case establishes birthright citizenship for
all Americans
1912 - First Gurudwara established in Stockton, California
1923 - World War I veteran, Bhagat Singh Thind, challenges anti-Asian citizenship laws
in Supreme Court
1942 - US imprisons 120,000 Japanese residing in America
1957 - Dalip Singh Saund elected as the first AAPI and first Sikh American to serve
in the US Congress
Sources: Helen Zia, SALDEF
AAPI's Missing in PA History
In 1872, 200 Chinese workers arrive in Beaver Falls, PA
Many were outcast from Pittsburgh under the belief that they were a threat to labor security
This lead to the creation of Pittsburgh Chinatown, which is a hub of Chinese Community and Culture and still seen as a place of “secrecy”
In 1892, Dr. Philip Jaisohn became the first Korean to receive an American Medical degree, later practicing in Media, PA.
Became a US citizen in 1894
Was part of the first recorded interracial marriage in US history
Dr. Jaisohn dedicate his life to building a more inclusive government and to expanding the power of all members of our society
Additional Resources: