Teaching Asian American history in NC schools, and other goals of the new AAPI caucus

Earlier this month, Florida joined a handful of states around the country in requiring that Asian American history be taught in schools. A bipartisan group of state lawmakers wants North Carolina to be next.

Legislation filed in the North Carolina House last month, sponsored by members of both parties, would require elementary, middle and high schools to teach the impact of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders on American history.

The curriculum would include lessons on the early contributions of Asian immigrants who worked as farmers and laborers, such as their role in helping build the transcontinental railroad, as well as the challenges and struggles they have faced across U.S. history. It would include the role Asian Americans played during the civil rights movement, and the contributions they’ve made “in government, the arts and sciences, and economic, cultural, social, and political developments in North Carolina and the United States.”

“Currently, there are over 400,000 Asian Americans in our state, and this demographic is rapidly increasing,” Rep. Ya Liu, a Democrat from Morrisville serving her first term, said recently. “Actually, AAPI voters make up 3% of the total electorate in our state; as you know, many statewide races are probably decided by less than 1% of the votes.”

As a result of that growth, Asian Americans have become more politically engaged, Liu said, adding that she and other lawmakers want to “recognize the representation not only in politics, but in our schools.” She pointed out that multiple states have passed similar bills, including the Sunshine State.

“If Florida can do it, I think our state can do it,” Liu said.

Three Republicans joined Liu last month in signing on as primary sponsors of the bill: Reps. David Willis and Jarrod Lowery, as well as Rep. Tricia Cotham, who chairs the House K-12 Education Committee. The bill didn’t advance out of the House ahead of this month’s crossover deadline, but with a bipartisan list of backers, it shows there is interest on both sides of the aisle to engage with the issue.

Liu discussed the bill and other legislation filed this session during a news conference Wednesday to announce the formation of a new legislative caucus dedicated to serving Asian Americans across the state.

The Asian American Pacific Islander caucus is launching this month — also AAPI Heritage Month — with members of both parties, and from both chambers of the legislature.

Heading up the caucus are two co-chairs, Democratic Sen. Jay Chaudhuri of Raleigh and Willis, a House Republican from Marvin. Other members include Liu, who serves as caucus secretary, and a fellow Democrat, Rep. Maria Cervania of Cary, as well as Lowery, a Lumberton Republican, GOP Rep. Edward Goodwin of Edenton and GOP Sen. Michael Lee of Wilmington.

Cervania, who is also serving her first term, said that since being elected, she’s “noticed so many notes of encouragement and excitement when it comes to the AAPI representation here, and its growth here in the General Assembly.”

Priorities for AAPI caucus

Other efforts to tackle issues that are important to Asian Americans include bills filed this session to increase the punishment for hate crimes and establish a statewide hate crimes statistics database; require the DMV to provide driving test materials in Chinese, Khmer, Spanish and any other languages that are the primary language of at least 2% of the state’s population; and create an AAPI Heritage Commission within the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

The caucus also aims to engage Asian American voters outside the General Assembly, by partnering with advocacy groups like North Carolina Asian Americans Together, which seeks to get more members from the state’s diverse Asian communities involved in the political process.

“Most AAPI voters are unaffiliated voters, and it’s a swing bloc that both parties are trying to get,” Liu said, adding, “I’m hoping that we can accomplish a lot of bills that will matter to our community and be beneficial to our whole state.”