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AAPI Letter

by | May 12, 2021 | Uncategorized

It is with great honor that we continue to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage this month. We hope you will spend some time learning more about the rich heritage of the AAPI community in Phoenix and throughout the United States with some of the resources we’ve curated below.

At Phoenix Modern, we imagine a community of learners driven by an innate sense of wonder, where children experience joy and loving relationships, and the learning approach is designed to support a lifetime of growth. This intentional mission must come with the energy to be curious about each other and address the social injustices of our past and present, so that we aim to build a better future.

Therefore, this month we must also call out and stand up against the violence and hate projected at the AAPI community in our country’s past and more recent events. The global COVID-19 pandemic has brought an influx of hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. There have been nearly 4,000 reports of hate incidents targeting members of AAPI communities across the country since last March when the pandemic began, according to the advocacy organization Stop AAPI Hate.  Take a moment to learn more in this comprehensive news coverage from NBC.

Let us be clear, Phoenix Modern condemns this violence and all hate incidents, and stands in solidarity with AAPI and other marginalized communities everywhere. 

Anti-Asian racism, fueled by the pandemic, has brought the often silenced but longstanding history of scapegoating, discrimination, and hate incidents to the fore, but it is not new. In spite of the hard lessons of our history, harmful stereotypes and discrimination against AAPI people are still fomenting brutality and injustice. In the more recent past, there was a significant spike in violence against Asian Muslims and Sikhs following 9/11.

We will do better as a community by fostering children who boldly love and care for one another and say no to hate. We must also model this ourselves.

Just as philosopher and activist Grace Lee Boggs encourages:

“This is what true revolutions are about. They are about redefining our relationships with one another, to the Earth and to the world; about creating a new society in the places and spaces left vacant by the disintegration of the old; about hope, not despair; about saying yes to life and no to war; about finding the courage to love and care for the peoples of the world as we love and care for our own families.” 

We must educate ourselves on the history of anti-Asian racism in this country and thus expand our understanding of how white supremacy and systemic racism have positioned AAPI communities for discrimination, erasure, invisibility, and harm.

We must also use whatever platform we have to raise awareness about what is happening. Denounce violence and xenophobia in each of our circles. Do not leave it to your AAPI community to ask you to do this.

Here are ways you and your family can show up in solidarity with the AAPI community:

Read

Watch

Explore

  • Check out A Brief Timeline of Racism Against Asians in America
  • A Different Asian American Timeline: An interactive timeline that looks at Asian American history through the lenses of imperialism, capitalism, race, and migration.
  • The City of Phoenix Historic Preservation Office has developed a Timeline of Asian American History in Phoenix through the use of an interactive map. Reading this with your child might prompt some discussions and questions that you can explore together.
  • The Phoenix Public Library is now open for in-person visits (they are still doing curbside). Talk Story Together has a detailed list of books featuring AAPI characters and authors. Drawn Together is a picture book by Minh Lê and illustrated by Dan Santat, is a beautiful story featuring the relationship between a grandfather and a grandson who do not share an oral language.

Support Local AAPI Organizations

Fun Things to Do

Other Resources

Differentiate your social media feeds

Do you follow any AAPI educators, community organizers, activists, scholars, media, or organizations doing work within the community? Some recommendations on where to start: educators/voice: @TeachandTransform, @TonyRosaSpeaks, @DearAsianYouth; organizations: @SmithsonianAPA, @AAPIWomenLead, @ActToChange, @AdvancingJustice_AAJC; media: @NextShark, @NBCAsianAmerica