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THE PESA POST
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Parents, Educators/Teachers & Students in Action

May 22, 2021
OPENING MINDS TO HELP STOP CRIMES
As hate incidents against Asian Americans rise, PESA is taking steps to stem the tide 
Yesterday, President Biden signed into law a bill aimed at curbing hate crimes perpetrated against Asian Americans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While PESA applauds this action, we have not been waiting for official governmental recognition of these horrific and misguided acts before taking our own action. Several months ago, we began working on an educational program aimed at raising awareness of the crisis, promoting tolerance and acceptance of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and shining a spotlight on their overwhelmingly positive contributions to American culture and society.
It’s part of a suite of PESA programs we call our Monthly Message. Whether it be discussing the history of the civil rights movement in February’s Black History Month presentation or talking about the 19th Amendment in March’s Women’s History Month presentation, we hope to educate and mentor our community through these complex issues to ensure that we all advocate for a better future for everyone. As with all of our programs, the Asian American and Pacific Islander course can be tailored to audiences of all ages, and is made available free of charge to any interested groups, but particularly for students in the greater Los Angeles area. The programs can be presented virtually, via Zoom.

Last week, for example, the course was presented to some 60 participants in PESA’s High School Mentorship program as part of “For Our Community Fridays,” which gives interns the opportunity to learn about members of their community, hear different perspectives, and focus on efforts towards collective action and creating a stronger and more connected community. 
The presentation teaches students the importance of honoring, recognizing, reflecting on, and celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander culture and history. It touches on AAPI history, the countries that are considered AAPI, the hardships some of these people have faced (such as the internment camps Japanese Americans were forced into after Pearl Harbor), the idea of the "model immigrant," which stereotypes Chinese/Asian immigrants as models for other immigrants, and much more. Many of the interns were so inspired by the presentation that they asked if they could in turn present it to other groups to further spread the word. 

If you are an educator interested in having this or any other of our programs presented to your class, contact PESA.
If you’d like more information or to support PESA’s many social and educational initiatives, please contact us.