California ethnic studies bill controversy + David Chang wins $1 million: Your AAPI newsletter
It is Thursday, Dec. 3, and this is The Sacramento Bee’s AAPI weekly newsletter.
Here’s a recap of the stories I’m following:
The state’s ethnic studies draft curriculum moved forward on Nov. 20 for final approval, but faced another round of controversy in a two-day state department meeting filled with hours of public comment, line edits to the current draft and debates on who gets representation and how.
The Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum serves as a guidance document to help school districts interested in adopting lesson plans. The curriculum was created with the intention to cover four areas: Black/African American studies, Chicano/a studies, Native American studies and Asian American studies.
But the state’s Instructional Quality Commission spent hours on Wednesday listening to public comments from dozens of people who demanded that Arab American studies be included in Asian American studies, reigniting the longstanding debate surrounding how Arab American narratives, particularly those for Palestinians, will be included in the draft.
State education officials placed those additional lesson plans in what they call the “bridge,” sparking an outcry from teachers and college professors who said communities like Arab Americans belonged in Asian American studies..
“Why would the (California Department of Education) remove Arab American studies from its rightful place in Asian American studies? Relegating us to the ‘bridge’ must be understood as a political move and essentially mirrors ‘separate but equal’ policies,” said Lara Kiswani, executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center.
Thurmond said the education department did not specify where exactly Arab American studies would be placed in the curriculum.
“We acknowledged that Arab American studies has a path in ethnic studies,” Thurmond said. “Some of the advocates made the case that its path is through Asian American Studies. We agreed with that publicly, and we still do. We also acknowledge that those who identify as Arab American may come from Asian countries originally or African countries. This whole process has been organic.”
The Sacramento Bee’s equity lab hosted a panel Tuesday with community activists and new City Council members Mai Vang, Sean Loloee and Katie Valenzuela to discuss the shift in city leadership and their thoughts on building an equitable city, with questions submitted ahead of time directly from community members. You can watch the hour-long conversation now on our website or on Facebook.
In other news
- Loss of Merced County leader, businessman ‘felt up and down the Valley’ by Hmong community [The Modesto Bee]
- The challenge of combating fake news in Asian American communities [Vox]
- Vietnamese immigrant families hash out political differences, even without a common Thanksgiving table [Los Angeles Times]
- Some Taiwanese immigrants fear Biden will ‘Make China Great Again.’ Can he win them over? [Los Angeles Times]
- Six Buddhist temples vandalized across Little Saigon this month [Los Angeles Times]
- ‘Warrior’s’ most epic episode takes on America’s racist history [Inverse]
- ‘MasterChef’ contestant faces backlash for calling Asian food ‘dirty’ [Today]
- Listen: Cathy Park Hong’s Asian American Reckoning And The ‘Model Minority’ Stereotype [NPR]
- Opinion: Thinking of traveling to Hawaii during the COVID-19 pandemic? Don’t. [The Sacramento Bee]
- Opinion: Why it’s time to retire the term ‘Asian Pacific Islander’ [The Seattle Times]
This week in AAPI pop culture
David Chang has worn many hats: Celebrity chef, restaurateur, writer, documentary host — and now, the first celebrity to win “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”
Chang, founder of Momofuku, host of Netflix’s “Ugly Delicious” and author of “Eat a Peach,” clinched $1 million on Sunday after correctly answering the question “Although he and his wife never toughed a light switch for fear of being shocked, who was the first president to have electricity in the White House?”
In the last few nail-biting minutes, Chang used his last lifeline to phone a friend, ESPN journalist Mina Kimes, who guessed President Benjamin Harrison. Chang debated onscreen whether he should take the risk of guessing incorrectly, or walk away with $500,000 before finally deciding to go with Kimes’ answer.
Luckily for him, his instincts were correct, and a visibly shocked Chang jumped out of his chair as digital confetti exploded onscreen. Chang’s $1 million went to a charity of his choice, the Southern Smoke Foundation, a Houston-based organization that focuses on crisis relief for hospitality industry workers.
“My Asian gambling genes are very strong in me, because that’s what overrided any common sense,” Chang said in a conversation Monday with show host Jimmy Kimmel on his podcast, “The Dave Chang Show.” “I still don’t understand that it happened ... It was the most out-of-body experience. I don’t know what happened.”
Congratulations, David!
Got a story suggestion? Please reach out to me at awong@sacbee.com.
That’s it for this week’s newsletter. Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
Please spread the word about our newsletter and send to a friend. Sign up here to receive this newsletter each week.