In a weird turn of events, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that requires schools to teach Asian American and Pacific Islander history in Florida schools earlier this month. This marks a strange twist after DeSantis’ previous legislation banning critical race theory, “wokeism,” and any discussion of gender identity or homosexuality. So why would Ron DeSantis suddenly want Florida to teach Asian American and Pacific Islander history?
Many educators and activists have differing theories. Some see this as an attempt to perpetuate the myth of Asian Americans being the “model minority,” as conservatives frequently view Asian Americans as being stereotypically “hardworking” and “quiet” and use that perception to shame those who would dare to call out continued racial inequality.
In the same vein, this AAPI history requirement will be added to existing educational standards that already include a mandate to teach “[T]he history of African Americans” that goes out of its way to clarify that teachers should “celebrate the inspirational stories of African Americans who prospered, even in the most difficult circumstances”—something you wouldn’t really need to specify in writing unless you were part of a political party that wants to weaponize success stories as a way to downplay ongoing issues.
Others cite this as an attempt to divide and conquer; by showing one minority group preference during the ongoing attacks against teaching about another, conservatives hope to turn them against fellow minorities and/or turn other marginalized groups against them.
Many also note that while the curriculum will include the history of the Japanese American Internment Camps, this version of AAPI history is likely to exclude Asian American activists’ involvement in the Civil Rights movement, in anti-colonial protests, or many other historical events that are likely to portray America in a negative light. Essentially, it will most likely erase Black-Asian solidarity and activism.
That would be wholly unsurprising considering the same section of Florida’s legal code already includes language meant to discourage questioning a sanitized, idealized version of American history: “American history shall be viewed as factual, not as constructed, shall be viewed as knowable, teachable, and testable, and shall be defined as the creation of a new nation based largely on the universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence.”
Basically, it’s whitewashing. It’s a shallow attempt to pretend that conservatives care about Asian American/Pacific Islander history and lives. How do we know that this isn’t a sincere effort to do better?
Because this action comes only weeks after Ron DeSantis signed a racist bill that bans Chinese citizens/immigrants from buying land in Florida. Such bills have also been proposed in Texas and Kansas and many other conservative states.
The worst part is that there are indeed some activists taking this as a victory. Some activists are happy to accept scraps from the same hand that beats them. In some ways, I understand their desperation: Asian American and Pacific Islander history is still greatly underrepresented, and for so long, we have had to accept tokenism and stereotype and white-washing as our only forms of representation in Western media and history.
But we deserve better than that.
Thankfully, many AAPI activists and educators have called this bill out for what it is: thinly disguised racism and an attempt to placate and divide Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Because the only way we’re going to beat DeSantis and all those other racists is by standing together. We may be minorities in America, but together, we are stronger than they know.
Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
(featured image: Scott Olson/Getty Images)
