Breaking Our Silence on Anti-Asian Violence: Asian Pacific American Teacher Educators’ Antiracism Education Interventions

• In Event: Critical Examination of Asian American Education

Abstract

This paper explores the ways Asian Pacific American teacher educators’ situated identities and understandings informed the ways we engaged students in Anti-Racism Education (ARE) in a predominantly white institution. Through an Asian Critical Race Theory perspective, we examined how we centered the Asian Pacific American perspective in regard to race and racism through a community event and dialogue with our campus Interim President who is a survivor of Japanese American incarceration. Findings reveal a lack of knowledge of Asian Pacific American historical content and understanding of connections to current anti-Asian violence. Implications include the need for Asian Pacific American lenses and perspectives in ARE teacher education to support Education students’ development of racial literacy.

Authors

• Andrew Habana Hafner, Westfield State University

• Juliet Lee, Westfield State University