“I think that we're definitely doing something wrong”: Learning from Asian American Youth about Identity, Advocacy, and Educational Change

• In Event: Centralizing Asian and Asian American Youth in AsianCrit

Abstract

Objectives
This paper highlights youth voices from two Republican-led states to examine how efforts to create affinity and educational spaces for Asian Americans have taken place despite conservative state leadership that has actively discouraged attention to race in K-12 classrooms through anti-“CRT” and “divisive concepts” legislation. In Texas and Georgia, Asian Americans are the fastest growing populations. Despite what outsiders might assume, communities in these states are engaged in grassroots movements to demand curricular inclusion at various levels. Studying these nuanced approaches offers important insights for others looking to do similar work in politically conservative contexts, particularly in the American South.

Theoretical Framework
This paper is guided by Asian American Critical Race Theory, an extension of Critical Race Theory that centers Asian American experiences and voices to delegitimize and disrupt white supremacy and intersectional oppressions (Iftikar & Museus, 2018; Matsuda, 1995). This paper focuses on the tenets of Asianization; (re)constructive history; and story, theory, and praxis, which center the voices and experiences of Asian American youth while identifying and challenging the racism and intersectional oppression youth face in and outside school alongside their agency and resistance.

Methods
The 12 semi-structured youth interviews described here are part of a larger qualitative comparative case study of Asian American community and youth movements, which hosted convenings in Austin and Atlanta to which the youth in this study were invited. Interviews were conducted after each convening and transcripts were provided to each participant for their review. After participants approved and edited transcripts, the research team used descriptive and in vivo coding to note instances of Asian American racialization and key moments and examples related to each participant’s understandings of race, racism, and advocacy for educational and social justice.

Results
Our paper highlights mentions of identity specific to the participants’ geographic contexts and recent sociopolitical experiences in schools. For example, we observed a clear state-based distinction between the youth’s activist starting points. Several Texas youth described how their advocacy for greater inclusion began prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, Georgia youth identified the March 2021 Atlanta spa shootings as a pivotal moment in sparking their advocacy work. Sunny described the shootings as “the most impactful (event)” for her as “it was 10 minutes from where I lived.” She felt shock at this horrific, racially-driven crime in her community, but was disappointed that it was not mentioned at her school. The paper ends with youth views on the change necessary for a more just and equitable society.

Significance
Like student activists in the ethnic studies movements of the 1960s, students in this study have also organized to disrupt systemic issues in education and society, even as their efforts became more challenging and isolating in the conservative states where they live. As Asian American Studies in K-12 emerges on a larger scale, it is vital that educators take seriously the concerns and efforts of youth in moving forward curricular change. Youth already recognize the change they desire, they simply need support to move forward.

Authors

• Noreen Naseem Rodriguez, Michigan State University

• Sohyun An, Kennesaw State University

• Esther June Kim, College of William & Mary