Remedying Invisibility: Asian American Perspectives on School Integration Policy and Advocacy in New York City

• In Event: BIPOC Voices in Education: Querying Counternarratives and Cross-Cultural Resistance

Abstract

This qualitative case study employs Asian Critical Race Theory (AsianCrit) to examine the perspectives among diverse Asian American activists and community leaders who are engaged in school integration policy debates in New York City. Findings illustrate divergent perspectives among Asian Americans regarding what constitutes racial equity and integration. Despite such differences, interviewees agreed that Asian American voices are invisible within the education policy landscape, and they focused their activism, in part, around elevating Asian American perspectives. Findings extend the empirical research on educational activism and school integration policy, which, to date, attends little to Asian American experiences and perspectives. Additionally, findings demonstrate the need for policymakers to enhance the representation of diverse Asian American voices in the education policy arena.

Authors

• Elise Castillo, Trinity College

• Mira C. Debs, Yale University

• Molly V. Makris, Guttman Community College - CUNY