CALIFORNIA STATEWIDE
ETHNIC STUDIES MODEL CURRICULUM
NEWS – AP-NATIONAL
CALIFORNIA ADOPTS FIRST
STATEWIDE ETHNIC STUDIES CURRICULUM
California’s State Board of Education has approved the nation’s first statewide model ethnic studies curriculum for high school students.
March 18th, 8:31 PM EDT
State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and Dr. Karen Korematsu Discuss Fighting for Justice During Virtual Classroom Lesson on Asian American Studies
AB-101 Pupil instruction: high school graduation requirements: ethnic studies.
(2021-2022)
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL No.101
Introduced by Assembly Member Medina
(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Cristina Garcia, Low, Ramos, and Weber)
(Principal coauthor: Senator Durazo)
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IN HONOR OF RACIAL EQUALITY,
SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND SOLIDARITY
We at the Fred T. Korematsu Institute strive to uphold the legacy of Fred Korematsu, who resisted the WWII Japanese American incarceration and later fought for justice for other marginalized groups. He urged us all to “Stand up for what is right.”
In his spirit, we share in the anger over the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and too many others. We demand justice and an end to the systemic and overt racism that elevates some lives over others. We know that Black Lives Matter and believe Asian Americans need to stand in solidarity now, as well as examine and work to end the biases and anti-Blackness in our communities.
We also recognize this is a critical time with the uptake in xenophobia, racism, hateful rhetoric, and violence against members of the AAPI community. With almost 3,800 anti-Asian acts of hate speech, racism, and violence reported across the country, we believe now is the time to take decisive action towards a more positive future. At the Korematsu Institute, we believe words matter, we believe history matters and we believe in the power of education to bring about substantive change.
With a mission of educating to advance racial equity, social justice, and human rights for all, we will continue to speak up for all communities, continue to improve and distribute our free Digital Curriculum Toolkits on the history of racism and xenophobia in the United States to educators and parents and stand up for what is right to preserve civil liberties for all.
If you are an educator or parent who would like to receive access to our digital learning materials, please click here.
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STOP REPEATING HISTORY CAMPAIGN
The Stop Repeating History campaign educates the public on the dangers of unchecked presidential power, drawing parallels between the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and the Trump administration’s policies that targeted minority groups based on race or religion.
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JAPANESE AMERICAN
CONFINEMENT SITES CONSORTIUM
The Korematsu Institute is a member of the Japanese American Confinement Sites Consortium (JACSC), a group of organizations “committed to collectively preserving, protecting, and interpreting the history of the World War II experiences of Japanese Americans and elevating the related social justice lessons that inform current issues today.”
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FRED KOREMATSU DAY OF CIVIL LIBERTIES
AND THE CONSTITUTION
In 2010, the Governor of California signed the legislative bill establishing Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution on January 30 in perpetuity. This is the first state-wide day in U.S. history named after an Asian American. The Fred T. Korematsu Institute is leading efforts to recognize Fred Korematsu in other states and also achieve a national Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution to honor his legacy as a civil rights hero for all Americans. Since 2010, the states of Hawaii, Virginia, Florida and New York City Michigan have also established the day of recognition in honor of Fred Korematsu’s fight for justice and, the importance of speaking up to fight injustice and, civic education. Six additional states (Utah, Illinois, Georgia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona) have honored recognized the Day holiday by Proclamation.
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OTHER ISSUES
The Korematsu Institute has taken a stand on other important issues over the years. Some examples of our advocacy work include the following:
• Opposing President Trump’s Travel Ban
• Supporting San Francisco’s “Comfort Women” Memorial
• Commemorating February 19 as a Day of Remembrance for President Franklin D.
Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, which led to the mass incarceration of individuals of
Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast during WWII
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