Grassroots Organizations
Based in Philadelphia, Asian Americans United is committed to building leadership in Asian American communities. In 2009, after 26 Asian immigrant students were attacked at South Philadelphia High School, AAU supported students in boycotting the school for 8 days and demanding accountability from school leadership. During the boycott, the students analyzed the problem of anti-Asian violence at their school, proposed solutions, and testified at a school board meeting. Their actions received wide media coverage and a settlement addressing anti-Asian immigrant violence was eventually reached between the U.S. Justice Department and the Philadelphia School District . 8
The Asian American Parent Association is a group of parents from the city of Cupertino, who advocate for changes within the two school districts. They seek to have a greater voice in matters surrounding school administration, and have established quarterly meetings with the superintendent and staff of both the Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) and the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD). In addition, they have supported CUSD to establish a Diversity/Multi-Cultural Education Coordinator position, and have established an Asian American Teachers Scholarship for Asian American students who aspire to become teachers.9
APANO is a statewide, grassroots organization that unites Asians and Pacific Islanders to achieve social justice. Regarding education, APANO has worked with Portland public schools to expand dual language immersion options for Vietnamese and Chinese languages. They seek to improve and maintain ELL programs and funding in Portland public schools.10
AYPAL is an organization in Oakland that empowers low income immigrant and refugee Asian and Pacific Islander families to strive for school reform and neighborhood change11. They collaborate with the Oakland Unified School District’s Meaningful Student Engagement Program and the Family, Schools and Community Partnerships unit on education issues. AYPAL advocates for fairness and equity in school funding, as well as ethnic studies at OUSD.12
The South Asian Organizing Center (formerly Desis Rising Up and Moving) mobilizes low-income, South Asian immigrants in New York City to lead social and policy change that affects areas such as immigration, education reform, and worker’s justice.13 Their youth-led program, YouthPower!, addresses the problem of the school to prison pipeline and advocates for student immigration rights. They are working to change the NYC Student Discipline Code and to require schools to use restorative justice, peer mediation, and positive behavior support programs as an alternative to suspensions and arrests.14
Based in Long Beach, CA, Khmer Girls in Action is a community-based organization that empowers young Southeast Asian women in social justice organizing. They promote practices, policies, and programs in the Long Beach Unified School District that keeps students in school and on track to graduate. The Every Student Matters (ESM) campaign works in partnership with LBUSD leaders, educators, parents, and students to promote a positive school climate and proactive alternatives to punitive, exclusionary discipline practices that currently remove students from the classroom and school.15
PrYSM was founded in response to a series of repeated Cambodian gang fights and resulting deaths. It is a youth organization based in Providence, RI that supports Southeast Asian youth in becoming leaders, organizers, and critical thinkers.16 This organization is concerned about how the model minority stereotype erases the needs and concerns of Southeast Asians in schools. Their Visibility Campaign seeks to raise awareness about the particular needs and challenges of Southeast Asians and other ethnic groups in Providence, and advocates for the disaggregation of data by ethnicity (not just race).17
Founded in 2011, SEA3eD is an organization based in Seattle that is dedicated to advancing the educational empowerment of Southeast Asian Americans. SEA3eD organizes around three core educational issues: increasing access to educational resources, connecting students with mentors, and building awareness around issues affecting Southeast Asian Americans in education. In addition, they conduct college access workshops for SEAA families and are campaigning for data disaggregation on an institutional, state, and national level.18
A non-profit organization based in Seattle, the Vietnamese Friendship Association (VFA) advances equity in education, advocates for refugee and immigrant populations, and fosters civic engagement. VFA is the current chair of the Southeast Seattle Education Coalition (SESEC), which seeks to provide access to preschool for low-income children, equitable distribution of resources in schools, and ELL endorsements for all Seattle teachers.19 VFA has formed Hoa Mai Vietnamese Bilingual Preschool, which is deeply committed to a culturally relevant, anti-bias, dual language curriculum. In addition, they have been successful in having a cultural navigator placed at Wing Luke Elementary, who builds bridges between the school and families through cultural competency.20