aseanational.org

PRESS RELEASE
March 9, 2009

On Saturday, March 7th, students from 20 different schools came together at Lick-Wilmerding high school in San Francisco to attend the first annual Student Leadership Conference for Asian/Pacific Islander (API) & API-Multi-ethnic students. Students explored issues of race, identity, the myth of the model minority and it's history and modern implications, intersections of the API experience with hunger, violence, poverty, immigration and gender.

Students who attended the conference not only learned about the history of Asians in America, they were given concrete examples and steps for becoming leaders and activists, knowing that it is incumbent on all of us to be part of the solution and no longer is it acceptable to be a bystander. Twenty different schools were represented from the Bay Area, from Carmel to Marin, with students from the eighth grade up to seniors. The importance of creating a space for API students, by API educators was never more obvious and apparent as this day, where students could feel free to talk about race, immigration, class, and culture to delve deeply into discussion and personal experiences.

Dennis Kim, a.k.a. Denizen Kane from Youth Speaks attended and dialogued with the students, providing much fodder for discussion throughout the day. Students were challenged to think about their responsibility to their culture and as an American. Talking about the model minority myth and how it is divisive, drawing ties to a letter that was issued by a white slave owner, Willie Lynch, telling other slave owners to create a class system of house slaves and field slaves. Divide and conquer. Unite and find strength.

Panelists from all over the Bay Area spoke to the students about their own paths towards activism and the need for leaders. Wei Ming Dariotis, Assistant Professor of Asian American Studies at SFUS talked about the history of the ethnic clubs and the demand for Ethnic Studies to be recognized as a major. Alison Park, founder of Blink Consulting, shared her experience with being the subject of racial slurs at a bus stop and the need for allies, while Anisha Desai, Executive Director of the Women of Color Resource Center, told of her youth growing up being classified as black and not having any other Indian represented in her community. Ravi Lau, Director of the Student Center for Civic Engagement and Leadership at Lick-Wilmerding, grew up in the Bay Area bubble and began connecting with his ethnic status towards the end of high school while sitting next to someone in a car who began talking about "Chinese drivers," and finding himself unprepared for any discussion on this topic or claiming his mixed-race status in this situation. "Asian Americans are under-represented...working for social change," an observation that was a catalyst for Andy Shin, Executive Director of Breakthrough San Francisco. Of course, this only scratches the surface of what was talked about.

The educators who make up the Asian Educators Alliance are all working in the Bay Area schools and volunteer all of their time to this organization. Jeanne Coyne Song, who works at Redwood Day School in Oakland says, "This is the work that sustains me. It is more important than the air I breathe and the food I ingest. I know the history of America is one that is defined by black and white. But I also know that the future of America means that the discussion has to be more inclusive and move beyond that archetype. And it is incumbent on us, the minorities, to keep pushing this agenda to the forefront, especially when the economy, energy and water shortages, global warming, and wars around the world are making the headlines. But we need to start talking about people again. If we are people-centric, then we wouldn't litter or waste our resources, we wouldn't scam billions of dollars from one another for personal greed. I once spoke with Frank Wu, author of "Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White," who says that until we are all at the table, no one will be served. I really like this analogy. I'm inviting everyone to the table, but first I want to give these students the tools to be present and participate when that day comes."

To make a donation or to volunteer your services, contact the Asian Educators Alliance (AsEA) at www.aseanational.org, Jeanne Coyne Song at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 510.534.0804 ext. 226, or Prasant Nukalapati at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it