The national organization “Make Us Visible” launched a kick-off event to fight against Anti-Asian hate crimes through education in Washington Saturday.
The group’s goal is to highlight the achievements and contributions of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the United States and to include this in the K-12 curriculum.
“Not many students in America have learned about AANH (Asian-American/Native Hawaiian) history,” said student Elias Locsin. “This program is to raise Asian voices and so more students know about Asian history”, according to Fox News.
The number of reported hate crimes against AAPI community increased dramatically as COVID-19 broke out. According to a study conducted by Frontiers, over 25% of households reported anti-Asian violence related to COVID-19, and two-thirds of respondents met the criteria for a major mental health condition.
“Make Us Visible” believes increased education about Asian Americans can lead to a decrease in anti-Asian hate crimes. The organization wants AAPI students to learn about their own community to give them a sense of belonging.
“Make Us Visible” was founded at the beginning of 2021 by two parents and a teacher. As the organization grew, more parents, students and teachers across the country joined to search for a long-term solution to anti-Asian American violence together.
Since then, this organization claims it’s helped pass five bills in New Jersey, Rhode Island and Connecticut to require the inclusion of AAPI history in K-12 schools. Now their action in Washington wants to follow in those steps.
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