May is Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) History month. While learning and growing is a year-round imperative, this month, these PD opportunities are being offered by Teach Asian American Stories (TAAS) and their partners for AAPI Curriculum.
Fairleigh Dickinson University & Teach Asian American Stories
Teaching AAPI History & Contributions: Full Day Workshop for K-12 Teachers
Tue, May 16, 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM
- $75 includes lunch and parking; generous scholarships available – please email roslyne@teachasianamericanstories.org
- Professional development hours awarded for teachers
Read and subscribe to Teach Asian American Stories. here.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago provides free professional development opportunities focused on the Asian American experience.
- Monday, May 22, 2023 4:30 – 6:30 PM (Secondary): Register Here
- Thursday, May 18, 2023 4:30 – 6:30 PM (Secondary): Register Here
- Monday, June 5, 2023 4:30 – 6:30 PM (Secondary): Register Here
- Monday, June 12, 2023 9 – 11 AM (Elementary): Register Here
This slideshow includes descriptions, fees, and options for the workshops. Schools can apply for a grant from Teach Asian American Stories to cover the cost of the workshop and/or purchase books and resources. Contact information is found in the slideshow.
Amplifying Asian American and Pacific Islander History
Princeton Public Library, Tuesday, May 23 7-8 p.m.
In this session, participants will explore the influences and contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in U.S. History from the 19th through mid-20th centuries.
Utilizing materials from the New-York Historical Society’s free curriculum guides, “Women & the American Story,” “Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion,” and “Our Composite Nation: Frederick Douglass’ America,” we will reflect on the importance of amplifying the resilience and strength of AAPI communities in a variety of learning spaces. The facilitator for this workshop is Marianne De Padua, assistant manager of professional learning at the New-York Historical Society. She oversees private professional development partnerships and custom learning workshops for K-12 teachers and education focused groups. Her most recent work includes contributing to the launch of WAMS Ambassadors, a national teacher training program centered on U.S. women’s history. She graduated with honors from Rutgers University – New Brunswick with a degree in journalism and media studies.
Film and Q&A: “Who Killed Vincent Chin?”
With Director Christine Choy: A screening of the award-winning 1987 documentary followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Christine Choy
Princeton Public Library, Tuesday May 30, 6-8:30 p.m.
“Who Killed Vincent Chin?” is a documentary film about the murder of Chinese American Vincent Chin, who was beaten to death by two white men, Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz, in June 1982 in Detroit, Michigan. Chin was a 27-year-old engineer and was celebrating his bachelor party the night he was fatally attacked. The anti-Japanese sentiment at the time was strong in Detroit due to the rise of Japan’s automotive industry and the decline of Detroit’s auto business. Ebens and Nitz were automobile workers. They mistook Chin for Japanese, blamed him for the city’s growing unemployment, and attacked him with a baseball bat after a brawl. Ebens and Nitz pled guilty to manslaughter in 1983 despite an original charge of second-degree murder. They denied it was a racially charged hate crime and never served time in prison.
The documentary interweaves multiple narratives to recount the story through interviews with those present at the crime or its legal aftermath, including Chin’s mother Lily Chin, eyewitnesses, one juror, Chin’s friends, and Ebens and his wife. It also documents the community activism that pushed for the retrial of the case as a civil rights Supreme Court case. The documentary contains graphic language describing violence. Viewer discretion is advised.
