One of the problems of offering ethnic studies in US schools — particularly about AANHPI history — has been the lack of teaching material, but school districts can no longer use the lack of resources as an excuse.
UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center just dropped a game-changer for the classroom. Their new multimedia textbook, Foundations and Futures, isn't just another dry history book — it’s a massive, digital deep-dive into the AAPI stories that usually get short shrift in American curricula.
Led by professors Karen Umemoto and Kelly Fong, It moves way beyond the "model minority" myth, bringing in over 100 scholars to spotlight more than 20 different communities, including often-overlooked stories from South Asian organizers and Pacific Islander diasporas.
This free resource packs 50 chapters of history, from the struggles of 8-year-old Mary Tape fighting for her right to go to school to the groundbreaking legacy of Hawaii Congressmember Patsy Mink.
“It’s transformative for youth to see themselves and their families centered in curriculum instead of in a paragraph, sentence, footnote or not at all,” said Fong. “In centering Asian American and Pacific Islander experiences, the textbook opens possibilities for students to feel valued and learn more about the communities they belong to as well as communities they may not know much about.”
“I was inspired by the thought of my 15-year-old Indian/Pakistani American niece seeing herself and her community represented in a major textbook,” said Uzma Quraishi, a contributing writer to the project. “I thought, ‘How empowering and affirming would that feel for a young Asian American today?’”
Almost 25 million people identify as Asian in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. Yet, a recent study from The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) found that one in four adults in the US say they lack personal connections with anyone in the AAPI community. About half of adults say that AAPIs have little or no influence on American culture, with 47% of those surveyed unable to name a famous Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and 53% unable to name a single significant moment in US history related to AAPIs.
Foundations and Futures is being released at an important time for public education, as the movement for ethnic studies in K–12 schools and higher education has grown significantly in recent years.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed California Assembly Bill 1468 in 2020, requiring students enrolled in California State University campuses to take a class in Native American Studies, African American Studies, Asian American Studies, or Latina and Latino Studies. This was followed by AB 101 in 2021, which made California the first state to require ethnic studies for high school graduation.
There are now 22 other states that have statutes requiring ethnic studies, with Oregon, Oklahoma, Florida, Tennessee and Connecticut among those that include Asian American and Pacific Islander studies in their academic standards.
What makes UCLA's textbook stand out is the format. It’s built for the TikTok generation but grounded in serious scholarship, using audio, video, and poetry to bring 200 years of struggle and triumph to life. As ethnic studies becomes a requirement in more states, UCLA is handing teachers the keys to tell a more honest, inclusive version of the American story.
“The histories featured in the textbook expand our understanding of the world in transformative ways. It helps grow our understanding of who we are and build mutual respect across differences,” said Umemoto. “It deepens knowledge about growing societal problems and shares intergenerational wisdom to make positive change in the world.”
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