Addressing Anti-Asian Racism With Students

Warning: Video above contains a racial slur and discussion of trauma. To read more from Dawoun Jyung's interview, see the article Hard Classroom Conversations About Anti-Asian Racism.

If you’re preparing to discuss anti-Asian racism with your students, explore the resources for middle and high school students designed by educators at Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School in Queens, New York. Teachers Dawoun Jyung and Lauren Kosasa have made editable versions of three lessons available for other educators to use (requires Google sign-in to make copies):

• Lesson 1: What Happened? (Teacher guide and slide deck)
• Lesson 2: How We Got Here, and How Do We Get Out? (Teacher guide and slide deck)
• Lesson 3: History of Anti-Asian Racism (Teacher guide, slide deck, and Jamboard) 

The first lesson deals with the Atlanta mass shooting and the rising racism against Asian Americans. The second lesson looks at the context of anti-Asian violence and some ways that Asian-American communities have responded to this violence. The third lesson is a deeper dive into historical incidences of anti-Asian violence in the United States. Lessons include discussion prompts, video viewing suggestions and links, and ideas for how to create safe spaces and norms for students to have these conversations. The documentary short mentioned in the video is Anti-Asian Violence Has Long History and Must Be Addressed. Here’s Why, produced by the San Francisco Chronicle. 

For more classroom resources to combat anti-Asian racism and violence, visit:

• Anti-Defamation League Resource: Challenging Anti-Asian Bias and Acting as an Ally
• Learning for Justice Lesson: Speaking Up Against Racism Around the Coronavirus
• Not In Our Town Guide: What You Can Do to Fight Asian American Hate and Violence