“While I strongly support a balanced ethnic studies curriculum, the present draft falls far short of the goals articulated by the legislation. This heavily politicized document bypasses completely the raison d’etre for ethnic studies. Where are the prominent Asian authors, scientists, business and political leaders who have contributed so much without promoting violence or division? Their deliberate absence undermines the true value of Asian heritage in this country.”

— KM Tan, MD

Community board member, educator, parent, physician, immigrant from Singapore

"No one should be judged based on perceived privilege-- to lump us all in one homogenous group based on the color of our skin erases our diversity, our unique history and struggles. We are more than just the color of our skin. Teaching our children to judge others solely based on the color of their skin does the opposite of what an ethnic studies curriculum should accomplish."

– Skylar Cutler

Community Organizer, sociologist, and Korean immigrant

"The current Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, instead of encouraging mutual respect and historical nuances, stokes racial divisions and animosity by subjugating our society to a binary race-based lens. From the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, to the Japanese-American internment during the World War II, to xenophobic attacks against Korean Americans in the early 1990s, to current systematic anti-Asian discrimination in selective educational access, Americans of Asian descent endured historical marginalization and unfair treatment. But, rather than be defined by the past or our collective grievances, we celebrate our diversity, rich history, and important contributions to this nation and want to be viewed as integral members of society, not as victims. Ethnic studies should reflect a holistic understanding of our proud cultural heritages and … only by building bridges can we meaningfully address racism, bigotry and misunderstanding. "

– Wenyuan Wu, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Californians for Equal Rights, International Studies Scholar, Civil Rights Advocate, Mother

“This heavily politicized curriculum divides students into victims and oppressors and will likely polarize rather than unify communities. The names mentioned throughout the draft are primarily political figures, or minor artists with a strong radical bent.”

— Anonymously Submitted

ARTICLE: The Woke ‘Model Minority’ Myth

“‘The end goal here is to pit people against each other as if our hyphenated identities are bigger than our common destiny as Americans,’ [says Wenyuan Wu, executive director of Californians for Equal Rights]… Asian-American achievement undermines the claim that structural racism dooms non-white citizens to the margins of the American dream. So Asian-Americans must either be dismissed as somehow white or sacrificed at the altar of equity.”

ARTICLE: Should I Get Canceled for Telling the Emperor He Has No Clothes On?

“As a new American, one of Asian descent, my willful participation in the counter-movement [to the current ESMC] is rooted in a deep moral conviction of our human interconnectedness despite idiosyncratic differences. I believe in the type of ethnic studies that encourages individual empowerment, mutual respect, and historical nuances rather than the zero-sum racial tribalism being evangelized as the new social norm of public education.”