Happy first week of school to all our San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) families and educators!
It’s been years since I was in the classroom, but I remember a key lesson from history class: the pendulum always swings. Asian American, Black, Indigenous, and Latine student activists fought for ethnic studies in the late 1960s, and they succeeded but now we are experiencing a backlash to anything race-conscious. Even in San Francisco, proud home of the Third World Liberation movement, ethnic studies has come under siege.
In April 2026, Chinese for Affirmative Action organized community members, including monolingual Chinese immigrant parents, to advocate that the SFUSD Board of Education adopt a new textbook for SFUSD’s two-semester ethnic studies course. All Board of Education Commissioners – except for Supriya Ray – listened to community voices and voted to adopt the ethnic studies textbook in a 6-1 vote.
However, since then SFUSD has been sued over the ethnic studies textbook vote. Petitioners allege the Board’s decision violated parents’ rights and raised concerns about the harm the new curriculum may have on Asian American students and families. In addition to attacks at home, Superintendent Maria Su was summoned to testify in front of Congress in a Republican-led interrogation over SFUSD’s DEI and ethnic studies programs.
Let’s be clear: ethnic studies was won, in part, by Asian Americans and Asian Americans continue to benefit from it today. We refuse to be a wedge against Black, Latine, and other students of color. Chinese for Affirmative Action conducted our own review of SFUSD’s new ethnic studies textbook and found it used a variety of primary and secondary sources, art, and maps to provide a comprehensive study of the experiences of Asian American, Pacific Islanders, Indigenous, Black, and Latine communities. We concluded that the new ethnic studies curriculum establishes a solid foundation for all students to analyze the impacts of race and ethnicity in American history and today. We also reviewed research studies that demonstrate how SFUSD’s ethnic studies curriculum raised student GPAs, especially for male, Black and Latine students, and students with disabilities. Everyone benefits, including Asian American students.
Given the hostile political climate locally and nationally, Chinese for Affirmative Action wrote an open letter to showcase Asian American support for ethnic studies. Signatories include Asian Americans who are current and former San Francisco elected officials, ethnic studies scholars, original protesters from the Third World Liberation student strikes, educators, school site leaders, and SFUSD parents and students.
We invite everyone in the Asian American community to stand up to these ongoing attacks on public education. Join us as we honor our community’s longstanding commitment to education and equity.
In solidarity,
Emily Fung
CAA Education Equity Manager
