Guevarra Writes OpEd on TEAACH Act Published in Truth Out
Illinois Becomes First State to Mandate Teaching Asian American History in K-12
On July 7, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed HB 0376 — the Teaching Equitable Asian American History Act (TEAACH Act) into law, making Illinois the first state in the nation to mandate the teaching of Asian American history in K-12 public schools. Championed by Illinois State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz and State Sen. Ram Villivalam, and co-sponsored by Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Chicago and members of various community organizations and educational institutions, the legislation responds to the call for inclusive curricula as a strategy for addressing the spike in anti-Asian racism and violence in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read about Dr. Anna Guevarra's take on the passage of the TEAACH Act, which makes Illinois the first state to mandate the teaching of Asian American history in K-12 published in Truth Out: https://truthout.org/articles/illinois-becomes-first-state-to-mandate-teaching-asian-american-history-in-k-12/
Dr. Guevarra is the founding director of the Global Asian Studies Program and a co-PI of the UIC AANAPISI Initiative. She is also the co-PI of the Social Justice and Human Rights Cluster and a member of the Diaspora Cluster at UIC. Professor Guevarra's scholarly, creative, and teaching interests focus on immigrant and transnational labor, the geopolitics of carework, critical diaspora studies, and community engagement as they relate to dynamics of race, gender, and empire.