4 Asian-American Women Who Changed HistoryIt’s no secret that most social studies curricula in

4 Asian-American Women Who Changed History

It’s no secret that most social studies curricula in the United States are crammed full of narratives about white men. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard about George Washington crossing the Delaware River, yet every history class I’ve taken seems to come and go without any discussion of people who look like me.

There’s no mention of the Chinese laborers instrumental in constructing the transcontinental railroad; little discussion of the more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans wrongly placed in internment camps during World War II; and, critically, no commemoration of the countless Asian-Americans who changed the course of U.S. history.

Asian-Americans, especially Asian-American women, are often pigeonholed as meek or unassertive, rather than depicted as leaders. The roots of these stereotypes lie in the erasure of Asian trailblazers in history.

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