Combating Anti-Asian Racism and Xenophobia: Toward Pandemic Anti-Racism Education in Post-COVID-19 Canada

This document, which can be printed and used as a bookmark, consists of a number of questions that help guide professional practices, particularly educational pedagogy as a means to ensure such practices are culturally sensitive, appropriate, responsive, and immersive. As such, these questions are to be used as a guide when creating content, and activities, curating and utilizing resources, and sharing information.

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Guiding Questions for Consideration when watching this video with Dr. Cary Wu

1. What is the origin of Asian racism in Canada and how has it influenced today's socio-political environment?
2. How has the increase in attitudes towards certain Asian communities during the Covid-19 pandemic worsened existing discrimination and what steps can be taken to effectively address this issue?
3. What are the institutional structures and systems that contribute to the persistence of Asian racism, in Canada?
4. How might educational technology tools be leveraged to dismantle discriminatory practices?
5. What is the impact of anti-Asian racism on the mental health and well-being of individuals within Asian-Canadian communities?
6. What support structures and strategies can be put in place by educational institutions to combat the rising mental health issues in Asian-Canadian communities?
7. What role can educational technology play in promoting intercultural understanding and inclusivity to effectively combat anti-Asian racism?
8. What steps can be taken to ensure that the curriculum and pedagogy are culturally responsive and sensitive to the experiences of Asian communities?
9. How might the First Peoples Principles of Learning be utilized as a framework to create a more inclusive learning environment, while addressing both anti-Asian racism and broader systemic issues?

The Asian Pacific Foundation of Canada has curated and created a plethora of resources with the goal of combating Anti-Asian Racism and helping Canadians learn about Asian descent and the wrong-doings experienced by Asian Canadians throughout history.

The Department of Asian Studies at UBC has an incredible assortment of resources including new stories, opinion pieces, and scholarly articles that highlight race in Asian or Asian diaspora communities.

• Righting Canada's Wrongs 2023 Set
• Bonous-Hammarth, M. (Ed.). (2022). Bridging marginality through inclusive higher education. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Kim, A. H., Buckner, E., & Montsion, J. M. (2023). International students from Asia in Canadian universities: Institutional challenges at the intersection of internationalization, inclusion, and racialization. Routledge.
• Languages in Canada - Statistics Canada

• Saffron Threads Project to create free K-12 resources for teachers and the South Asian Digital Archive.
• Saffron Threads Activity plans
• Principal and teachers from an elementary school using the Saffron Threads resources.
• Article containing an interview with Dr. Satwinder Kaur Bains, Director, South Asian Studies Institute, University of the Fraser Valley, discussing the South Asian Canadian Legacies Project
• The Gur Sikh Temple in Abbotsford is the oldest in North America and is a National Heritage Site.
• Komagata Maru Incident of 1914
• Komagata Maru Memorial
• South Asian Canadian Digital Archive (history, culture, and experiences of South Asian communities in Canada, which includes a collection of documents, photographs, and oral histories highlighting the challenges faced by South Asian Canadians)
• Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) - Not exclusively focused on South Asians, but this site includes resources aimed at empowering Muslim women to combat discrimination including Islamophobia and xenophobia in Canada.
• Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA) - resource aimed at students interested in anti-Asian racism within South Asian communities in Canada.
• South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) based at the University of the Fraser Valley highlighting South Asian history, culture, and social issues in Canada. This site provides an in-depth analysis of the South Asian diaspora’s experience (i.e., instances of racism and discrimination)
• Canadian Women for Women Afghanistan (CW4AW)- aims to reduce poverty for Afghani women through education
• Note: The CWAW has been a MET practicum placement (ETEC 581) opportunity in the past and is available for future collaboration and partnership for any interested MET student.

Silk Road Cultural Diplomacy Project (aimed at promoting cultural understanding and diversity with a specific focus on the historical significance of the Silk Road Countries of Central Asian communities)

• One Belt, One Road, One Heritage: Cultural Diplomacy and the Silk Road - The Diplomat
• About the Silk Roads - UNESCO

Central Asian Studies Association (CASA)

Global Centre for Pluralism (emphasizes the importance of fostering respect and diversity while combating discrimination- not solely focused on Central Asia but includes resources and educational materials promoting an understanding and appreciation of cultures including those of Silk Road Countries)

East Asian Studies Centre- (lectures, seminars, workshops focused on East Asian-Canadian experiences related to racism and discrimination)

• Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at UofT
• Centre for Japanese Research - UBC

Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC)

Korean-Canadian Cultural Association

• Bamboo Shoots - Chinese Canadian Legacies in Canada (lesson plans and resource packages)
• Canada’s History Lesson Plans: Chinatown and its Importance to Canadians of Chinese Descent
• Crossing Borders and Removing barriers- Finding Home: Early Chinese
• Social Studies Elementary Reference Sets: Chinese Head Tax (contains links to many other resources)
• Roses Sing on New Snow (National Film Board of Canada)
• Winds of Spring (National Film Board of Canada)
• Heritage Minutes: Nitro
• The Chinese Immigration Act: Exclusion of Chinese Immigrants (1923–1947) National Historic Event
• Asian-Canadian Educators Network
• How teachers are fighting anti-Asian racism through education
• New study shows extent of anti-Asian racism in Canada
• 3 years into the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian hate still prevalent in Metro Vancouver: advocates

• Teacher Resource Guides
• Japanese Canadian Legacies Society
• Japanese Canadian Internment Gr 10-12 (with BCTF membership)
• Anti-Asian Riots of 1907
• BC Labour Heritage Centre
• Vancouver Asahi Baseball Team: Heritage Minutes - Vancouver Asahi
• Remembering the cultural and baseball legacy of the Vancouver Asahi
• Sleeping Tigers (National Film Board of Canada)
• Enemy Alien (National Film Board of Canada)
• Nikkei National Museum and Heritage Centre
• Obachan’s Garden (National Film Board of Canada)
• A War Story (National Film Board of Canada)

• Wikipedia - Korean Canadians
• Korean Alphabet (National Film Board of Canada)
• Explore Asian-Korean Canadian History

• Question Period (National Film Board of Canada)
• Four Women of Egypt (National Film Board of Canada)
• Islam in Canada
• Muslims Praying in Toronto’s Jami Mosque represent a new facet of Canadian religious life
• Two sides: Canadian Arabs and Muslims, like metro family above praying during gulf war, often found themselves at odds with some war sympathizers
• National Council of Canadian Muslims
• Helping Students Deal with Trauma-related Geopolitical Violence and Islamaphobia

• Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation (PCCF)- focused on promoting Filipino culture and heritage in Canada while drawing awareness to the challenges of racism and discrimination for Filipino-Canadaians
• Indonesian Canadian Congress (ICC)
• Vietnamese Canadian Federation (VCF)
• Myanmar-Canadian Ethnic Nationalities Organization

Creating inclusive and culturally sensitive learning environments is imperative in addressing issues related to systemic racism and oppression. Educating students about the experiences and challenges faced by marginalized communities including Asian Canadians, is an important step towards fostering empathy and supporting critical change. Below are a list of activities that can help to promote this change.

Note: it is important to consistently assess the inherent biases that you bring to the learning experience and the impact these activities have on student learning and engagement. Seeking feedback from the Asian-Canadian community members to ensure that these initiatives are respectful, accurate, and appropriate is necessary.

1. Storytelling and Literature
    
   Introduce literature and authentic first-person stories (see the list of resources above) that highlight the experiences of Asian Canadians, including narratives of immigration, cultural identity, challenges, successes, and the impact the Asian community has had on Canadian history and current Canadian culture, policy, social, and economic realms.

 

2. Historical Analysis
    
   Historically, Canadian history of Asian immigration and involvement has been taught from a very colonialist viewpoint and as such, suffered the dangers of the single story. Instead, you might consider presenting the history of Asian Canadians, including the challenges they faced during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the discrimination policies they encountered (i.e., Chinese Head Tax and the Exclusion Act) by providing opportunities to hear first-person accounts and utilize primary resources designed with Asian community representation of these events in times in history.

   Have students analyze the impact these historical events had on the Asian Canadian community and discuss the ongoing implications of these policies in contemporary society.

   Students can also conduct a curriculum jam using the Canadian Encyclopedia with a specific directive being on Asian Canadian events and involvement in Canadian History. Have students examine the history and identify of Asian Canadians' involvement in history and consider from whose perspective this history was written. How might it be re-written?

 

3. Intersectionality and Identity
    
   It is important for students to create intersectional understandings through the exploration of the intersection between race and identity. It is recommended at all age levels to facilitate inclusive discussions on the intersectionality of race, gender, and other identities within the Asian Canadian community, highlighting the unique challenges faced by individuals at these intersections (see Kimberlé Crawford). Students should critically reflect on their own identities and privileges and connect these with the intersectional experience for Asian Canadians.

 

4. Media Representation and Stereotypes- Cultural Jamming
    
   In this lesson(s) students can analyze the way in which Asian-Canadians are portrayed in the media through the examination of stereotypes, biases, and their impact on public perceptions with a directive being on Asian Canadians' past and ongoing contributions to society. Students can create a cultural jam and create their own media projects to showcase the authentic and diverse experiences, events and individualized intersectional personas of Asian Canadians.

 

5. Allyship and Solidarity Opportunities
    
   Including students in the process of building collaborative partnerships of allyship and solidarity with Canadian communities including Asian Canadian communities is a means of combating racism and discrimination. Brainstorm with students, ways to create actionable steps toward becoming active allies (within and between) Asian Canadian communities both within their school and in the larger local, provincial, and national community. In a harmonious partnership, Asian Canadian students and their non-Asian Canadian peers are encouraged to collaborate to create innovative approaches for sharing teachings, cultures, languages, and traditions to foster strong partnerships.

   If you have ideas or lessons to share that help to address systemic racism and oppression in Asian-Canadian communities for the purpose of enacting change, please share them in this Padlet.