Illinois lawmaker looking to “defeat ignorance” with the nation’s first mandate on AAPI history in schools

As hate incidents against Asian Americans continue to rise nationwide, Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz of Illinois said that a new bill, which would be the first in the nation to require Asian American history to be taught in public schools, will help to address “harmful stereotypes” and “defeat ignorance.” “As a student of the Illinois public schools, I knew nothing about the Chinese Exclusion Acts