“It has always been easier to erase a community than to reckon with its full humanity. Asian Americans know this. We were written out of textbooks long before DEI became a political target,” said Roslyne Shiao, Co-Executive Director of AAPI New Jersey, as she kicked off “The Stories We Teach, The Futures We Shape,” an event dedicated to highlighting the work of AAPI New Jersey’s Teach Asian American Stories (TAAS) education initiative.
Over 100 community members, educators, and activists gathered on Friday, May 22, to honor the eight graduating TAAS Fellows for the transformative impact they have made in classrooms throughout the state.
The event also featured the premiere of AAPI New Jersey’s new motion graphic documentary, Roots & Routes: A Brief History of Asian Americans in the Garden State. Beyond an evening of celebration, community-building, and Asian cuisine, the event served as a powerful call to action, highlighting the importance of teaching AAPI histories, contributions, and stories in New Jersey classrooms.
The TAAS Fellowship prepares educators to become ambassadors of AAPI-focused curriculum and to lead professional development workshops on how to integrate AAPI lessons into their classrooms to ensure all students have a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of American history.
TAAS Fellows worked closely with Dr. Khyati Joshi, the Fellowship Program Education Partner and a professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, who played an instrumental role in creating the TAAS Fellowship. Three years ago, Dr. Joshi and AAPI New Jersey collaborated on developing the fellowship program with the sole objective of providing opportunities for professional development under New Jersey’s AAPI curriculum law (S4021), which requires the inclusion of Asian American and Pacific Islander histories in K–12 public education.
“We were happy the mandate was there, but it was unfunded. That’s when AAPI New Jersey stepped up,” said Joshi. “When we are talking about our history and social justice, it’s about our lives, and that’s what makes it so personal. Our fellowship program has made it possible for teachers and educational leaders to understand our students, our families, and our communities.”
Over the past year, TAAS Fellows attended trainings and designed their own unique curricula and teacher workshops based on their interests, students’ needs, and identities.
“In my workshop, I focus on teaching with awareness and understanding to create an inclusive environment and ensure every child feels seen, valued, and proud of who they are,” said TAAS graduate June Lam, an elementary school teacher in Bergen County.
Other topics included uncovering the “model minority” myth, exploring Asian American representation in film, and examining the role of Chinese Americans in the Mississippi Delta during the Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras.
TAAS graduate Marissa LaSala, a middle school teacher in Middlesex County, said in her acceptance speech, “I learned so much more history that I was never exposed to growing up, and it challenged me to reflect on whose stories are traditionally centered in education and whose stories are often left out.”
By empowering educators to become facilitators, the TAAS Fellowship has had an exponential effect on knowledge-sharing among educators across the state. This school year alone, the initiative has delivered workshops and webinars to more than 1,000 educators.
“The absence of these stories has always had consequences—for AAPI students who grew up without seeing themselves, and for every student who learned an incomplete version of what this country is and how it was built,” said Shiao.
After the graduation ceremony, AAPI New Jersey premiered Roots & Routes: A Brief History of Asian Americans in the Garden State. The educational short film delves into the little-known stories of Revolutionary War soldiers of Asian descent, Bengali merchants who established extensive trade routes in the U.S., and Japanese Americans who were forced to work in labor camps during World War II. The film reveals the diversity of New Jersey’s history and unearths stories that have been absent from our classrooms and the public eye.
Through archival research, historical narratives, and beautifully crafted animation, the documentary explores the many ways AAPI communities have shaped New Jersey’s social, economic, and cultural landscapes throughout the state’s history. Future screenings and plans to make the film available to teachers are in the works.
Hearing these stories and those of our TAAS Fellows drove home the power of storytelling, education, and community-building, as well as the potential for Teach Asian American Stories not only to help students see themselves as integral to our nation’s narratives, but also to help others see them too.
Congratulations to the 2025–2026 TAAS Fellows: Rebekah Chung, Carol Fevola, Rodney Jackson, June Lam, Marissa LaSala, Kate LeBlanc, Alison Lubar, and Mindie Sobrinski!
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This work is made possible through the generous support of our partners. The TAAS Fellowship is supported by The Asian American Foundation, and Roots & Routes: A Brief History of Asian Americans in the Garden State was made possible through funding from the New Jersey Historical Commission.
