Listen to Oral Histories and Tell Your Own!

Listen to AAU oral histories »

Have you been involved with AAU in the past? Please tell us your about your experiences »

Used to be involved with AAU and want to join in again? Find out more »

top

TRIUMPHANT: U.S. Dept. of Justice issues complaint against School District of Philadelphia alleging bias and reaches groundbreaking settlement establishing safe schools free of bias as a right.

“The US brings this civil action pursuant to Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States to remedy and enjoin named Defendants’ unlawful discrimination against Asian students based on race, color and/or national origin at South Philadelphia High School . . . These students were repeatedly and consistently harassed based on race, color and/or national origin, which barred the students’ access to equal educational opportunities. Defendants had actual knowledge of this severe and pervasive harassment and were deliberately indifferent to the harassment . . .’
—U.S. vs. School District of Philadelphia, Dec. 15, 2010

Read about it here:

• The Philadelphia Inquirer: Asian students praised for role in 2 Philly school settlements – by Jeff Gammage, December 21, 2010
• CNN: Philly schools agree to address anti-Asian violence at high school – by Sarah Hoye, December 16, 2010

Statement from the Asian Students Association of Philadelphia (ASAP)

One year ago today, December 15th, 2009, the students of the South Philadelphia High School boycott decided to suspend our 8-day boycott after gaining national and international support for our effort to stop racial bias against us and fight for truly safe schools . Today, December 15th, 2010, we are here to witness our next victory: the Consent Decree enforced by the U.S. Dept. of Justice and the PA Human Relations Commission.

We are here today to emphasize that this agreement did not come into existence by itself. We the students and the community advocates went to the Dept. of Justice and PHRC in order to ensure that the changes at our school lasted for students beyond just us. We did not want money or lawsuits. What we wanted was a clear statement that what had been happening at our school was wrong in the eyes of the federal government. This action shows that the U.S., our country, believes that every child has a right to a safe school, which is protected by the U.S. Constitution and upheld by the courts. Read more or download the statement.

top

Statement from the South Philadelphia High School Asian Students Advocates (SASA)

As advocates and organizers who have worked to address both anti-Asian/anti-immigrant bias as well as racial and ethnic harassment and violence in schools, we welcome the School Reform Commission’s approval of historic and ground-breaking agreements with the U.S. Dept. of Justice and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

In these agreements, for the first time, the District recognizes and decries anti-Asian and anti-immigrant bias and violence and accepts a clear responsibility to immediately address all instances of racial and ethnic violence. What could have been a simple act of educational and moral leadership by the District a year ago, instead required over a year of bruising struggle and finally the intervention of federal and Commonwealth authorities. Read more or download the statement.

top

Asian Students from the South Philly High Boycott, AAU and SASA in the News

Racial violence spurred Asian students to take a stand – By Sarah Hoye, CNN. You can also view it here.

On Friday, October 22nd, 2010, CNN prominently ran a moving and powerful video about the South Philadelphia High School struggle on its home page. Under a “Stop Bullying: Speak Up” Campaign by CNN, the story profiles the student and community efforts to transform South Philadelphia High School in the wake of school and District neglect of anti-Asian/anti-immigrant violence there.

The video is a great reminder of the hard work of SASA, South Philadelphia High School Asian Student Advocates which has been working for the past two years on racial violence in schools. Philadelphia City Paper named SASA its 2010 Big Vision Award winner in the Activism/Watchdogs category, called “The Guardians.&rsdquo; Read more »

top