The Berkeley Unified School District stands with the Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and wishes to affirm its commitment to the safety and well-being of Asian American students, staff and community members. At its March 24, 2021 meeting, the Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education unanimously ratified a resolution denouncing hate crimes and bigotry targeting the AAPI community.
Read the Resolution
BUSD’s Ethnic Studies Website
In 2021, our district made a commitment via our Resolution Denouncing Hate Crimes and Bigotry Targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, to actively counter racist and harmful ideology against the AAPI community with our greatest tool: education.
In October, we honor the over four hundred years of history of Filipino/x Americans in this country. Since 2009, U.S. Congress has recognized October as Filipino American History Month and our district joins the many communities and organizations that are celebrating the fact that Filipino/x American history is American history.
Educator Resources
This TK-8 Teaching Guide was compiled by Joemy Ito-Gates, Ethnic Studies TSA in collaboration with BUSD AAPI Members.
Family Guides
AAPI Reading Lists for All Ages
These reading lists, organized by grade level, represent books published in recent years that are devoted to uplifting Asian-American and Pacific Islander history, celebrating heritage, affirming identity, and promoting antiracism. Sharing these books is one part of our effort to develop anti-racist consciousness with and for our youth and ensure they know they are not alone and that they can speak out to help stop the spread of bigotry.
BUSD AAPI Heritage Month Celebration: AAPI Activism BUSD Stories
All families are invited to attend “AAPI Activism BUSD Stories,” a celebration of our Asian American and Pacific Islander community and their experiences to be held on Friday, May 19 from 5:00 – 7:30 pm in the BUSD School Board Meeting Room. The event will include small bites from a local BUSD family restaurant, crafts, games, a hula performance, and a panel of community activists. Child care will be available for the panel portion of the evening. Please RSVP to indicate childcare needs.
Here is a shareable PDF flier for this event.
Lifting Up BUSD Staff AAPI Voices
AAPI Heritage Month: May 2023
In celebration of our AAPI community, this year BUSD has introduced “Lifting Up AAPI Voices,” a campaign to share our staff AAPI narratives with our students and community by creating posters featuring the stories and experiences of AAPI staff. In May, these posters will be displayed at schools, work sites, on the BUSD website, in social media, and in district publications. Sharing these narratives with our students will allow them to deepen connections with AAPI adults in the district.
Megan Caluza
Emerson Elementary School, Rosa Parks Elementary School, Ruth Acty Elementary School, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School
Behavior Specialist
Jimmy T. Tran
STEM Makerspace Teacher
Longfellow Middle School
Dr. Dawn “Doc Dub” Williams
Berkeley High School
Teacher, African Diaspora & Spanish in the African Diaspora
View the Recording: Hear us Roar! Celebrating AAPI Voices in the Year of the Tiger
(May 2022)
Date: Thursday, May 19, 2022
Time: 6:00-7:30 pm
Download the event flyer here.
Special presenters included children’s book author, Innosanto Nagara, author of A is for Activist; Drag Queen Story Hour founding queen, Panda Dulce, who read celebratory AAPI stories; as well as the author of upper grades novel, The Samosa Rebellion, Shanthi Sekaran, who is also a BUSD parent!
Thank you to our generous donors for helping to make this event happen: Asian American Affairs and BAM PTA, Cragmont PTA, Rosa Parks PTA, and several AAPI families of BUSD.
View the Recording of this Important AAPI Community Event
(May 2021)
Hear Us Now: BUSD’S Asian American Community Speaks Out Against Anti-Asian Racism
View the Hear Us Now Panel Recording Here
On May 6, 2021, BUSD’s Asian American community and district leaders held a discussion and reflection on anti-Asian racism with all members of the BUSD community invited.
Moderated by Berkeley School Board Director Ana Vasudeo, aand with panelists including Khatharya Um, Associate Professor, Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies, U.C. Berkeley, as well as parent, teacher and student representatives of BUSD schools, this panel delved into not only the current crisis in the Bay Area and across the country over the past year as cases of anti-Asian racism in the form of discrimination, scapegoating, harassment and violence have skyrocketed, but also the historical roots of hate and racism against people of Asian descent in the U.S. The Panel also discussed how this prevailing racism has impacted Asian American students, families, teachers and staff of BUSD, and how allies can offer support in meaningful ways.
This event was held in partnership with BUSD Superintendent’s Office; BUSD School Board; the BUSD Office of Civil Rights, and a newly-formed group of BUSD AAPI parents, teachers, staff and students. (For more information about this group, please email: busdaapi@gmail.com)
BHS Educators Share Anti-AAPI Hate Stories
(May 2021)
These videos from our own BUSD teachers are a powerful reminder of the pervasive impact of hate and systemic racism.
I am a Korean-American, first generation, and a proud Asian-American. I was not always able to say that I was a proud Asian-American. A lot of what I heard and experienced growing up made me feel like I shouldn’t be proud.
David An, Counselor at BHS
My sister and I still remember the boy a year older than me, who used to chase us home from school daily (or what felt that way for some time) calling us “Chinese” and yelling his slurs at us…I still remember his face.
Sometimes in front of his own mom, who once suggested to me he had a crush on me: the ways we’ve conditioned ourselves to rationalize the looks, the slights, the slurs, the overt acts of racism.
Saikiko Muranaka, Teacher at BHS
NOTE: these videos may contain racial slurs or references to hate crimes.

More AAPI Resources
Resources for Families
Bystander Intervention Training to Stop AAPI Harassment and Xenophobia | Hollaback!/AAAJ
Stop AAPI Hate: Resources for Supporting Conversations with Children | Article from Momentous Institute
How to Talk to Kids about Anti-Asian Violence | Article from Parents
Asian American Attacks: A Guide for Parents Struggling to Explain Hate Crimes to Their Children | Article from CBS SF BayArea
Resources for Educators
Teaching AAPI Heritage | Webinar from Learning for Justice
Bystander Intervention Training to Stop AAPI Harassment and Xenophobia | Hollaback/AAAJ
K-5 Mini Teaching Guide | Joemy Ito-Gates
LGBTQ Asian Identities | Article from Learning for Justice
The Model Minority Myth | Article from Learning for Justice
Family Guide: Three Things You Can Do To Celebrate Filipino/x American History Month

The English Family Guide PDF is HERE.
1. LISTEN
Listen to the Lived Experiences of Filipino/x People
ARTICLE “Are you Filipino or Filipinx?”
LISTEN to the podcast, Long Distance Radio
VIDEO about Indigenous people of the Philippines
VIDEO “How do we Unlearn Anti-Blackness in Filipino Culture?”
PODCAST interview with Berkeley-based, Nikki Brown Booker, racial and disability justice advocate
VIDEO Filipino American and Muslim
VIDEO The Filipino Jewish Rock Start, Mike Hanopol

The Arabic Family Guide PDF is HERE.
2. LEARN
Learn About Filipino/x Cultures and Local Organizations
READ about the origins of FilAm History
Month
SHORT VIDEO about why it is called a
History Month and not a Heritage Month
SHORT VIDEO of 15 Facts about Fil-Am
History
READ about the history of the San
Francisco I-Hotel
READ/WATCH about Filipino/x
contributions to the Farm Labor Movement
VIDEO A Filipino American Story Since
1587
Sama Sama Summer Camp
FACES Coalition
Bindlestiff Studio
Bayanihan Equity Center
Filipino Advocates for Justice
Filipino Community Center
Soma Pilipinas

The Spanish Family Guide PDF is HERE.
3. LIFT UP
Lift Up and Celebrate Filipino/x Culture with Your Family
LIST of LGBTQ+ Filipinx Americans to celebrate
VISIT the Asian Art Museum in SF on 10/2 for a
Family Fun Day insipred by the art of Carlos Villa
LISTEN to these joyful songs: Our Friend Larry Itliong by AJ Rafael & Brush it Off by Thomas Orlina
COLOR pages about the lives of freedom fighters
Gabriela Silang and Datu Lapu
WATCH Bay Area’s Parangal Dance Company
READ books with your family.
TK-8 Teaching Resources
This diverse collection of resources was compiled by Joemy Ito-Gates, BUSD’s Ethnic Studies TSA in collaboration with the Professional Development Team.
Some additional resources for teachers can be found on BUSD’s Ethnic Studies Website.
Click here to read the BUSD Filipino/x American History Month Tk-8 Teaching Resource Guide.

Get Involved and Learn More
Here is a list of AAPI Organizations in the Bay Area and beyond to contact for more information.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC)
Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC)
Bay Area Regional Pacific Islander Task Force
Pacific Islander Initiative, Centers for Educational Justice & Community Engagement, UC Berkeley
Other Related Articles
How to Support the Bay Area’s Asian-American Community Right Now | Article from Thrillist
Track us Better: Overlooked Pacific Islanders Hit Hard by Coronavirus | Article from Cal Matters
The Pandemic Hasn’t Stopped Native Hawaiians’ Fight to Protect Maunakea | Article from Vox