For Immediate Release: April 9, 2008
Contact: Karen Clifton
Phone: (559) 445-5532
Southeast Asian Leaders Turnout in Numbers to Support Bill By Assemblymember Juan Arambula
Sacramento, CA – More than 200 Valley Southeast Asian leaders walked the hall of the State Capitol today all in an effort to change the way California students study the Vietnam War. Lead by Fresno City Councilmember Blong Xiong, Southeast Asian community members and leaders traveled to Sacramento to show support for legislation that would add the “Secret War” in Laos and the role Southeast Asians played in the Vietnam War to text books.
Assembly Bill 2064, authored by Assemblymember Juan Arambula (D-Fresno), would require the State Board of Education to adopt textbooks and instructional materials to include the sacrifices Southeast Asians made during the Vietnam War as allies of the United States.
“Throughout the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, Southeast Asians were courageous allies of the U.S. in the struggle against the spread of communism,” said Assemblymember Arambula. “Their sacrifices should not be forgotten and their story needs to be told as a part of our country’s history.”
Current law encourages instruction on the Vietnam War and the role of Southeast Asians in that war. AB 2064 goes a step further to require textbooks and instructional materials to include the “Secret War” in Laos and their experiences as a result of the war. The curriculum framework evaluation criteria cycle will begin in 2009 with the next adoption cycle in 2011. The last adoption of instruction materials was made in 2005.
According to Arambula, Fresno City Councilmember Blong Xiong along with a number of Southeast Asian leaders and war veterans testified on behalf of the bill during a hearing in Assembly Education Committee. AB 2064 will now move directly to the Committee on Appropriations before moving to the Assembly Floor for a vote.
“The opportunity offered by AB 2064 will encourage the next generation of Southeast Asians to learn about their history and feel proud of their parents and grandparents contributions to the freedoms of this country.”