From Larry Itliong, a Filipino activist who worked with Cesar Chavez, to the Japanese internment camps during World War II, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians have all played key roles and made contributions to Arizona history.

But according to a coalition of civil rights groups and nonprofits, their stories aren’t being taught in classrooms. Now, the groups are urging state lawmakers to change that permanently.

Astria Wong with the nonprofit Make Us Visible recalled that a colleague came to her, frustrated, when the pandemic brought on remote learning in Arizona.

Across three different grades, none of her kids’ curriculum seemed to mention Asian Americans.

“All these things will make us proud, being Asian, you know, and being Asian Americans,” said Wong. “But all these things are missing.”

Wong said that with hate crimes against Asian Americans on the rise, especially during the pandemic, it’s history that every Arizonan should learn about.

“It’s not, you know, a novel idea,” said Wong. “It is [an] idea that everybody [feels] that it’s important because when you know someone, you’re not going to hate them.”

And, she added, taking this to lawmakers is key to ensuring the standards stay in place, regardless of changes to the education board.

“Basically, it’s the fabric of this country– is this different, multiculture, right? And Asian Americans being here – and so have Pacific Islanders and Hawaiians – they’ve been here for a long time, and I guess it’s only fair for them to have part of the history so that everybody understand and know that we are Americans.”

Wong said that the OCA Greater Phoenix, a decades-old local nonprofit, has already worked to hire and collaborate with teachers on developing some lesson plans that could be implemented within a few years.