April 4 will mark the one-year anniversary of Wisconsin Act 266, which requires Hmong American and Asian American history to be taught in all Wisconsin K-12 public schools.

I was lucky enough to be part of the bill signing ceremony at G.D. Jones Elementary School in Wausau, where Gov. Tony Evers signed the bill and made Wisconsin one of a growing number of states requiring Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) history.

While I was speaking at the bill signing ceremony, I remember looking out at the audience and marveling at what I saw. As the 2022 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year and the first AAPI educator to represent our state in the National Teacher of the Year program, I felt the enormous weight of history on that day. The entire elementary school was attentively sitting on the floor and watching, members of the vibrant Hmong community in Wausau showed up, political leaders from across the state came, and a line of Hmong American veterans sat in the back proudly wearing their military uniforms.

My eyes fixated on a young Asian American boy who looked to be around 8 years old. He looked a lot like me when I was that age. I remember growing up never feeling like I fit in my small, rural farming community in Missouri, where I was the only Asian American student. I loved school, but I never thought that people who looked like me wrote great literature, discovered new scientific discoveries or contributed to American history in any meaningful way.

I ignorantly thought that Asian American history started when my parents immigrated to America during the 1960s. In many ways, the Asian American invisibility I experienced throughout my schooling is a “family heirloom” that has been unfortunately passed down generation to generation. As I looked at that 8-year-old boy, I kept thinking about how I hope his generation will be the first to break from this tradition of invisibility.

I hope this boy can truly understand why the Hmong American veterans wore their uniforms to the ceremony and why their enormous bravery, sacrifice and service to America during the Vietnam War should never be forgotten.

I hope this boy can understand that Asian Americans have been a part of Wisconsin history from as far back as the 1870s. I hope this boy can read brilliant authors like Kao Kalia Yang, Amy Tan, Chang Rae Lee and Randy Ribay and see himself as the main character in a story for once. I hope that this boy can feel like he belongs and, more importantly, his classmates feel like he is a part of Wisconsin as much as a Friday night fish fry and the Green Bay Packers.

The bipartisan effort to require AAPI history was a response to the explosive growth of hate crimes directed toward Asians during the pandemic. For too long, the contributions of the AAPI community have been overlooked and outright ignored. Act 266 is a momentous first step in making the AAPI community more visible by recognizing the enormous contributions of Asian Americans throughout our nation’s history.

When Wisconsin Republicans and Democrats came together to pass Act 266, they made the state stronger. Teaching diverse stories and history builds empathy and understanding, which we need more of, not less. The efforts to include all voices, stories and history into our public schools is a testament to America’s greatness because we aren’t afraid of exploring our complex and diverse history.

As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of Act 266, I’m enormously grateful for the countless number of people who have advocated for this bill over the 20 years it took for it to finally become law. I am also struck by the monumental effort that lies ahead for Wisconsin educators.

AAPI history was never part of our schooling so it’s understandable that some educators could be reluctant to teach something they know little about. It is going to take a significant amount of professional development, curiosity and a spirit of inquiry for Act 266 to become a reality in all Wisconsin classrooms. I know our educators are up for it because we never back away from a challenge, especially when it involves our kids. An educator’s work is too important.

An 8-year-old boy in Wausau is counting on us to get this right.

Kabby Hong is an English teacher at Verona Area High School and the 2022 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year.

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