Organizer: Asian American Education Project

Type/Location: Virtual

Description:

This workshop will explore Immigration, the desire for APIDA immigrants to come to the United States, and the past and present challenges they face. We also explore past and present immigration policies, the motivation behind the creation of these policies, and their impact.

Immigration for certain groups of people is not always welcomed to the United States. Barriers are often placed to bar and restrict certain groups of people, even in the present. The Immigration unit covers the contribution of Chinese Transcontinental Railroad workers, the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which gave way to the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965 the Southeast Asian refugees’ migration in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, and the Asian American DREAMers.

This workshop is free for educators and will take place virtually. It will be facilitated by Laura Ouk.

About the Speaker:

Laura Ouk, a Cambodian American educator based in Chicago, was born in Paris after her family fled from the Khmer Rouge regime. Her family later resettled in Chicago. She earned a BA in Educational Studies from Denison University and a MAT in Special Education from Relay School of Education. As the visiting inclusive education director for the Illinois State Board of Education and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, she champions inclusive educational practices with a focus on Asian American and Pacific Islander history. Laura played a pivotal role in advocating for the TEAACH Act and continues to support its implementation. She is also a curriculum writer for the Cambodian American Studies Model Curriculum, launching in California during the 2024-2025 school year. Additionally, Laura serves as the board president of the National Cambodian Heritage Museum and as a board member for the Cambodian Association of Illinois.

Registration:

To attend the event virtually, please register here.