The Asian American Progressive Student Union (AAPSU) is a student-run organization based in Montgomery County. Founded by Richard Montgomery seniors May Soemin and Amy Zhai, it seeks to unite progressive Asian American students and work towards racial equity in the Asian American community.
Even before starting the organization, Soemin and Zhai knew that they wanted to create a place where Asian Americans could advocate for the issues that they cared about.
“[Zhai and I] always talked about our Asian American identities … and [issues] we [felt] like need[ed] to be addressed,” Soemin said. “We [saw] a lot of cultural Asian American groups, but we wanted a group where it was, instead of culture, action.”
In July 2020, Soemin and Zhai drafted a set of ideas and goals that would eventually become the AAPSU. Some of the goals included pushing for increased Asian American rights, having more Asian awareness in legislation, and providing an opportunity for advocacy to Asian American students.
One of AAPSU’s core elements is their monthly webinar, addressing various topics that often go unheard. Their first webinar, Anti-Blackness in the Asian American Community and How to Build Solidarity, was held in late August 2020, and featured several panelists of unique backgrounds. More recently, they have held events such as Women of Color Feminism, Mental Health and Race in Education.
Currently, one of the main projects that AAPSU has been working towards in Montgomery County is an Asian American history course.
“In AP [US History] and AP World [History], [Asian American history] is just touched upon, but you don’t really understand its significance,” Soemin said.
In a specialized Asian American history course, students would be able to get a more in-depth understanding of “each century [of history], the impacts of policies from a long time ago and how it still affects certain populations and groups today.”
So far, they have worked with social studies teachers from around the county and held a visionary meeting for MCPS students to get their input on the potential course.
AAPSU has also been looking into an audit exploring the lack of Asian American Social Studies teachers, which Soemin believes goes hand in hand with the Asian American History course.
“If we’re going to have an Asian American course, it should be taught by an Asian American teacher,” Soemin said.
As well as the Asian American history course and audit, AAPSU also hopes to continue expanding as an organization and build branches nationwide, allowing them a larger platform to raise awareness.
“I think, in the long run, looking for more outlets across the states, and also pushing for more legislative action,” Soemin said. “I hope that when there isn’t COVID limiting us, we can go to [Capitol Hill] and lobby for these rights.”
Reflecting on AAPSU’s journey since July, Soemin thinks that they’ve been able to expand their focus on different topics.
“At first, our goal was just uniting progressive Asian Americans, but now it’s more focused on the progressive topics. Instead of just uniting Asian Americans, it’s working together and getting the issues we want to see solved, solved,” Soemin said.
Article by Joy Jiang of Richard Montgomery High School