New commission may give Delaware's Asian communities more visibility, political voice
He grew up near the beach.
Y.F. Lou has led most of his life in Delaware, he recalled from a Newark coffee shop last fall. The father of two described identity crises in childhood, having moved to Lewes alongside his family from China. Growing up, he hardly saw himself in most other classmates and residents, often treated foreign by default.
“I always had a tendency to slip up by saying, ‘Oh, them Americans,’” said Lou, now a Christina school board member, last October. “I'm like, wait a minute. Why am I saying them Americans? I am American. Why do I still not completely feel that I am part of this country?”
Asian American communities have grown in the First State, but the feeling persists. Out of that coffee shop, Lou approached a mic in Legislative Hall this past week alongside the next generation. Too nervous to speak, his son Austin let dad read his comment to a packed House Administration Committee.
"My name is Austin," Lou read, his son latched beside him. "And I am a kindergartener from Mrs. Soyer's class from West Park Place Elementary School. ... As an Asian American student, I am proud of my heritage, but sometimes I can feel invisible."
This, as well as hope that future Delawareans will feel this pride, fuels Lou's work with Make Us Visible Delaware. The group launched last fall, under the mission to push more Asian American history to infuse with K-12 curricula in Delaware, through community engagement and legislative action.
But today, leaders of that local chapter are backing a different bill hitting the floor in the Delaware General Assembly — a call to create a state commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage and Culture.
This bill would create a nine-member commission, fit to provide the governor and lawmakers consistent recommendations "to promote the welfare and interests of all people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent" in the state. Painted with broad strokes, the commission would also be tasked with fostering ties between these Delaware communities, while providing platform to promote the culture, history and heritage among them.
By Wednesday afternoon, the legislation swiftly left committee without opposition.
Lou and Devin Jiang call it a framework.
"We're underrepresented in government," said Jiang, fellow Make Us Visible Delaware co-founder and student at University of Delaware. "There's little change... and we need to move the AAPI community forward, especially in Delaware."
Lou and Jiang see it as giving a much-needed voice to these Delaware populations — while building necessary scaffolding for any future policy aimed at supporting them.
Make Us Visible: One group aims to boost Asian American history in Delaware schools. Where does it start?
Looking to build an Asian heritage commission in Delaware
They hoped to go to the people.
After their outfit's initial launch in September 2023, Lou, Jiang and other Make Us Visible Delaware members looked to host community interest events. The education advocates wanted to talk representation, Asian American history, xenophobia post-pandemic and much more, in aims to gain traction on K-12 curricula updates.
Lou struggled in the grassroots.
"Mostly some of the challenges we see are that we're still very lacking in the information we have on the Asian community in the state of Delaware," he said this week. "So, when we were trying to identify the various AAPI communities in the state, we did absolutely struggle. A lot of the time there's a lack of data, a lack of resources and, quite honestly, the infrastructure is just not there to allow the communities to speak out."
Nationally, there are some 22 million Asian Americans — or about 6% of the national population — marking the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group among eligible voters, according to Pew Research Center, with nearly 50 ethnic groups and some 100 languages represented.
New Castle County is slightly above those statistics, at 6.3%, having seen a 44% increase in Asian population from 2010 to 2021, according to census data. In the same data, Lou's Christina School District showed roughly 7%.
Independent from ongoing Make Us Visible work, the team believes an Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage and Culture Commission could provide a new platform to allow more Asian American constituents to see and hear themselves in state government.
Lawmakers agreed.
"The Asian Pacific Islander community is a large and rapidly growing group in Delaware and are very important and integral part of our population," said Rep. William Bush, HB322's primary sponsor, met with similar supportive comments. "They are our leaders, our neighbors and have made significant contributions to our state. ... I truly believe this is something that's needed."
The Democrat also noted the commission reflects similar efforts, such as an Indian Heritage and Culture Commission, another such Irish commission, an African and Caribbean Affairs Committee and others.
The nine-member commission would likely be made up of community leaders of different Asian descents, appointed by the governor and lawmakers. The group would coalesce between five guiding prerogatives, per the draft legislation:
Provide the governor and state policymakers with recommendations to promote the welfare and interests of all people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent.
Establish, maintain and develop cultural ties between Asian and Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans.
Foster a special and compelling interest in the historical and cultural backgrounds of these descents, as well as in the economic, political, social and artistic life of the nations and territories involved.
Help study, establish and promote programs or events that will provide appropriate awareness of the culture, history, heritage and languages.
Provide a platform for the promotion of cultural and historical heritage.
"It's really bringing people together," Jiang said, describing his hopes for the structure. "Putting faces of the AAPI community out there, being vocal about issues, making sure that they are heard. And once we bring people together, we start building relationships with each other, with other communities and with lawmakers."
The draft now heads to the full House floor.
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Got a story? Kelly Powers covers race, culture and equity for Delaware Online and USA TODAY Network Northeast, with a focus on education. Contact her at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on Twitter @kpowers01.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Lawmakers consider commission to boost Delaware's Asian voices
