No Chinese American recognition in Washington. Simple bill dies peculiar death, twice
Of the scores of bills that died in this year’s legislative session, perhaps the most inexplicable death was a proposal that shouldn’t be the least bit controversial:
Declaring a Chinese American History Month in Washington, and encouraging (not requiring) school districts to teach that history.
By all rights, Senate Bill 5264 should’ve won unanimous approval, like a bill two years ago that created Filipino American History Month.
Instead, legislative leaders never let it come to a floor vote.
In this year when anti-Asian hate and violence have leapt into public consciousness, recognizing the contributions and repressions faced by the Puget Sound’s largest Asian subgroup would’ve been a small but meaningful gesture.
Instead, the bill died not once, but twice.
First: when Sen. Marko Liias, the traffic cop for majority Democrats’ legislative priorities, said he goofed and missed a cutoff deadline in March. Second: in the closing days of the session last weekend, when Liias said time ran out to waive the deadline, revive the bill and move it through both legislative chambers.
The Snohomish County senator declined our request for an interview. But he did address a question about the demise of SB 5264 at a post-session press conference Sunday.
“We had a lot on our plates,” Liias said, adding “I know that there is more work to be done to make sure Asian Americans in our communities feel safe and seen .. so we come back in 2022 to this issue and so many others that were left undone today.”
It’s disappointing that lawmakers couldn’t make time for this simple acknowledgment of Chinese American heritage. This resilient immigrant group endured vile discrimination and violent purges around the Puget Sound in the 1800s, even as their sweat built the Transcontinental Railroad to Tacoma. They put Washington on the map, continue to be part of our diverse tapestry and serve as a vital link to the Pacific Rim.
Unfortunately, the Legislature’s failure to pass this bill is also a sign of the ugly inter-racial conflicts plaguing our state and nation — specifically, a longstanding tension between some African Americans and Asian Americans.
That tension recently surfaced when some observers (including this Editorial Board) juxtaposed the Legislature’s adoption of a new Juneteenth holiday, properly marking the end of American slavery, while they stalled on the far less complicated Chinese American recognition.
“There’s been a history of anti-Blackness in the Asian community, and we do not want to perpetuate that narrative by any means,” said Sen. Joe Nguyen, D-Seattle, at Sunday’s end-of-session media availability. Nguyen, a second-generation Vietnamese American, said more input is needed from people of color before a new history month is enacted.
The subtext of Nguyen’s remarks is important: Asian Americans are not a unified bloc with homogeneous political views. Those with Chinese ancestry, in particular, are often seen as proxies for Republican causes.
Democrats won’t soon forget that Washington Asians for Equality, an activist group led by Chinese Americans, campaigned heavily against a 2019 ballot measure to end our state’s ban on affirmative action. Initiative 1000 was ultimately defeated.
Fast forward two years, and the same activists were leading proponents of SB 5264. So perhaps it was naive to believe declaring Chinese American History Month would be uncontroversial.
But Democrat leaders can’t evade responsibility for creating a false expectation. Just two weeks ago, Liias planned to push the declaration to a floor vote — and as Senate majority floor leader he was well positioned to do that.
“We need to do large and small things together to speak out against this rise in violence” against Asian Americans, Liias told senators in late March, explaining his renewed determination to pass the bill.
The good news is that plans are already underway in many school districts — including Tacoma — to weave Chinese American history into new social studies materials.
And we can’t overlook all the valuable work on diversity, equity and racial justice that was accomplished this session. High on the list: building anti-racism training into the public education and health care systems, and approving a wide-ranging package of police accountability reforms.
In the end, the large things Liias talked about got done. It’s just confounding that a small thing like a history month recognition got shelved.
News Tribune editorials reflect the views of our Editorial Board and are written by opinion editor Matt Misterek. Other board members are: Stephanie Pedersen, News Tribune president and editor; Matt Driscoll, local columnist; and Jim Walton, community representative. The Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom and does not influence the work of news reporting and editing staffs. For questions about the board or our editorials, email matt.misterek@thenewstribune.com