This is a virtual event. Click here to register.

For accessibility requests or questions, please email flora.boros@co.middlesex.nj.us.

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month and to celebrate New Jersey’s recent legislation ensuring an AAPI-inclusive curriculum, join Samip Mallick, co-founder and director of the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA), and a coalition of advocates, teachers, students, and parents for a discussion on how we can transition from law to classroom to broaden children’s understanding of our past.

This past January Governor Murphy signed legislation (S4021/A6100 and S3764/A3369) to ensure that the history, heritage, and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are included in New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Social Studies for students in kindergarten through Grade 12. The law also established the Commission for Asian American Heritage within the Department of Education.

The largest publicly accessible collection of South Asian American stories available online, SAADA is a vital repository for and steward of community stories. Join us to hear about how we can better educate students about Asian American culture, foster greater tolerance and acceptance, and reinforce how our state’s diversity is our greatest strength.

Funded by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners and the New Jersey Historical Commission, a Division of the Department of State

Samip Mallick is the co-founder and executive director of SAADA, which he has guided from its inception in 2008 to its place today as a national leader in community-based storytelling. Mallick's background includes degrees in computer science and library and information sciences and work related to international migration and South Asia for the Social Science Research Council and University of Chicago. Mallick currently serves on the Library of Congress Connecting Communities Digital Initiative advisory board. He also previously served as an archival consultant for the Ford Foundation's Reclaiming the Border Narrative initiative and on the Pennsylvania Governor's Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs.