Community Events

 

Please click HERE for more information!

Please save the date for the 3rd Annual Pacific Islander Spring Celebration & Honor Roll on Wednesday, April 22nd 4-7:30pm at the Laney College Theater!

Nominate a school staff person or community leader who supports our Pacific Islander students for an APISA Award by March 26th!

To find details for each event, checkout: https://www.instagram.com/ikunaed

 

 

Takalam Film Premiere at the Arab Film Festival!

Save the date for the premiere of our summer program Takalam student film on how the Muslim Travel Ban impacts our Yemeni American community in Oakland at the Arab Film Festival in October!

Sunday, October 21st 12:30-2:30pm @ The New Parkway

Doors Open at 12:15pm

474 24th Street, Oakland, CA 94612

“Dear Donald John Trump” is a short film made by Oakland Arab students from Oakland Unified School District's Takalam summer program lifting up the voices of Arab, Muslim and Newcomer students.  Responding to the Supreme Court's upholding of the Trump administration's "Muslim Travel Ban" this summer, the students share their thoughts and talk with community members and leaders about the impact on the Yemeni and Syrian communities in the Bay Area.  

The Takalam students’ film “Dear Donald J. Trump” will be shown together with “This Is Home” about Syrian refugees by Alexandra Shiva, with a growing number represented in OUSD.  The student filmmakers will dialogue with community members about their process and the impact of the travel ban on our community, and how we can stand together against islamophobia and for fair immigration policies.

Download a PDF of the flyer here!

Chinese American Citizens Alliance & APISA

STUDENT ESSAY CONTEST

High School Prize: $250

Middle School Prize: $150

2 Elementary School Prizes: $50

Essay PROMPTS:

ELEMENTARY school students:

• Have you heard of the Chinese Exclusion Act before watching the documentary?
• What are your thoughts on the Chinese Exclusion Act & how it relates to your life?
• Do you think it is important to learn about the Chinese Exclusion Act in school? Why?

MIDDLE school students:

• Have you heard of the Chinese Exclusion Act before watching the documentary?
• What are your thoughts on the Chinese Exclusion Act & how it relates to your life?
• How has the Chinese Exclusion Act impacted American families in the past and in the present?

HIGH school students:

• Have you heard of the Chinese Exclusion Act before watching the documentary?
• What are your thoughts on the Chinese Exclusion Act & how it relates to your life?
• How has the Chinese Exclusion Act impacted immigration policy in the past and in the present?

Judging: An impartial board of judges will be selected by the sponsor to judge the winners. Each essay will be judged on the basis of originality, clarity of thought and expression. 

Download Essay Contest FLYERS to Print HERE

The Chinese Exclusion Act Film / Dialogue / Workshop

Saturday, May 12 | 10:00 AM — 1:00 PM
The Oakland Asian Cultural Center | 388 9th St, Oakland, CA, Suite 290

This May, during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, APISA, OUSD's Sanctuary Schools Taskforce along with Chinatown community organizations Chinese American Citizens Alliance, Organization of Chinese Americans - East Bay, and the Oakland Asian Cultural Center will host a screening of the new PBS documentary, The Chinese Exclusion Act, a groundbreaking documentation of largely forgotten history of the anti-Chinese movement across the Western United States from the mid-1850s to World War II.

APISA will lead a community discussion afterward, and OUSD teachers will lead a Curriculum Workshop sharing classroom activities our district is using to engage students this year, which will be launched nationally this year. Please join us for this unique opportunity to better understand our country’s history of immigration policy within today’s political context.

9:45am > Doors Open

10:00am - 11:00am > FILM Screening of 38 Minute Version of "The Chinese Exclusion Act"

11:00am - 12:00pm > DIALOGUE with the Oakland Chinatown Community

• Greg Mark, Son of Laundry Owner Byron Yee Mark
• Sacha Maniar, Asian Law Caucus
• Jean Quan, Former Oakland Mayor & Chinese American Activist
• David Lei, Center for Asian American Media Board & Community Historian
• Bill Wong, Local Journalist & Author of "Oakland's Chinatown"

12:00pm - 1:00pm > WORKSHOP on Inclusion/Exclusion with OUSD Teachers

Teachers & educators attending the workshop will receive a free copy of the full-length Chinese Exclusion Act Film, and a gift certificate to Eastwind Books!  Also, OUSD teachers can receive sign-off on Professional Growth Units for completing the curriculum training.

SPONSOR this work to help us reach our goals:

1. Integrate local, state and national Chinese American history into 4th, 8th and 11th grade social studies curricula in Oakland public schools, and
2. Provide the opportunity for every 4th grade classes from across the school district to attend field trips to Chinese American local sites such as Angel Island’s Immigration Station, China Camp, and Marysville Chinatown as part of the California and Gold Rush history curriculum.

Learn more about our OUSD Sanctuary Schools "Dream, Resist & Educate" Event Series here.

Thank you to the People's Life Fund, SF Foundation, Chinese American Citizens Alliance, and Organization of Chinese Americans - East Bay for supporting this event!

Supporting Our Yemeni Students & Families

Tuesday, April 17  |  4:00 PM
West Oakland Middle School  |  991 14th Street Oakland, CA

Come learn more about our large and growing Yemeni student population in OUSD.  Speakers will discuss the global context of what’s happening in Yemen, the local Yemeni community in Oakland, and help us understand what Yemeni students face at school and home.

Visit our Sanctuary Taskforce website for more information on our "Dream, Resist & Educate" Spring Series!