The Metro Nashville and Williamson County school districts will soon receive hundreds of Asian-themed books to shelve in its libraries.
The Greater Nashville Chinese Association, in partnership with the Nashville Chinese School and API Middle Tennessee, raised more than $14,000 during a recent book drive that will go toward purchasing the novels. Most of the funds will go to Nashville public schools, which has a larger student body.
GNCA president Christine Lai says the goal is to teach kids from all backgrounds about Asian history. She also wants the books to help Asian American students feel a sense of belonging.
“[We want them to] see books that have the character, or the cover, have the same face and color as them,” she says. “And then they’ll see that they’re represented in school.”
The books will include topics on the Asian American experience and Asian cultural traditions. Some of the novels will be from authors of Asian descent.
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The drive to put more Asian-themed books into local schools comes on the heels of a push for Vanderbilt University to develop an Asian American studies program.
As for the future of the book drive, Lai says, she wants to expand into more Tennessee school districts. That’s on top of bringing in authors to speak with students about their works.
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Christine Lai’s last name as Lia.
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