My fellow Americans,

First, I have to confess. I started as a reluctant volunteer, however, I was so moved by the dedication and hard work of three very special individuals. They all have 2 or 3 young children at home. You cannot imagine how hard they have been working and how many things they have donesince the beginning.

I am part of this movement largely because of their their conviction and their unselfishness. YuYang,Liying,and Dr. Lu,please stand up… and let’s give them a big round of applause! Thank you! There are many other people that have also spent many many hours for this cause and I won’t name them one by one here, but let’s thank them! Thank you very much.

Today is a very special day. Thank you for being here. You may not realize it, this is probably the first ever Chinese American protest in RhodeIsland’s history. Today is special, because, we Chinese Americans, are no longer the silent minority – Rhode Island’s Chinese Americans have stood up! We will fight for fair and equal treatment for ourselves, and for our future generations! You all should be very proud of yourselves for being here. Thank you!

Why are we here? We are here to askour governor and state legislators to repeal or change the “All Students CountAct.”

Why repeal this law? Because it singles out only Asian Americans. As you know, we account for less than 4% of Rhode Island’s population. No other racial groups are subject to such divisive and intrusive inquiry. 

If the intent is to identify underachieving and underprivileged students, why not focus on more appropriate factors such as family financial and educational background?

And, why ignore the needs of the 96% majority? We don’t need and are NOT ASKING for any special treatment, ALL WE ASK for is fair and equal consideration.

Did you know, in many Rhode Island schools, there are often only one or two Asian students in each grade? Why waste tax dollars and resources to collect such insignificant data? Should this law be repealed?! The answer is YES!

But, the most scary part is that this type of data is subject to manipulation and abuse and can be used to advancerace-based public policies. Do you remember the “Chinese Exclusion Act” and the Japanese Internment Camps?! Our ancestors have suffered enough from this long history of racial discrimination.

Do we need these types of laws? Of course not!

We strongly ask our governor, state senators and  representatives to repeal this law! Repeal! Repeal!

Today’s protest is just the beginning of our journey to fight for ourselves AND for our future generations.

If you have not become a citizen, become one;if you have not registered to vote, go register. If you have not donated to any candidates, please find someone you can support and get him or her elected!

Let’s speak up with our mouths and more importantly with our votes! Let our voice be heard! Make it louder and louder!

I hope, one day, at work and at schools, there will be no Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, or White Americans, we are ALL AMERICANS!

Thank you!