The history of Asian-American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the U.S. is not taught in public schools or even many colleges, especially in the Midwest. And yet an understanding of this history helps to comprehend the anti-Asian hate that has yet again bubbled up due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Xenophobia and hatred towards Asian immigrants and residents started way before the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Japanese internment during WWII, resulting in massacres and lynchings that are still not well-known cases in history.

Join the League of Women Voters of Appleton at 4 p.m. June 24 at Jaycee Park, 1200 South Jefferson St in Appleton, to hear Dr. Monica Rico talk about "What everyone should know" about AAPI history in America. Dr Rico is a professor of history at Lawrence University, and is the grandchild of Chinese immigrants to Hawaii.

LWV Appleton plans to livestream this event on its Facebook page.