Helen Zia Shares Her Story With Campolindo Sophomores

On Friday, January 31, 2025, Helen Zia spoke to the sophomores class during Academy, offering a powerful insight into her fight for civil rights and the importance of racial justice in modern times. In 2021, state lawmakers and Governor Gavin Newsom enacted a law requiring high schools to offer an ethnic studies course by 2025, and making the subject a requirement for graduation from high school starting with the class of 2030. 2025 is the first-year sophomores at Campolindo are taking Ethnic Studies as a required course by the California state. One of the central figures in the curriculum is Vincent Chin, a Chinese-American who lived in Detroit, Michigan during the auto-industry decline, and was a victim of racially motivated violence.
Chin’s story, which highlights the impact of anti-Asian sentiment and violence, is a poignant lesson to students. Chin was murdered by two white men in Detroit, motivated by racial resentment rooted in the blame of Japanese car imports for the economic instability of the late 1900s. The judge of Vincent Chin’s case released the perpetrators with a warning and a small fine, without notifying or receiving legal consent from Vincent Chin’s mother.
Themes of racial prejudice and systematic failures have not left American history, the partisan media has long stigmatized the people of Asian descent during times of turmoil. This underlying issue was highlighted during COVID-19 with an increase in hate crimes and prejudice recorded during the pandemic. However, both cases are united by the solidarity felt by communities who rallied their outrage towards an injustice to make change.
Ethnic Studies teacher Shannon Sieckert feels this story is important for students to hear. “Vincent Chin’s story is very important, and it’s a civil rights story that we don’t often hear…It felt particularly important considering the demographics of our school. A lot of Asian students may not see themselves represented in relevant fights for their liberties” she says.
Asian Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Club leader, Wendy Bo agrees with this sentiment. She hopes that through events like these, students will gain empathy for their peers. “It’s hard for people to understand what it’s like to grow up in a country where not being white isn’t something that’s always welcomed,” she says, “we’re pretty sheltered [in this community].” Bo notes how racism towards Asian Americans is often downplayed or normalized in society. “It's not something that’s always obvious. And I feel like people negate that fact” she says.
Bo and Sieckert hope that Campolindo students can become active participants in their fight for justice, equity, and understanding in the Lamorinda community and beyond. In the end, Ethnic Studies aims to provide all students with a deeper understanding of the diverse people who shape our society, and the importance of standing in solidarity with marginalized communities. As Sieckert says, “The message is just one that is continuous: speak up when you need something, and speak up when you feel like something is wrong.”