From the Readers

FROM TEAACH Act

Hello, As I wrap up my first two weeks as Executive Director, I’m feeling incredibly grateful to be able to do this work and excited about what lies ahead. We celebrated a huge victory last Friday with the signing of the TEAACH Act, which requires all Illinois public schools to teach a unit of Asian American history starting in the 2022-2023 school year. Advancing Justice | Chicago launched this effort back in March 2020 as one way to combat discrimination and harmful stereotypes that can lead to violence.

The TEAACH Act will ensure that more than 100,000 Asian American K-12 students in Illinois see themselves reflected in their curriculum. Teaching the rich history and contributions of Asian Americans will also help non-Asian students break down stereotypes, relate to people from different backgrounds, and build more empathy. We look forward to continuing to advocate for strong implementation and keeping up the fight for immigrant rights, police accountability, and education equity with our growing team.

Sincerely,

Grace Pai

Executive Director

Asian American Advancing Justice

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The Graveyard of COVID-19 Missed Information

• In many cases, the government with its media accomplices quietly plucked from the public square information that is not to their liking, irrespective of its factual accuracy. COVID-19 has brought the practice out of the shadows. With our health at stake, it is imperative that all sides of the science are available. Let the people decide.

• The politicians’ hypocrisy says it all. In their personal lives, Nancy Pelosi and her nephew, California’s Governor Newsom, flaunt their own directives, with mask-less haircuts, fancy dinners, and children’s summer camps, to name a few. More galling is the “let them eat cake” attitude in their political lives. Newsom demands that all state workers—except the powerful prison guard union—get vaccinated or submit to continuous COVID tests. Pelosi commands her subjects, aka congresspersons, to don masks subject to fines and arrest for noncompliance. But her majesty removes her mask for a photo op. How can anyone trust anything these soulless grifters have to say?

Dr. Marilyn M. Singleton, MD; JD

(Immediate past president of American Surgeons and Physicians)

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The Graveyard of COVID-19

Physicians have received a chilling threat about COVID-19 vaccination from the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB):

“Physicians who generate and spread vaccine misinformation or disinformation are risking disciplinary action by state medical boards, including the suspension or revocation of their medical license. Due to their specialized knowledge and training, licensed physicians possess a high level of public trust, and therefore have a powerful platform in society, whether they recognize it or not. They also have an ethical and professional responsibility to practice medicine in the best interests of their patients and must share information that is factual, scientifically grounded, and consensus-driven for the betterment of public health. Spreading inaccurate COVID-19 vaccine information contradicts that responsibility, threatens to further erode public trust in the medical profession and puts all patients at risk.”

The FSMB has been described as a “private lobbying organization that represents the state’s attorneys who work for medical boards.” It does not by itself have the legal authority to take a doctor’s license but is highly influential.

Tamzin A. Rosenwasser, M.D.