Day 1 is here.

Today is the media launch of The May Book Project: A Very Asian American Youth Literature Guide For All Readers.

And we couldn’t be more excited.

It actually stemmed from a problem, and one that truly breaks my heart.

In 2021, a student group in St. Louis created what they called an AAPI booklist and sent it to their schools last May—roughly 10 schools in all. Their hopes were to get more access to literature, and they were largely ignored.

You can watch their video here.  

These students and I met months later after the Very Asian hashtag went viral. The Very Asian Foundation was just days old at that point. I was invited to speak at a panel with these students, as well as high schoolers from California representing Dear Asian Youth and young people from New Jersey representing Make Us Visible NJ. These high schoolers spoke with so much power and confidence using words that weren’t even in my vocabulary until a few years ago.

Yet, they all shared many of the same vulnerabilities.

Several felt invisible in their schools and hyper visible in their neighborhoods. For example, some students felt as if their schools did not address the Asian American existence. These students define themselves as American first, but they often don’t get seen in literature, curriculum, or history. There is a lack of overall education about Asian American atrocities and contributions. In the same dual reality, many of these students would go out in public and be harassed for “bringing Covid to our country.” Some of these students had scary incidents at their family businesses with customers displaying aggressive, racist behavior and fighting mask mandates during the height of the pandemic. Many felt scared and hurt for being labeled perpetually foreign.

Students shared mental health struggles—many unable to receive the right mental health resources or get support from their families. The night of our panel, some students revealed they or their friends had made suicide plans.

This is important because suicide is now the leading cause of death among Asian American youth aged 15 and 24—it is the only group of people that has this designation. To go further, 40 percent of AAPI LGBTQ youth have considered suicide in the last year.

I should also mention some of these students in St. Louis attend schools with an Asian American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander population of 17 percent. That is significant, as my school district in Seattle had 13 percent. There is representation in the Midwest, despite the misnomer that Asians don’t exist in significant ways beyond the coasts.

When these students approached me, I told them – the very least we can do is try to get your booklist in your schools. I had no idea what a collaborative undertaking that would be.

Long story short, we convened a group of literary scholars, who then created a robust booklist based on the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association’s Rubric to Evaluate Asian American and Pacific Islander Youth Literature. The list contains more than 200 books from picture books to adult crossover. Aside from APALA, the Asian Authors Alliance, and the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books started collaborating on the project.

Our list is vetted, intentional, and provides libraries or schools choice. This list is meant to celebrate Asian American people and culture. We are not asking for a curriculum in classrooms. We are providing resources for access to literature in libraries.

We are providing guidance for those interested in building or maintaining inclusive libraries. We also are committing to providing books to at-need libraries that have no budget to expand their collection.

I am humbled by the positive response.

The state librarian of Missouri is in the process of distributing our booklist, the toolkit, and community guide to all 150+ library districts in the state. The St. Louis County Library District has made space for the list online, added programming to books, started adding book displays, and will even bring New York Times bestselling author David Yoon to St. Louis for a meet and greet and discussion May 24 to talk about his new book City of Orange. Yoon is on The May Book Project list for his YA title Frankly in Love. The Clayton School District is hosting a virtual event with author Ed Shew, a Missourian who wrote the book Chinese Brothers, American Sons to celebrate The May Book Project. Restaurants in St. Louis are holding a fundraiser and United Provisions, an international grocery store, is hosting a book drive.

Schools in Los Angeles and Atlanta are already buying books from the list and making plans for author/illustrator visits.

We are so grateful for Asutra a woman-led, self-care company owned by Stephanie Morimoto and Venus Williams. Their generous corporate sponsorship will buy at least 2,500 books to at-need libraries across the nation. Our accounting shows that the number could be more than 4,600 books depending on which ones are requested. It is amazing!

The May Book Project will evolve and grow each year, but this year, we’re hoping people take time to invest in their youth and celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

We hope parents and caregivers share the community guide with their schools. We hope journalists continue to cover Asian American Youth issues in their cities. And we hope schools share the joy with everyone. As trailblazer Rudine Sims Bishop once said, “When there are enough books available that can act both as mirrors and windows for all children, they will see we can celebrate both our differences and our similarities.”

The campaign may have roots in St. Louis, but people around the nation are responding. And in turn, the hope is that awareness will spread to students all around the country. Please read student Junnie B.’s essay on his experience in school.

We think this is a beautiful, positive campaign and are so humbled by the work and commitment shared by so many!

— Michelle