May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month. To my disappointment, the William S. Hart Union High School District failed to present a resolution recognizing Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month on its May 17 board agenda.
During the Hart district’s Feb. 1 board meeting, the agenda included resolution 22/23-32, to recognize Black History Month and Trustee Cherise Moore gave a nice speech. If the district did not recognize Black History Month, Ms. Moore and Valerie Bradford, president of the NAACP of Santa Clarita, would have been outraged.
I was mostly disappointed with Ms. Moore. In board meetings, she emphasized equity, diversity and inclusion. It was part of her campaign and she is listed as a member of the Human Relations Roundtable. If anyone was to take notice that Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month was not included in the agenda, it should have been Ms. Moore.
Ms. Moore presented Ms. Bradford with a One Hart Award. According to Ms. Moore, Ms. Bradford “courageously advocates for ALL children and holds you accountable for doing the same.” Yet Ms. Bradford was not at the May 17 board meeting asking the district why Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month was not presented on the agenda.
Ms. Moore stood with Ms. Bradford in a press conference and cried because some high school girls sang “I hate (N-word)” to a song on social media. Yet, never said a word to the public about Trustee Linda Storli putting a derogatory Asian word on her Facebook page in 2022 and refusing to remove it.
In reality, Ms. Moore and Ms. Bradford are not here for other minorities. It is truly hurtful that Ms. Moore does not care for us Asians nor our kids. I truly wish Ms. Moore and the NAACP will stop pretending to advocate for us.
Nancy Fairbanks
Stevenson Ranch