Starting this school year, all public schools in Illinois will be required to teach a unit on Asian American history and culture as part of their social studies curriculum.

Starting this school year, all public schools in Illinois will be required to teach a unit on Asian American history and culture as part of their social studies curriculum.

On The 21st: A look at clean-energy companies operating in Illinois. Plus, we revisit the killing of Vincent Chin 35 years later. Also: locally sourced holiday gift ideas and breaking Illinois turtle news. 

Guest: Ronald Takaki.

Today on Focus, we're joined by University of California—Berkeley professor Ronald Takaki to discuss his new book Strangers from a Different Shore. Takaki explores the history of Asian Americans from the Midwest to Hawaii and how they were—and, in many ways, still are—oppressed by other Americans.