children’s book helps families talk about prejudice

The most important topics are often the hardest to discuss. For one Chevron employee, putting pen to paper – publishing a book – was the best way to explain a complicated social issue for her children.

Christine Thai Leung, email and data strategist at Chevron, is the author of What I See: Anti-Asian Racism from the Eyes of a Child. Published in 2021, the lyrical picture book is designed to help children and families talk about Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) prejudice and racism in a safe, educational way.

Further contributing to the cause, Christine is a financial supporter of Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition to address the rise of anti-Asian discrimination amid the pandemic.

The idea started out as a poem to help Christine process the wave of anti-Asian incidents across the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. As hate crimes toward AAPI played out on social media, television and web platforms, Christine – who is Asian American and a mother of three – realized that little eyes and ears in her home were absorbing the news, too.

“The rise in xenophobia and anti-Asian hate incidents can be scary and confusing for kids,” said Christine. “I needed a way to address what was happening in a way that my children could understand and unpack.”

Like Christine, Chevron is committed to antidiscrimination. The company has taken additional steps to connect, support and stand in solidarity with our AAPI colleagues – and foster a truly inclusive workplace that encourages more meaningful engagement among all employees to strengthen our performance.

That poem soon evolved into What I See, a colorfully illustrated, easy-to-follow guidebook offering child-friendly definitions, moments for reflection and sample questions for parents to help guide the conversation.

• More than 15 diversity councils across Chevron help align our diversity and inclusion efforts with business strategies. These networks provide mentoring programs, offer skill-building opportunities and promote career development.
• Our Asian and Filipino employee networks hosted panels and Right to Be bystander training to discuss and address the crimes against Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
• Through our policies and recurrent training, we promote human rights, antiharassment, antidiscrimination and equal employment opportunities.

Chevron is not affiliated with the publication of this book.