🎤 The Save Cantonese campaign would like to share some amazing news!
After advocating for Cantonese classes and Cantonese certificates for over a year, late City College of San Francisco has finally announced that there will not only be one but two Cantonese certificates at CCSF.
After hours of writing, rallying, and petition sighing, we finally did it!
In May of 2021 we started the fight to Save Cantonese because CCSF would cut 100% of Cantonese classes indefinitely. We found this unacceptable as so many San Francisco residents speak Cantonese.
The certificate carries historical importance and addresses the fundamental needs of our community. Early Cantonese-speaking Chinese American immigrants built the infrastructure and brought the culture that has allowed San Francisco to become the world-class city that it is today. Preserving Cantonese honors their legacy and contributions to our nation.
City College of San Francisco is also taking steps to combat recent Asian hate in this country through these certificates. By establishing this certificate program, we hope to make it easier to communicate with our monolingual seniors, build understanding between different racial and generational groups and address historical inequalities in our society.
We could not have done this without the support of many local city leaders, organizations, and public service personnel. Community members in public safety, the medical field and education support Save Cantonese at CCSF because we all understand how fundamental Cantonese is since it remains the dominant Chinese language in San Francisco.