The Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) hosted a moderated discussion, led by Associate Professor of Political Science Erin Chung, on Asian-American political coalitions in the Trump era.
The discussion, which was held on Tuesday, touched on topics like the political origin of the phrase “Asian American,” the benefits of identity-based politics and actions students can take to strengthen Asian-American coalitions.
Chung began the conversation with a discussion of the term “Asian American.”
“We normally associate ‘Asian American’ with a census category, or even a racial category, ” Chung said. “[But] the government did not create the label ‘Asian Americans.’”
Rather, she explained that it was a politically charged term coined by Asian-American activists. They created this label to replace “oriental,” which was commonly used at the time. Activists opposed “oriental” because they argued it connotes an objectification of Asians as exotic commodities.
“‘Asian American’ was also used to symbolize the political stance of the activists who were using the term — their stance on racial oppression in the United States as well as on imperialism,” she said. “This was during the rise of the Civil Rights movement.”
She explained that until the term “Asian American” arose, Asian groups in America viewed themselves as distinct from one another. She elaborated on the underlying implications of the phrase.
“The term was coined in order to mobilize this category of disparate groups to create a political category that would have a voice,” Chung said. “So the term is very rich. The term ‘Asian American’ itself is political.”
She noted that at first many Asian Americans struggled to be accepted as “Americans.” But today, some believe that identifying exclusively as
“American” fails to recognize their historic struggle.
She argued that despite Americans’ rising interest in Asian pop culture and media, there has been no corresponding growth in political consciousness or activism.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) is the fastest growing immigrant group in America, according to Chung.
The participants of the roundtable agreed that political apathy is an important priority for the Asian American community.
Senior and Co-Director of Education and Outreach for the Inter-Asian Council Evelyn Ho shared how being labeled and portrayed as the “model minority” contributes to that apathy and erases some of the legitimate struggles the community faces.
“Unfortunately, we internalize this belief that we are the ‘better ones.’ We too start to believe there’s nothing really wrong with the way we’re being treated, because at least it’s a ‘positive stereotype,’” she wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
Ho pointed out specific instances where Asian Americans still face discrimination.
“All the while, there are impoverished ethnic groups within the AAPI community,” she wrote.
“We are still a target of hate crimes. We still have to fight Hollywood whitewashing for proper media representation.”
Chung went on to describe the common impulse for people to publicly separate themselves from others in order to protect themselves.
As an example, she cited how Korean Americans reacted to Japanese internment in the United States.
Rather than lobbying against the Japanese internment, Korean Americans wore badges identifying them as Korean making it clear that they were to not be subjected to that same internment.
This sentiment is also expressed by legal immigrants wanting to dissociate themselves from undocumented immigrants, particularly during Trump’s campaign and after his election. Chung argued that this practice impedes progress.
“Some East Asians think being the ‘model minority’ is a good thing, so they distinguish themselves from other minorities in America,” Chung said. “There’s a tendency to save yourself, protect your own skin. But in the end, as we all know, very little advancement happens from that, from looking out for yourself and not really thinking about the public good.”
Chung then introduced the topic of identity-based politics. She noted that a clear benefit of identity-based politics is that racial identity is generally something that comes naturally to people and is easy to rally behind.
Chung said that groups for AAPI students on campus, like the Inter-Asian Council, are appealing because they offer a sense of comfort and solidarity.
In this environment, according to Chung, it’s easy for a student to feel like they are able to talk freely without having to explain themselves.
Chung recalled a seminar she taught in which she believed racial identity played a key factor in facilitating the comfortable atmosphere among students.
She explained that even though the seminar was quite large, everybody was comfortable speaking because the group was predominantly Asian-American women.
“There was a sense of ‘I’m not going to be judged, I’m not going to be a minority speaking at this moment,’” she said. “So you don’t feel that weight that you usually feel as a minority, and it sort of empowers you to be assertive.”
According to Chung, it is simpler and easier to form coalitions based on identities because standing in solidarity is the defense against the potential hazard of a racially fuelled hate crimes.
Jian-Ming Hou, a psychologist and coordinator of services for international students at the Counseling Center, was also present at the roundtable. Hou, who specializes in working with students of Asian origin offered a psychological viewpoint
“From a mental health perspective, it’s important for students to bond with a group of people similar to them,” he said. “Getting together is important for identity. People tend to feel lost when they’re in a foreign environment without any familiarity.”
The group concluded by discussing actions that could be taken to support and strengthen the Asian American community.
Chung mentioned several such actions as doing volunteer work in the Asian-American community, promoting AAPI campus groups and activities, discussing politics and matters of race with peers and challenging stereotypes.
Senior Helena Chung advocated for the reading and promoting of Asian-American literature. She spoke about the significance of Asian-American literature in the context of contemporary American society and the literature’s cultural significance.
“If we consider literature to be the very best that has been thought and said, what does it say that AAPI voices have been historically excluded from this canon?” she said. “AAPI novelists, filmmakers, artists, poets create ethnic and racial diversity in the landscape of contemporary and past art.”
She related literature to establishing one’s identity in today’s political climate.
“The reading and writing of literature is a way of saying, ‘I’m here. I have a voice. I matter,’” she said. “And with the reality of Trump’s America, it’s important to know that.”
Prof. Chung concluded by stressing that the bottom line is to avoid political apathy.
“One of the most fundamental steps is: Don’t be apathetic about politics. Politics, in the end, affects us in our everyday lives,” she said. “It’s not something that we can avoid by not causing trouble. We can’t afford to be apathetic about it.”
Senior Sung Park found the event to be a good opportunity for greater in-depth discussion with faculty.
“I obviously enjoyed the talk. I think events like that are important to promoting faculty-student relations,” he said. “I think it’s interesting that we were provided the opportunity to talk outside the classroom about issues and ideas relevant to current events.”
