Searching for coherence Asian Am

 

Key facts about Asian Americans, a diverse and growing population

            1. The Asian population quite diverse

a.      Some 22 million trace roots to 20 countries in East and Southeast Asia and India

                                                               i.      Each unique culturally and physically

b. The 10 largest Asian origin groups account for 97% of the Asian population

c.      1960, the first time census allowed respondents to choose their own race

                                                               i.      In 2060, we anticipate having 46 million Asians in the country

                                                             ii.      In 1870, roughly 63,000 were counted

                                                           iii.      Asian population: 11.9 million in 2000

                                                           iv.      Population nearly doubled from 2000 to 2018, going from 11.9 million in 2000 to  22.4 million in 2019

d. The largest group of Asians is single-race non-Hispanics

                                                               i.      Three percent are Hispanic

1. Asians and White make up 70%

e.      Multiracial and Hispanic Asians comprise, respectively, 14 % and 3 % of the Asian population

1.      Japanese Americans are most likely to identify as multiracial non-Hispanics (32%)

2.      1 in 5 Filipinas (18%) and 15% of Koreans identify as multiracial non-Hispanics

                                                             ii.       

f.        They grew 81 percent (between 2000 and 2019

                                                               i.      Compared to 70.5 for Hispanics

                                                             ii.      And 20 % for Blacks

                                                           iii.      Virtually no change among Whites during the same period

      2. Chinese Americans are the largest Asian origin group in the U.S.

a.      24% of the Asian population

       4.      The second largest group is Indian Americans, making up 21% or 4.6 million. The third is Filipinos, at 19% or 4.2 million.

               6 .      Vietnam 2.2 million, Korea 1.9 million, and Japan 1.5 million

a.      47% Asian population lives in the West,

b.      24% live in South

c.      19% In Northeast

d.      12% in Midwest

                 7. The majority (55%) live in five states

a.      close 30 % in California

b.      New York 1.9 million

c.      Texas 1.6 million

d.      New Jersey 958,000

e.      Washington 852,000.

      8.      States with the highest percentage of Asian population 

          a.   Hawaii =57%, California =17%, Washington = 11 %, New Jersey =11%, Nevada = 11%

          9.      Asians projected to be the largest immigrant group by the middle of the century

a.      14% of 10.5 unauthorized immigrants in 017

b.      Of the 15 top countries of birth               

                                                               i.      India (525,000, China (375,000), the Philippines (160,000) and Korea (150,000) make up the top 4 nations

    10.  Substantially younger than in the US. Born

a.      Nearly 6 in 10 (58%) are part of Generation Z

1    1.  72 percent proficient in English

1    2.  Nearly all U.S.-born Asians are proficient (95%)

1    3.  ¼ live in multigenerational households

a.      Very similar to all immigrants, where 28% live in multi-generational households

1    4.  Have lower homeownership when compared to the U.S. overall (59% vs. 64%)

a.      Immigrant Asians are slightly more likely than U.S.-born Asians to own homes (5=60% vs.. 56%)

1    5.  Asian Americans have higher median household incomes than US households ($85,800 compared to $61,800)

a.      Burmese significantly lower at $44, 4000

b.      While Indian Americans (119,000) and Filipino Americans (90,000 led the pack.

c.      Less likely to live in poverty

1     6.  Over half (54%) aged 25 and older have a bachelor’s or higher education

II. Searching for Coherence in Asian Americans

 

 n   1.           What is meant by the incoherence of Asian American identity

a.      The reality that Asian identity in America is not a monolith

                                                               i.      One pole sees Asian American politics as parochial = having a narrow view...and conservative

1.      Focusing on American meritocracy

2.      Seeking worthiness =cultural prestige, historical significance, and representation in a highly educated multiracial elite

           2. The Asian American term emerged from the 1960 civil rights movements in San Francisco State College and the University of California Berkeley

a.      Modeled after Black and Latinx liberation movements

b.      Seeking to create a pan-Asian coalition

                                                               i.      International struggle against empire and capitalism

                                                             ii.      Comes out of the black and Latinx liberation movement

1.      The opposite sees just the opposite, liberal

2.      Attempting to assimilate

      3.      1965Johnson signed the Hart-Celler Immigration Act

a.      Overturned restrictive immigration based on the country of origin

b. Created a new era of mass immigration to the U.S.

                                                               i.      Focused on skilled professionals and reuniting families

c.      Millions of Asians immigrated

                                                               i.      Many with degrees

                                                             ii.      Represented a seismic demographic shift, creating a mainstream within Asian America

1.      Many claimed it killed the radical potential of the moment

2.      Many of those of the 60s came from families that had been in the U.S. for decades

3.      Some were subjugated under Japanese internment or Chinese exclusion

4.      Those who arrived later had no experience with American racism or oppression.

a.      Thus died the idea of a united Asian America

5.      The children of Hart-Celler are attempting to revive the vision

a.      While many of the parents are content to be Koreans, Chinese, Indians, or Vietnamese Americans

b.      Their children are not content, they want to create a hyphenated identity

                                                                                                                                       i. The problem is that there is no one identity

6.      But anti-Asian violence , especially during the pandemic, is altering this

a.      Shooting of six Asian women in Atlanta massage parlors

                                                                                                                                i.      Sparked national attention

1.      Companies attempting to forge alliances with the Asian community

a.      Curricula and reading lists have appeared

b.      Amidst the call to stop Asian Hate

c.      Op ed pages and cable news helped spread the news about anti-Asian hate and violence

2. History-making =drawing links between incidents of violence against different Asian ethnic groups across the decades

3.      Seemed less about coalition building than satisfying the needs of a race-explainer

                                                                                                                                     ii.      Missed opportunities as it failed to do what Black movements did -place present-day racism in the history starting with slavery to Civil War, to Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and civil rights

b.      Asian Americans lack this lineage. Most only cite Japanese internment, or Chinese exclusion, or the murder of Vincent Chin

c. What’s needed is to use these traumas to nation-build something different than someone from the continent of Africa, but to make meaningful connections between and among the various Asian ethnic groups.

7.      What is the Black-White binary

a.      Although Asians are a fast-growing demographic, they view America as one that revolves around the Black white binary

b.      In some ways, Asian Americans, because of their gains in assimilation

                                                                                                                                       i.      High levels of education, economic security

1.      Are increasingly set apart from other non-white groups

a.      Produces desperation of how Asians operate at the margins

b.      Neither White nor Black

8.      How the Irish became white -poor minorities who came to be viewed as white by aligning themselves with white capitalists to oppress black workers -Ignatiev 1995 book

a.      Similarly, upwardly mobile Asians -living in middle-class neighborhoods, attain whiteness that matters while millions of Asian workers sing further out of sight

                                                                                                                                       i.      Thus, some are working toward becoming white, many more are poor and vulnerable

b.      What to do -drop neuroses of microaggressions

c.      Fully align with forgotten Asian America

                                                                                                                                       i.      The refugees, undocumented and working class

9.      The problem with some, such as Kiang, is that there is friction between radicalism and tethering themselves to a specific working class

a.      But there is a certain skepticism of elite Asians who would rather be white than Asian, hence the issue some see with assimilation

                                                                                                                                       i.      One such idea looks at those traitorous Asian women who are conspiring to castrate them

                                                                                                                                     ii.      And breed with whites

b.      But there is a problem with those who segregate themselves, only hanging out with other Asians

c.      Or those who get giddy of being the token Asian

10.  This comes to a head as some Asians view their children

a.      Particularly of mixed couples

                                                                                                                                       i.      Who do they identify with? Who are they

                                                                                                                                     ii.      Are they Asian, mixed, white or somewhere unknown

                                                                                                                                   iii.      The paradox of being an immigrant, assimilation,

1.      Do we work to destroy the identity of who we are so that Our children will become the spoiled children we despise

                                                                                                                                   iv.      In the end…who are the Asian Americans, how should they think about their identity how American are they , how asian are they who are they…