Unit 7: Civil Rights and Asian Americans

“What is an Asian American?”—Professor Stephanie Han, The Art of Asian America: REDEFINING ASIAN AMERICAN

WHAT IS AN ASIAN AMERICAN?

The term “Asian American” is one born of revolution coined by historian Yuji Ichioka in the late 1960s to name the pan-Asian coalition political group that launched a cultural nationalist movement. Asian Americans do not claim an Asian country of origin, a single time period of immigration, a religion, language or culture, or a common historical narrative around which the community politically or socially organizes, such as slavery or genocide. The implicit understanding of a shared past galvanizes solidarity, but in the case where present-day factionalism in the United States can be traced to historic differences between countries in Asia, a singular identity becomes impossible. In fact, cohesion of the group is often predicated on positive or negative state action or crisis (discrimination). The term “Asian American” constantly expands or adjusts; it has always been, and continues to be, a definition in flux.