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Asian Pacific Americans' Social Movements and Interest GroupsAuthor(s): Kim Geron, Enrique de la Cruz, Leland T. Saito, Jaideep SinghSource:
PS: Political Science and Politics,
Vol. 34, No. 3, (Sep., 2001), pp. 618-624Published by: American Political Science AssociationStable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1353549
Accessed: 13/05/2008 02:09
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Asian
Pacific
Americans'
Social
Movements
and
Interest
Groups
Forat least 150years,AsianPacificAmericanshavefacedracialdiscrimina-tion,violence,andsegregation.Unabletovote beforeWorldWarII,manyusedlegalchallengesandothernon-electoralmeanstofightforequality(Salyer1995).Familyandregionalassociationsformedforeconomicneeds,while othergroupsorganizedtodefendworkerrights(Bulosan1973;Kwong1997;Yoneda1983).Civilrightsorganizationssuch astheJapaneseAmerican CitizensLeague(foundedin1930)andthe ChineseAmeri-canCitizensAlliance(foundedin1915)promotedassimilationandopposeddiscrimination.In thepost-WorldWarIIera,AsianAmericansbuiltnewforms ofcommunity-basedinstitutionsandorganizations,includingmainstreamadvocacyandservicegroups,andgrassrootsorganiza-tionsthatchallengedfundamentalin-equalities(Lo1992).Inthe 1970sand1980s,forexample,thecampaignfor redressforJapaneseAmericansincarceratedduringWorldWarIIcombinedUniversity,grassrootsprotestandcongressionallobbying,resultingin President
IQ
Cruz,
Reagansigninglegisla-
University,tionthatprovidedforbothan officialapologyandmonetary compen-
ito,
sation (Maki,Kitano,
)uthern
and Berthold1999).ThenationwideJusticeforVincent Chin
gh,
campaignin theearly1980sgalvanizedaebroadcoalitionofChineseand otherAsian-Americangroupsinoppositiontoracialviolence(Zia2000).Withinthis widerangeofAsian-Ameri-canpoliticalactivity,we havefocused ona fewareas:pan-Asianorganizing,SouthAsianpoliticalintegration,Filipino-Americanstrugglesagainstmartiallaw,anddefenseof ethnicenclaves.Theseareashighlightthehistoricand currentdivergent politicalactivitiesin Asian-Americancommunitiesfor socialjusticeandfullequality.AsianAmericansandPanethnicityWiththeemergenceofAsian AmericansasapoliticalforceinmanyU.S.urbanareas,thegroup'sextraordinarydiversityhas raisedafundamentalquestion:Is thereapan-ethnicidentity?Panethniccatego-ries-suchas "AsianAmerican,""Latino,"or "NativeAmerican"-andethniccatego-ries-suchas "ChineseAmerican,""Fili-pinoAmerican,"or"JapaneseAmerican"-arepoliticaland socialconstructions,withtheirboundariesandsignificanceunderconstantnegotiationandreconfiguration(Cornell1988;Nagel1996;Omi andWinant1994;Padilla1985).GiventhatAsianAmericansvary greatlybyreligion,language,andpoliticalideology,structuralfactorsappearto bethemajorcontributorsto apanethnicidentity (Espiritu1992;LopezandEspiritu1990;Saito1998).Panethnicityis inpartimposedbya sharedhistoryofracializationthroughdiscriminatorygovernmentpoliciesin areassuch asimmigration,naturalization,and federalhomemortgage policies(Daniels1988;Lipsitz1998;Masseyand Denton1993;Saxton1971).ThesepoliciescreatedcommoninterestsamongAsianAmericans,whofound themselvesgroupedtogetherina racialhierarchythat wasdeeplyimbed-dedinsocietyandsupportedby govern-mentpractices.Communitystudiesillustrate theconstruction ofpanethnicity.Examininglocal andnationalevents,theyshow howactionssuch as hatecrimes,neighborhoodsegregation,governmentactions,andlabormarket discriminationcontributetoracialization(Fong1994;Horton1995;Kwong1996;Lin1998).Thesestudiesalso showthat while anAsian-Americanidentityisinpartimposedbyexternalfactors,such ascensuscategories (Espirituand Omi2000),glassceilings,orraciallumping,Asian Americanshave usedpoliticalactiontonegotiatethebound-ariesandconsequencesof thisidentity.Politicalmobilizationandidentityformationdevelopfromcomplex patternsofgender,race,class,andpoliticalrela-tionshipsthat arehighlyinfluencedbyhistoricalandcontemporarycontexts(AbelmannandLie1995;Lowe1996).
PSOnlinewww.apsanet.org
by
KimGeron,
CaliforniatateHayward
Enriquede
CaliforniatateNorthridge
LelandT. Sc
UniversityfScCalifornia
JaideepSin
OberlinCollegi
619
of 00

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