The Asian American Movement

Abstract

The Asian American Movement was a social movement for racial justice, most active during the late 1960s through the mid-1970s, which brought together people of various Asian ancestries in the United States who protested against racism and U.S. neo-imperialism, demanded changes in institutions such as colleges and universities, organized workers, and sought to provide social services such as housing, food, and healthcare to poor people. As one of its signal achievements, the Movement created the category “Asian American,” (coined by historian and activist Yuji Ichioka), which encompasses the multiple Asian ethnic groups who have migrated to the United States. Its founding principle of coalitional politics emphasizes solidarity among Asians of all ethnicities, multiracial solidarity among Asian Americans as well as with African, Latino, and Native Americans in the United States, and transnational solidarity with peoples around the globe impacted by U.S. militarism. The movement participated in solidarity work with other Third World peoples in the United States, including the Third World Liberation Front strikes at San Francisco State College and University of California, Berkeley. The Movement fought for housing rights for poor people in the urban cores of San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Seattle, and Philadelphia; it created arts collectives, published newspapers and magazines, and protested vigorously against the Vietnam War. It also extended to Honolulu, where activists sought to preserve land rights in rural Hawai’i. It contributed to the larger radical movement for power and justice that critiqued capitalism and neo-imperialism, which flourished during the 1960s and 1970s.

Defining ourselves: Exploring our leader and activist identities as Asian American women doctoral students.

“…Additionally, higher percentages of Americans report discomfort with Asian American supervisors compared with Black, woman, or Jewish supervisors (Kim, 2016). These common narratives ignore a rich history of civil rights campaigning among Asian communities in the United States (see Maeda, 2016 for an overview; Ho, 2000; Sengupta, 2000; Wong, 2000; Zia, 2000).…”

Unpacking Legal Advancements for Asian American Students: A Political Discourse Analysis of Illinois’s House Bill 376

“…These external influences notwithstanding, Asian American also has an agentive history. Asian American student activists coined the term in 1968 to amass pan-Asian political power so the multiethnic collective could lobby more effectively on the national political stage (Maeda, 2016). Since '68, Asian American populations have grown exponentially (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021), and Asian Americans have garnered increasing political influence on and representation within local and national platforms (Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago, 2016; Yam, 2022).…”

Predicting group consciousness among Asian Americans: Considering commonalities, shared interests, panethnic group identification, and linked fate

“…National and international political movements such as the Black Power Movement, the New Left, Antiwar, and Women's movements contextualized their panethnic political consciousness and propelled panethnic activism among Asian Americans during the 1960s and 1970s (Lee, 2019;Liu et al, 2008;Maeda, 2016). Panethnic Asian organizations emerged as political instruments for Asian Americans to assert their political stance under the umbrella term "Asian American" (Lee, 2015;Liu et al, 2008).…”