Module 1: Overview of Asian American Activism
Was Asian American Activism successful in improving the lives of Asian Americans?
Movements … begin when large numbers of people, having reached the point where they can’t take the way things are anymore, see some hope of improving their daily lives and begin to move on their own. I have also learned that if you want to know what a movement is going to be about, you should keep your ears close to the grassroots to hear the “why” questions that people are asking.
– Grace Lee Boggs, Living for Change: An Autobiography 1
Though little is known about Asian American activism, there have been widespread and sustained political activity, along the lines of Grace Lee Boggs’ statement. This chapter introduces students to the vibrant history of Asian American justice struggles.
Social movements never start at one single moment but rather build on the past, while imagining new futures. Asian Americans have been fighting back against injustices since their arrival beginning in the mid-1800s. Most came as railroad workers, farm workers, domestics, and other laborers. They faced racist violence, exclusion laws, and labor exploitation. And they protested unfair wages, challenged anti-Asian immigration laws through the courts, and demanded justice and dignity in their work and community lives.
Asian American activism continues on.
This module highlights three significant activists who were part of the most intensive activism that occurred in the late 1960s and 1970s. Students, youth, and elders as well, came together to create the Asian American Movement (AAM).
What kinds of injustices have Asian Americans faced, and how have their experiences shaped their resistance and political organizing?
What are the political meanings of “Asian American,” and where does the term come from?
How have Asian American activists practiced solidarity with other marginalized groups and what happened as a result?
