PEOPLE AND EVERYDAY LIFE
Multiracial Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans
Does learning about the experiences of multiracial Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans reveal ways to contest racism?
Chapter objectives
- Learn about multiracial Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans and where they live.
- Understand how the law and mainstream media inform our ideas about multiracial people.
- Explore the factors shaping multiracial identity formation.
This chapter explores multiracial Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans, analyzing their population numbers, where they live, and the patterns of interracial marriage that have shaped these communities. We examine how the laws and media shape our ideas about Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans with mixed ancestry. We also learn how multiracial people form their identities and explore multiracial self-expression through Pacific Islander and Asian American memoirs. Together, we question our ideas about race and identity, recognize the role of the law, and see how “Asian America” and the “Pacific Islands” include a wide range of people. While we focus on larger systems of power, the chapter highlights how individuals express their agency, or their ability to make choices about their own lives.
Chapter Sources
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