Asian Culture in America
Asian American Movements
Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA)
Influenced by Black Powder movements, AAPA helped embrace Pan-Asian focus, bringing groups of Asian Americans together to combat against racial injustice.
click to edit
American Citizens for Justice (ACJ)
With the murder of Vincent Chin, in which he was killed because his killer thought he was Japanese, ACJ formed in order to prevent further violence against Asian-Americans.
Alfred A. Robles
Community activist in San Francisco. Being an influential Filipino American poet, he was able to advocate for the poor and elderly. His poems engaged with the issues of social and racial justice against the Asian-American community.
Ed Lee
Being the first Asian American to hold office, he was able to champion education and rights for immigrants in San Francisco, as well as advocating for affordable housing.
History of Anti-Asian Racism
Although Asians are seen to be the "model minority", in which they were the ideal immigrants of color in the US from economic success, Asian Americans have been considered a threat to the nation. Being labeled as "yellow peril" categorized them as individuals who were unclean and unfit for citizenship.
: 
In present times, racism and injustice towards Asians have been on the rise during the Covid-19 pandemic. Anti-Asian racism and xenophobia in America has caused violent bullying, threats and discrimination towards Asians.
Self Identity
Being an Asian-American myself,
I can easily say that casual racism and the given stereotypes still exist. From there still being stereotyped characters in films, to the president labeling Covid-19 as the "China Virus", it may seem that the racism is unconcerning, but it is actually very uncomfortable.
Growing up with two older siblings, I find it easier to get through my education since I have them to guide me. With both of my siblings having a degree in biology, I'm able to have a guideline of what I'm supposed to do and how I can pursue my career.
Being a first generation student, I find it draining and difficult to keep up with trying to fulfill my parent's expectations. Visualizing my future can be used as a motivation to strive through, but I ultimately find ambition when thinking about all of the sacrifices my parents have made to allow me to have these opportunities.
Gabrielle Widjaja
Through her artwork, she is able to express the significance and themes of Asian American heritage. As she includes Chinese words in her art, she personally displays a part of her memory, making her work authentic to her life and experiences. She believes her relationship with her culture is constantly evolving.
Dadu Shin
His work illustrates life as an Asian American, in which he felt like he didn't belong amongst his white American peers, nor his peers in Korea--he felt stuck in the middle. He was constantly trying to assimilate into either communities.
With CoronaVirus arriving to America, many Asian-Americans have faced discrimination and prejudice. These Asian-American artists used their work to describe what it's like being Asian-American.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/06/us/coronavirus-race-artists-asian-american-identity.html
click to edit
Stereotypes of Asians
When thinking of Asians, people to to have a quiet, awkward, and/or smart person come in mind. When coming into the entertainment industry, Asian-Americans do not receive much recognition.
Mulan
With the new live action movie, Mulan, the film could be considered a step back, in which it was seen as inauthentic with its poor artistic level, misunderstanding many aspects of Chinese culture. It included many inaccurate and stereotypical representations of Chinese history.
It was noted that a majority of the film's crew was white, explaining why the film itself wasn't very genuine.
Crazy Rich Asians
Being a movie full of Asian actors was a step forward in the Asian community. Asian Americans were expressed in forms that broke the stereotypes, in which the characters had their own persona other than being a quiet geek.
click to edit
