Self-identification among Asian Americans
Self-identification among Asian Americans reflects a complex interplay of historical, cultural, and social factors. The term "Asian" was initially utilized in the United States as a means of exclusion, particularly after the Immigration Act of 1924, which categorized immigrants from various Asian countries collectively. This grouping often overlooked the distinct cultures, languages, and experiences of the numerous Asian communities. In the U.S., early Asian immigrants, such as Chinese and Japanese, frequently faced segregation and discrimination, leading to a lack of interaction among different Asian groups.
Bicultural identities emerged among the offspring of these early immigrants, who navigated their parents' cultural heritage while assimilating into American society. Geographic and occupational divisions further complicated collective identity, particularly in places like Hawaii, where the term "Asian" remains less prevalent. However, the Asian American coalition began to take shape in the 1970s, influenced by ethnic studies and advocacy efforts, most notably those of Japanese Americans seeking redress for WWII internment. In contemporary times, rising instances of anti-Asian hate and violence have galvanized Asian Americans to unite and raise awareness, emphasizing the importance of solidarity in addressing shared challenges.
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Self-identification among Asian Americans
Europeans invented the concept of “Asia” to refer to countries east of the Urals and the Bosporus. When immigrants from Asia arrived in the United States, few knew about the culture of other Asian people, and they rarely spoke one another’s languages. Before 1920, government agencies classified them by specific countries of origin rather than as “Asians.” It was the Immigration Act of 1924 that began using the term “Asian” in order to exclude them from further immigration to the United States.
Although offspring of the first generation of Asian people in the United States were automatically American citizens, they became bicultural, identifying with their parents’ home country while becoming Americanized. Nevertheless, the various Asian American groups did not find opportunities to interact together as “Asians” because they were separated occupationally and residentially.
Within Hawaii, where White people have always been a numerical minority, the term “Asian” is not in common use, even today. Chinese immigrants, the first arrivals, were recruited to work in the sugarcane fields but left for entrepreneurial pursuits in the towns soon after their work contracts expired. The Japanese, the largest Asian group in the islands, tended to remain on the plantation for two generations because White people generally refused to hire them for any other work; some, however, passed civil service exams and advanced to middle-class status by working for the federal government. Filipinos, who also began as plantation laborers, have been the slowest to rise in status because few have acquired the educational qualifications for white-collar positions. Each group has depended upon itself rather than banding together.
On the U.S. mainland, Asian people generally suffered undifferentiated discrimination, but Japan’s aggression in Asia did much to create disunity with Chinese, Filipinos, Indonesians, Koreans, Malays, and Vietnamese. After World War II, political turmoil in China and Indochina promoted further animosity among Asian people, who brought Cambodian-Vietnamese, Chinese-Taiwanese, and other rivalries with them.
An Asian American coalition emerged from two sources. One was the advent of ethnic studies in the 1970s, resulting in Asian studies curricula, film festivals, and museums. The second stimulus for Asian American coalition building came from Japanese Americans, who sought redress from the federal government for Japanese Americans who were unjustly placed into internment camps during World War II. Alone, Japanese Americans carried little weight within the political landscape, but when Japanese Americans gained support from other Asian American groups, they reached critical mass to lobby the U.S. government for an apology that entailed monetary compensation. In the twenty-first century issues of anti-Asian hate and violence have brought Asian Americans together to raise awareness.
Bibliography
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Qureshi, Bilal. "From Wrong to Right: A U.S. Apology for Japanese Internment." National Public Radio, 9 Aug. 2013, www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/08/09/210138278/japanese-internment-redress#:~:text=In%201988%2C%20President%20Reagan%20signed,compensation%20to%20each%20surviving%20victim. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
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Zhao, Xiaojian, and Edward J. W. Park, eds. Asian Americans: An Encyclopedia of Social, Cultural, Economic, and Political History. 3 vols. Santa Barbara: Greenwood, 2014.