Brian Trat
ASA 2, Sec A02
Blog #1
30 September 2015
Some of my friends think that because Asian-Americans appear to have made great strides in the United States that these social movements aren't necessary and are redundant. What I try my best to make them understand are the factors that led to these successes and how they were even possible in a country with a white majority controlling the political landscape. In "The 'Four Prisons' and the Movements of Liberation", Glenn Omatsu outlines a history of Asian-American activism and the evolution of the Asian-American identity form 1960 to 1990. When the lens of History are shifted from the actions of the powerful to the struggles of the people, we see Asian-America come alive in ways that our public schooling never allowed. The '60s were a period of militant action that drew inspiration from radical revolutionaries like Marx, Malcolm X, Che Guevara, and the Black Panthers among many others. The activists of the '60s were responding to a wide range of issues like the struggles of the working class and rampant racism. Although the new conservatism of the '70s and '80s allowed cooperations to launch an attack against the poor, a generation of professionals and immigrants from the 1965 Immigration Act allowed some Asian-Americans to succeed during this time. Even so, there are large sectors of the Asian-American populace that are struggling with poverty. There are people like me who grew up in these conditions, that would hear words like"model minority" and be confused. It was only when I understood how it was useful to the powers that be, that I knew what place I occupied in the political landscape. We as students have a civic responsibility to not only continue this fight our predecessors started, but also to let it grow and evolve so that we can give back and contribute to our communities. They in turn help us grow.
No comments:
Post a Comment