Kevin Mo Week 9

Kevin Mo

Week 9

Section A02

“Why Ferguson Matters to Asian Americans” and “Building a Culture of Solidarity: Racial Discourse, Black Lives Matter, and Indigenous Social Justice” collectively show the disconnect in social justice for Asian Americans. Being a first generation Chinese American, I sometimes feel like we are the forefront for revolution in equality. The reason being that much of the Asian population is made of overseas immigrants that lack English-speaking and technological skills. Much of the major protest movements draw strength from social media, of which other ethnicities have a much stronger presence. Both articles show that communities of all color need to congregate and gather momentum as a collective force in order to be prevalent. The problem is that then that erases the sense of self at the cost of recognition. The root of which in the Asian community is the notion of anti-blackness that keeps the community distinct from blacks. The model minority myth also perpetuates the strict hierarchal structure of Asian upbringing that keeps oppressed individuals from using our historical determination to break the status quo.

Question: What can first generation Asian Americans learn from growing up in this historic time period and apply that to the next generation?

References:

1. Jung, S. (2014, August 20). Why Ferguson Matters to Asian Americans. Race Files.
2. Ramos, S.F. (2016, April 20). Building a Culture of Solidarity: Racial Discourse, Black Lives Matter, and Indigenous Social Justice. Enculturation: A Journal of Rhetoric, Writing, and Culture
3. Model Minority Myth. sites.psu.edu/tarapeng/wp-content/uploads/sites/17098/2015/04/Model-Minority-Myth.jpg. Accessed 19 Nov. 2017.