Week 9- Cory Takiguchi

Cory Takiguchi

A03

Week 9

The article “Why Ferguson Matters to Asian Americans” by Soya Jung explains why other races have experienced persecution similar to the Ferguson shootings. Jung claims that Mike Brown’s death in the shooting was another result of white supremacy throughout society. She also explains how people of her ethnicity experienced persecution through the fights between the United States and the Soviet Union. This caused her to feel han, which is frustration and rage that builds up over years of being treated unfairly. Although I can’t personally relate to being discriminated based on race like the victims of the Ferguson shootings, my grandparents can. As a fourth grade student, my grandmother was sent to a Japanese concentration camp during WWII despite being an American citizen. The government viewed her as a threat because she was Japanese, even though she had no knowledge or allegiance to Japan during the war. This is similar to the African Americans being targeted during these police shootings. They should be treated the same as a white American, just as Japanese Americans should be treated as Americans, and every other race for that matter. The fact that people are being targeted due to their race is ridiculous. Everyone should be treated the same regardless of their ethnicity.

Q: Since the majority of our class is Asian American, can you think of any older family members who were treated unfairly due to their race (i.e concentration camps)? How do you think that would have been handled in today’s society? Would it have been handled better or worse?

Jung, Soya. (2014, August 20). “Why Ferguson Matters to Asian Americans.” Race Files Retrieved November 18, 2017.

Varner, Natasha. (2016, February 23). Despite history, Japanese Americans and African Americans are working together to claim their rights. [digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-02-23/despite-their-history-japanese-americans-and-african-americans-are-working