Political Awakenings & Connections Black political activism and thought played a pivotal role inspiring and awakening Asian Americans Sansei Ray Tasaki, Japanese American Pat Sumi, Japanese American activist/organizer In Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area, Asian Americans and African Americans worked together in social movement organization Chinese American organization, the Red Guard Party Vietnam War activism

Pat Sumi before an anti-Vietnam War demonstration calling attention to Japan’s collaborative role through the U.S. – Japan Security Treaty. Picture taken at Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, 1971

Asian American Identity Influenced by struggles against oppression at home and abroad, many Asian Americans and other Third World radicals came to see different forms of oppression – race, gender, class as interlinked In the 1960s & 1970s, Asian Americans began to delve into their unique histories and identities Filipino Americans were inspired by America is in the Heart (1946) by Carlos Bulosan Cultural production was created in order to develop and articulate empowered identies

Creative works produced during this period helped to construct a new Asian American identity premised on “Yellow Power” Janice Mirikitani, a female activist-writer, co- founded the Third World Communications Collective (TWC), which published the journal Aion Frank Chin, writer and playwright known for his work Chickencoop Chinaman Musical folk trio, Grain of Sand, wrote and performed songs depicting Asian American experiences

These are the lyrics to Grain of Sand song “We are the Children”

The Movement for Asian American & Ethnic Studies Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) – formed in 1968, the TWLF reflected a growing militancy among young people of color as well as the broader student movement in the U.S. The Intercollegiate Chinese for Social Action (ICSA) – formed in 1967 primarily as social, cultural, and community group Free University for Chinatown Kids, Unincorporated (FUCKU)

Third World Liberation strike at Sather Gate, UC Berkeley, Students at UC Berkeley supported the strike that started at San Francisco State

Members of the various Asian American organizations found inspiration in Asian historical figures and applied this knowledge to crafting a new identity that held pride in being Asian American The strike at San Francisco State University and the role of Asian Americans The result of the strike – the establishment of the first School of Ethnic Studies in the nation In the decades since, other ethnic studies and Asian American studies curricula and departments had been instituted at colleges and universities across the country

Asian American Activism Expands Asian American movement organizations emerged to address problems facing the urban poor and working class Asian American activist organized to save historical sites Philadelphia Chinatown and Little Tokyo in Los Angeles Another matter that emerged by the late 1960s was that of renters’ rights and affordable housing The fight for the I-Hotel in San Francisco

A large group of protestors and onlookers prepares for the International Hotel eviction, August 1977

“The Struggle for Low Income Housing” by Jim Dong and Nancy Hom, This mural depicts San Francisco community activists opposition to the demolition of the International Hotel

Remaking Asian America Asians as of 2012 are considered the predominantly foreign-born population in the U.S. Between 1966 and 2009, about 9.5 million Asians immigrated to the United States, with the largest numbers coming from China, the Philippines, and India Illegal Immigration: In 1990, the U.S. Census estimated there were 70,000 undocumented residents from China and 10 years later in the year 2000, it was 115,000 although other estimates have been much larger

Although the number of elected Asian American officials remains very low overall, their presence has made a difference at crucial junctures on key issues affecting Asian Americans The Lowell High School incident: as Chinese students were the most numerous, racial caps were limited to not more than 40% of the student population At the college level, admissions officials also started to use racial caps to limit Asian American enrollments