Collette and Brad message a bit more before their call with Ana and decide that they should further discuss how anti-Asian bias and exclusion and violence has impacted the AAPI community. Based on Ana’s comment, it seemed to them that Ana may not know that stereotypes are only one piece of the AAPI experience.
Brad asks, “Hey Ana, would you be open to continuing our conversation from earlier today?”
“Yeah, maybe we can provide some examples of AAPI’s in American history?” Collette elaborated.
Ana was intrigued. “Sure! I never paid attention in history class anyway.”
Brad opens the conversation. “Have you heard about the history of oppression or violence targeted towards Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders? Have you ever heard of Vincent Chin 💡 or the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 💡?”
Ana hadn’t. “I never really heard of violence towards Asian-Americans, although I am familiar with Japanese internment during World War II 💡.”
Brad elaborated. “Vincent Chin, a Chinese American, was at a strip club for his bachelor party. This was not that long ago, 1982. That evening he encountered two men 💡at the club. One was a laid-off autoworker. The men blamed the Japanese auto-industry for recent layoffs and the decline in the American auto-industry. They assumed that Vincent was Japanese, and witnesses reported that they used racial slurs when they attacked him with a baseball bat. They beat Vincent to death. Charges were filed, but neither served any jail time, and were instead sentenced to only 3 years probation and ordered to pay a $3000 fine.”
Collette chimed in, “Basically, the court ruled that an Asian-American’s life was only worth $3,000 💡.”
Brad continued, “And, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was meant to limit the influx of Chinese immigrants to the U.S., especially during the 1850s. This act suspended most of the Chinese immigration for 10 years, and it was later renewed. Supporters of the Act thought that Chinese immigrants were responsible for reduced wages and job availability. Once again, like with Vincent Chin, Asians and Asian-Americans were blamed for poor economic and employment conditions even though Chinese immigrants only made up 0.002% 💡 of the U.S. population in the 1800s.”
Collette jumped in, “Even before the Chinese Exclusion Act, the U.S. enacted the Page Act to restrict the immigration of Chinese women and required them to prove they weren’t prostitutes before granting entry. No women from any other countries were required to do that! That in and of itself perpetuated sexual stereotypes 💡 of Chinese and other Asian-American women. Stereotypes 💡 such as these are still around -- Asian-Americans, and particularly Asian-American women, continue to grapple with them. It wasn’t until seven years later that the U.S. enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act to effectively prohibit the immigration of Chinese men as well and prevented Chinese immigrants from becoming naturalized citizens 💡. Again, treating Asian-Americans differently from other immigrant groups.”
Ana digested what Brad and Collette had shared. “It seems like sometimes we have an easier time blaming minority groups for broader problems facing our country, which doesn’t really make sense if they are, by definition, the minority.”
Collette agreed. “It may be easier to blame people perceived as different or ‘others.’ That’s why it’s so important for us to be mindful of how we speak. Even if it is a microaggression or a joke about a stereotype, it supports notions of otherness, which can consciously or subconsciously perpetuate exclusion, and in some cases, violence.”
Trying to bring some positivity to the conversation, Collette spoke, “Despite America’s treatment of Asian-Americans, they continued to make a positive impact. Philip Vera Cruz 💡, a political activist, is a great example. Philip, a Filipino American, led the charge to improve working conditions of both Filipino and Mexican migrant workers by becoming the co-founder of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee. He worked with Cesar Chavez to demand better working conditions and treatment of migrant workers. I love this story because it shows different minority groups working together to improve conditions for workers in an entire industry.”
Ana nodded. “I never knew of the struggles for the Asian-American community especially given their history, it’s just not talked about enough. Asian-Americans have been a part of U.S. history for quite some time, and while the country at times has systematically “othered” them, they continue to contribute in meaningful ways, even though those contributions may be overlooked.”
In agreement, Collette shared, “That’s exactly why Brad and I thought it was important for us to share some of what we learned about Asian-Americans history in the U.S.”
Brad echoed Collette. “I didn’t know about the Page Act until today and never really thought about violence and its relationship to otherness. This conversation offered me additional perspective since I never really thought about stereotypes which specifically impact Asian-American women. While we still need to celebrate Asian-Americans, we need to be mindful, remember, and discuss the violence and exclusion that they have experienced and continue to experience.” 💡
Ana added, “I think it is particularly important that we discuss violence against the Asian and Asian-American community now given the recent increase of violence. History seems to be repeating itself.”
Collette ended with, “Wow Ana, seems like you’ve already learned a lot and maybe you know more about this topic than you let on! You should lead the discussion!”
Key considerations:
Everyone can add value to a DE&I discussion and we shouldn’t minimize each other’s contributions. Everyone has their own perspective and different life events to draw upon. Even a self-proclaimed DE&I expert, must recognize that journey toward DE&I is ongoing.
Discussions may touch on unpleasant topics, but acknowledgement of the past is important for growth. Not everyone feels comfortable discussing uncomfortable topics with colleagues, but to the extent you and your co-workers do, a lot can be shared and learned.
Current events may spark DE&I conversations. Sharing thoughts and experiences prompted by current events may make the sharer feel vulnerable. Please be mindful of the sharer’s feelings and offer support where appropriate.
Want additional resources to learn more about the history of violence towards and exclusion of Asians and Asian-Americans in U.S. history or other topics discussed in this path?
📖 Read an article published after Vincent Chin’s trial: FOR ASIAN-AMERICANS, ACQUITTAL IN RIGHTS CASE AROU.S.ES OUTRAGE AND FEAR - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
📖 Read more about the sexualization of Asian-American women: For Asian-American Women, Misogyny And Racism Are Inseparable, Sociologist Says : NPR
📖 Read more about Covid-19 was not the first time a racial group was accused of starting a pandemic: Attacks Blaming Asians For Pandemic Reflect Racist History Of Global Health : Goats and Soda : NPR
📖 Read more about America’s history of Anti-Asian violence: History of anti-Asian racism, violence in U.S. includes massacres, murders, attacking immigrants - The Washington Post
⚙ Watch a re-enactment of the Vincent Chin trial written by Judge Denny Chin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit: Reenacting the Vincent Chin Trial - Harvard Law Today
📖 Read more about individual Asian-Americans and their contributions:
Amanda Nguyen – sexual assault survivor, survivor rights advocate, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, founder and CEO of Rise.
Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu – award winning nuclear physicist involved in the Manhattan Project and first woman to serve as president of American Physical Society.
Kalpana Chawla – first woman of Indian descent to travel in space and crew member of the tragic Space Shuttle Columbia mission.
Dalip Singh Saund – first Sikh American, first Asian-American, and first Indian-American to be elected to U.S. Congress.
Patsy Takemoto Mink – first woman of color elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served as Assistant Secretary of State.
Dr. David Ho – research physician and virologist who encountered the first reported case of AIDS and conducted front line research for AIDS and Coronavirus.
Legal disclaimer: Any resources provided in this story are for informational purposes only; they are not legal, tax or accounting advice. This story may contain hyperlinks to websites operated by parties other than TriNet. Such hyperlinks are provided for reference only. TriNet does not control such websites and is not responsible for their content. Inclusion of such hyperlinks on this site does not necessarily imply any endorsement of the material on such websites or association with their operators.
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