鈥業 need to vote.鈥� Why more Asian Americans are staking a political claim.
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Ann Scott Tyson Staff writer
| Seattle
About 150 Chinese American high school and college students from across the United States are engaging online with a young presidential and congressional campaign worker, peppering him with questions.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e campaigning, how do you really mobilize Asian Americans?鈥� asks Luis Xu, a high school student from Illinois, during a聽weeklong civics program designed to empower a new generation of leaders.
鈥淚鈥檓 really impressed by your activism at such a young age. 鈥� How did you network so effectively in high school and college?鈥� asks another student, Arthur Sun.
Why We Wrote This
Discrimination and violence against Asian Americans have made headlines this year. Overlooked in some coverage, though, is a key part of their communities鈥� response: renewed pride and a political reawakening.
鈥淗ave you ever had any difficulties in your political career as a Chinese American? How did you overcome them?鈥� inquires Lin Pei, a student at the University of Maryland.聽
Asian Americans say their community is experiencing a broad political awakening, reflected in such enthusiastic exchanges between students and elected officials, activists, and community leaders attending the civics program organized by the聽Washington-based nonprofit United Chinese Americans.聽Though the 23 million people who identify as Asian American today are a vastly diverse group, they鈥檝e united to a degree against a surge in racism and attacks during the pandemic.
鈥淲hat you鈥檙e seeing right now at the national level 鈥� but also at the state and local levels, is this kind of reckoning鈥� in response to heightened polarization during the Trump presidency and a wave of anti-Asian discrimination during the pandemic, says Vivian Louie, director of the Asian American Studies Center and the Asian American Studies program of Hunter College at the City University of New York.
鈥淔olks who have never really been politically active 鈥� have responded by mobilizing, by seeking to build coalitions within the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, and across Americans of all different backgrounds.鈥�
Voter turnout by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders surged by 10 percentage points and 14 percentage points, respectively, in the 2020 election compared with 2016, more than for any other racial or ethnic categories, according to聽census data聽. Exit polls indicated that 63% of the Asian American electorate voted for Joe Biden, compared with 31% for President Donald Trump.聽聽
Chinese American leaders, in particular, say the growth in political engagement has been striking within their community, which with 5.4 million people is the biggest segment of the Asian American population, according to U.S. census data.
鈥淎n uptick would be an understatement鈥� in describing the newfound political activism, says Haipei Shue, president of United Chinese Americans. He attributes the change to a 鈥渢riple whammy鈥�: the Trump presidency 鈥渕aking the Chinese community very nervous and worried about its future,鈥� with soaring tensions between Washington and Beijing; the intensifying polarization of U.S. politics; and the heavy blow of the pandemic to the Chinese American community specifically.
鈥淚n the Chinese community, like it or not, everybody has become more politicized鈥� in recent years, says Mr. Shue. 鈥淣ot necessarily because they love it, but most likely because they cannot run away from it.鈥澛�
鈥淚 need to vote鈥�
To be sure, Asian American activists have a long history of fighting for their rights and have waged聽landmark court battles over issues such as citizenship, immigration, and education, Professor Louie notes. Yet she says many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders themselves are not aware of this history.
Among newer Chinese Americans, reluctance to take part in democratic politics has stemmed in part from their roots in China, Mr. Shue says. 鈥淲e come from a society where 鈥� not only do you never know what democracy is, but you are much discouraged from any activism or advocacy,鈥� he says, noting about two-thirds of Chinese Americans are first-generation immigrants.
Language barriers are another obstacle, with a third of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders having limited English, according to survey data.聽
鈥淭hey fear they cannot be an adequate voter,鈥� says Hong Qi, who moved to the Seattle area from Beijing in 1988 and聽has since worked聽on聽programs to boost voting by Chinese Americans and other minority groups. 鈥淓ven if the material is translated, they will say they don鈥檛 know the candidates, or don鈥檛 understand the resolutions.鈥� Prior to the 2020 elections, Ms. Hong translated voting instructions for every state into Chinese and posted them online.
But for many, concern over the spike in physical and verbal attacks and other聽forms of discrimination against Asian Americans 鈥� along with a dangerously divisive political atmosphere 鈥� has聽spurred them into action.聽The group Stop AAPI Hate in the year to March 30,聽including more than 800 physical assaults.
鈥淚 never voted because I felt I needed to have a better understanding of the U.S. system鈥� and faced a language barrier, says Cathy, who moved to the Seattle area from China 18 years ago and is now a U.S. citizen. But after her Chinese American聽husband was assaulted and his nose fractured in a June attack that she believes was racially motivated, she is taking action. She wrote to the Seattle City Council about the assault聽and is determined to vote in the next election.聽"I need to vote," she says.
鈥淲e used to be the silent people,鈥� says Cathy, who asked that her last name be withheld for her protection. But now, she believes, 鈥渢he Chinese community should take more participation in improving the society.鈥�
Taking action
In addition to turning out the vote,聽more Asian Americans are running for office and聽working on political campaigns, and grassroots organizing, says Professor Louie. In New York,聽nearly one-fifth of the candidates running for city council in November are of Asian American or Pacific Islander descent.
鈥淚 am very conscious of the fact that there are not many Chinese Americans broadly in politics,鈥� says one young Chinese American Senate staff member who has worked on political campaigns. 鈥淚 frankly don鈥檛 see a lot of folks who look like me,鈥� he says, requesting anonymity because his job does not authorize him to speak on the record.
Still, he feels compelled to pursue a career in politics, in part to represent Asian Americans.
鈥淲hen you have the president of the United States throwing out racial slurs and targeting the community specifically 鈥� you realize you have no choice but to make your voice heard,鈥� he says, referring to Mr. Trump. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we saw over this part year 鈥� we saw the tragic shooting in Atlanta, for instance 鈥� moments like that really shock your system and make you realize you have no choice but to be part of the process,鈥� he says. The March shootings at Atlanta area spas killed eight people, including six Asian women. The shooter pled guilty this week to four counts of murder.聽
Advocates stress that education is also vital to counter discrimination and violence against Asian Americans and ease their feeling of being unappreciated, or聽even invisible. In a recent victory, Illinois this month became the first state to require a unit on Asian American history to be added to public schools鈥� curriculum.
As Chinese Americans, 鈥測ou must show you are part of the United States and have built the United States from the beginning,鈥� says former senior U.S. diplomat Ted Gong. Mr. Gong is executive director of the 1882 Foundation, which聽promotes public awareness of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 that聽prohibited Chinese laborers from entering the United States.
鈥淒on鈥檛 be silent,鈥� Mr. Gong told the students attending last month鈥檚聽online civic leadership program. 鈥淏low the whistle, not just if you are in danger,鈥� he says, referring to a Yellow Whistle campaign launched in April to counter racial violence against Asian Americans. 鈥淟et people know you are here.鈥�
