Asian American movement

Asian American movement refers to a pan-Asian movement in the United States in which Americans of Asian descent came together to fight against their perceived shared oppression and to organize for recognition and advancement of their shared cause that occurred between the 1960's-1980's. According to William Wei, the movement was "rooted in a past history of oppression and a present struggle for liberation."[1]

There are three key moments associated with the origins of the movement, each of which occurred in the San Francisco Bay area. The first was the creation of the Asian American Political Alliance at UC Berkeley. This organization challenged the use of the term Oriental and adopted the term "Asian American" instead.

The second moment includes the 1968 San Francisco State University and 1969 University of California Berkeley Third World liberation strikes . These liberation fronts were coalitions of Asian American, Black, Chicano/a and Native American students who demanded courses in ethnic studies. Students and faculty organized with community activists to challenge the Eurocentric curriculum and lack of courses in Asian American Studies, African American Studies, Chicano Studies, Latino Studies and Native American Studies.

The third moment was the community struggle against the eviction of Filipino/a residents from the International Hotel (San Francisco) in December 1968.

The movement continued and grew to national prominence with various other events, including Helen Zia and the American Citizens for Justice efforts to lobby for a federal trial against Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz after they were given parole for the Murder of Vincent Chin.

Key figures

Key organizations

See also

  • Category:Asian-American movement activists

References

  1. ↑ William Wei, The Asian American Movement. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1993.
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