There is a widespread perception that Asian Americans are not politically engaged. This perception is perpetuated by many sources, including dominant narratives in the media that ignore Asian American political organizing, polling data that fails to adequately or correctly capture Asian American voters, and lack of coverage of Asian American history in most U.S. history classes. This perception is not only entrenched in erasure, but also ignores the very birth of the term Asian America. In 1968, community organizers in the Bay Area came together to found the Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA), during which the term Asian American was first used. The AAPA and the origin of Asian America were politically rooted and aimed to correct historical injustices in order to claim power for Asian Americans in solidarity with all oppressed people.
This history, along with the current false perception of Asian Americans and political engagement, made it all the more important for AAPI Civic Engagement and electoral organizing to be the topic for the first week of the CAUSE Leadership Institute (CLI). Dr. Sara Sadhwani presented very important data on the growth and power of the AAPI voting bloc. Dr. Sadhwani showed us Pew Research center data that projects that the Asian population in the U.S. will surpass 46 million by 2060, making Asians the largest immigrant population. Asian Americans are also located in geographically important states in terms of both local and national elections. In addition to areas traditionally associated with large Asian American populations, including New York and California, Asian Americans are also concentrated in electorally important swing states, such as Texas, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, and Nevada. When Asian Americans are electorally organized, we canswung very important elections – and we already have.
While electoral organizing is important, it is also inadequate on its own. Many social justice issues are not and will never be addressed through electoral organizing because they are fundamentally rooted in structural oppression that is perpetuated by the political system. Oftentimes, these issues affect folks who live in the intersection of multiple systems of oppression. The halls of political power are structured in a way that systematically excludes the people most impacted by decisions from the decision-making table. While recognizing the many shortcomings of electoral organizing, the data does show us that electoral organizing is an important and concrete way to build community power, and it is one that we must tap into as an avenue to create long-term change.
Dr. Sadhwani also presented very interesting data on issue-based advocacy. In particular, the data on support for affirmative action surprised me and challenged my own perceptions. Among Asian American voters, 69% expressed support for “affirmative action programs designed to help Black people, women, and other minorities.” When looking at disaggregated data, Korean American voters expressed the highest support, at 82%, and Chinese American voters expressed the lowest support, at 59%. Yet, 59% is still well into the majority, but so many stories and narratives presented by journalists in dominant media spaces have had us believe that Asian Americans, particularly Chinese Americans, did not support affirmative action. The Harvard Affirmative Action case has been politicized in a way that has given the public, including myself, a strong perception that many Asian Americans opposed affirmative action. This has been a powerful narrative that has been weaponized to create divisions between communities of color, especially contributing to an antagonizing narrative between Asian Americans and Black Americans.
Yet the data tells a different story. The data empowers us to root our advocacy and activism in our truths instead of relying on a distorted understanding presented by those in power. This is an important way to reshape our narratives and reclaim our power.
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the views or positions of CAUSE or the CAUSE network.
Written by Shengxiao "Sole" Yu (虞圣晓), Leadership Institute 2023 Fellow
The CAUSE Leadership Institute (CLI) for professionals is a 6-month-long certificate program that prepares and equips mid-career professionals with the tools, skills, and network to lead and advocate for the Asian Pacific Islander community.