AsianWeek

Defending Our Rights
APAs becoming more active in civil rights arena
By Frank Wu

Although the re-nomination of Bill Lann Lee is attracting renewed opposition, Asian Americans have arrived in civil rights circles. Other Asian Americans are assuming significant civil rights roles in Washington, and their contributions represent a turning point for our political participation.

Those others include Angela Oh, the Los Angeles lawyer who became an outspoken member of last year's presidential race initiative. In appearances at "town hall" meetings throughout the nation, she urged a new paradigm of race relations that encompassed Asian Americans and others who are neither black nor white.

Longtime advocates such as Dennis Hayashi and Rose Ochi have been part of the Clinton Administration, serving for several years in crucial behind-the-scenes posts. Hayashi has helped develop the "mend it, don't end it" affirmative action approach. Ochi heads the Community Relations Service, which mediates racial conflicts throughout the country. Harold Hongju Koh, a respected professor from Yale University, also received confirmation last year as assistant secretary of state for human rights.

A new generation is joining them. In just the past few weeks, Kathleen Ahn, a former Democratic Party official, has become the director of policy for the permanent continuation of the "One America" race project, and Irene Bueno has joined the White House staff to handle immigration matters. Ahn, a Korean American from New York City; and Bueno, a Filipina from California, represent the diversity of Asian American participation.

The Asian Americans who are familiar with the civil-rights movement agree that Asian American communities are changing. People are becoming more concerned with civil rights, more organized and most important, more active.

Paul Igasaki, the vice chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and one of the highest ranking Asian Americans in the federal government, said in an interview, that there has "absolutely" been increased interest in civil rights on the part of Asian Americans. He has noticed that with "a growing majority of the community [being] recent immigrants," the understanding of civil rights has changed to include responding to "stereotyping and scapegoating of immigrants."

Daphne Kwok, who has led the Organization of Chinese Americans for the past eight years, has observed increased activism among Asian Americans, especially college students, in part because of "the very conservative elements of society." Anti-immigration proposals, in particular, have especially given Asian Americans "the wake up call," she says.

Chung-Hwa Hong, the executive director of the New York City-based National Korean American Service & Education Consortium, agrees that Asian immigrants need the protection of civil-rights laws. "Some segments of the community are not yet familiar with civil rights," she said, "but attacks on immigrants are making them aware."

She advocates "presenting discrimination based on language and immigrant status using the language of civil rights, because Americans understand that-instead of saying, 'you have to be pro-immigrant.' " She points out that the issues overlap. Asian immigrants face arbitrary or different treatment based on their language abilities or how long they have been in the country.

Several legislative struggles have brought Asian Americans together with other racial minorities. Among the most important victories was the Civil Rights Act of 1990, which Congress passed in response to a Supreme Court case that involved Asian laborers in Alaskan salmon canneries, and the 1988 reparations bill authorizing payments to Japanese Americans who had been interned during World War II.

A few years ago, when Capitol Hill was considering severe cutbacks on legal immigration as well as reductions in benefits to permanent residents, Asian Americans also organized about a hundred elderly Asian green card holders from New York City and elsewhere to lobby members of the House and the Senate. "We'd never seen that before," Kwok said.

Asian Americans who work on civil rights agree on the importance of forming coalitions with African Americans, though it may be challenging. Some African Americans have displayed hostility toward increased APA involvement, believing it may not be helpful to their cause.

Igasaki explained, "I've seen some of [the hostility] at the grassroots, but not among the leadership of the civil-rights community." In his assessment, African Americans still faces the most racism. "Other racial minorities do face discrimination, and other minorities who are not racial also face it. It's related- problems cut from the same cloth. As minorities, the only way you're able to protect your rights is to build a majority."

As an example, Igasaki said, "Redress [for internment] wasn't through the political power of Japanese Americans because, let's face it: There are only a tiny minority of people of Asian background in the United States. The Congressional Black Caucus was enormously important."

Accordingly, Igasaki believes, "Anyone who does work on civil rights, you have to demonstrate sensitivity beyond your own group." Referring to his own stint on the staff of Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, the first black mayor of the Windy City-Igasaki said, "I would not have been able to get this job without demonstrating support from and an ability to work with African Americans."

As Kwok said, "Few can understand why we are where we are today, and how it relates to the '60s; but Asian Americans have to understand other communities and what happened here in the '60s."

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