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The Year in Review Click a Category Milestones Racism Community Law & Policy Politics Art & Entertainment Wen Ho Lee Education Health Census Labor Sports Obituaries

The Year in Review

For the first time in U.S. history, Asian Americans were pushed from the sidelines and thrust into the limelight in 2000. With our burgeoning population, estimated to be 10.9 million in 1999 and predicted to reach 37.6 million by 2050, it was difficult to overlook us. A report released this summer revealed Asian Americans voting in congressional elections increased from 1 million in 1994 to 1.4 million in 1998. Even the political machines took notice.

In June President Bill Clinton nominated Norman Mineta to secretary of commerce, making him the first API to head a cabinet department. Two months later in an act of defiance against the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee, the president named Bill Lann Lee as assistant attorney for civil rights in a recess appointment. He also established the Advisory Commission of Asian American and Pacific Islanders to guide him on federal efforts to improve the quality of life of APIs.

In the election year, other APIs made history. In San Jose, Calif., Mike Honda won his bid for Congress by defeating Jim Cunneen, Congressman David Wu held on to his seat representing Oregon’s District 1, and Gary Locke was reelected governor of Washington state, maintaining his status as the only Asian American to lead a state.

Even Sen. John McCain’s use of the word “gook” to describe his captors during the Vietnam War ultimately shed light on our community. When some leaders lambasted McCain, the former Republican presidential candidate issued a former apology, saying he never intended to offend Asian Americans.

Perhaps Wen Ho Lee best exemplifies the struggles and triumphs of our community. Jailed in 1999 under dubious charges that he mishandled classified information, Lee was branded a spy by the mainstream press. He was placed in solitary confinement. Asian American community members protested and rallied for Lee’s release. In September, he was finally freed from prison with all but one count against him dropped. The judge issued a rare apology stating, the executive branch in its actions against Lee, had “embarrassed the nation and each of us who is a citizen of it.”

Though we weren’t always on the front pages by choice, just by speaking up, and ultimately by making our own news, more Americans were made aware of our existence and our contributions.