Unified From Top to Bottom
April 1, 2008
The belief that Asian Americans are a successful group in the United States is no myth. We have an annual household income and education level greater than the national average. We even built an era: the “Information Age.”
Although we have battled adversity time and time again in the form of racism, hatred and negative public sentiment, in addition to social, economic and political inequity, we are still here. We thrive. We are resilient.
But on our way to the top, we should not forget those at the bottom. The rules of American society ensure that success comes easier to some than to others. The story of Chol Soo Lee — a wrongfully imprisoned Korean American man, who at the same time is not innocent — is a vivid illustration of this.
But we are all a part of the same community. We can’t praise our successful heroes and then ignore those who are experiencing difficult times.
For the Asian Americans living in poverty and those who make up the seven percent who are incarcerated in the United States, success is seen in a different light. We should not take our successes for granted. Rather, we should savor every accomplishment and be reminded of stories like Lee’s in hopes to extend our support to those who need it most in our community.
One Asian American organization in Boston, Asian Sisters Participating In Reaching Excellence (ASPIRE), makes sure of that conversion. By empowering the young women of the Asian American community as leaders, we have more control of our community, identities and, most importantly, our destinies.
So let us savor our successes by taking ownership of it as a community but, at the same time, be reminded that we can use them to empower those in need.
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