AHPID Movements Since the 1960s

Widespread Asian American activism in the 1960s and 1970s culminated in the American Asian Movement (AAM), which was an anti-war, anti-imperialist movement that aimed to bring all Asian American people together in solidarity through Pan-Asianism. The AAM was inspired by and drew on the Black Power and larger anti-war movements of the era, with activists like Richard Aoki being involved in both the Black Panther Party and the Asian American Political Alliance.

In 1968, Yuji Ichioka coined the term “Asian American” to combat the then-popular term “Orientals,” which many found offensive and pejorative. The term was meant to signify that Asian Americans shared common issues and could be better empowered by banding together to petition for better rights and treatment. Some believe this term, currently, has become less useful as AHPID span so many different peoples, cultures, and languages that the term is too general. The term, for instance, does not consider the disparities and differences among AHPID people—and their experiences. Regardless, the AAM of the 60s and 70s remains an integral piece of AHPID history, as it included widespread, grassroots mobilization efforts that continue to inspire AHPID movements today.  This movement encompassed the Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA), the Asian Americans for Action (AAA), Yellow Power, the Third World Liberation Front, and the American Citizens for Justice (ACJ).

College campuses were important sites of activism—both in the 1960s and 70s and now. The cooperation between many different groups of people seen today is not a new phenomenon. For instance, the AAPA “[Identified] as part of the Third World in the United States,” according to Erika Lee in her groundbreaking book The Making of Asian America (305). They “connected with other nonwhite people, including African Americans, Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, and Native Americans, who were similarly racially oppressed and economically exploited” (305). I Wor Kuen, the largest revolutionary AHPID organization aligned specifically with the Black Power movement, was inspired by the AAPA in Berkley.

Later, the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin, a 27-year-old Chinese-American man who was beaten to death by Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz, also sparked protests when his killers did not serve jail time; this is an instance of AHPID being considered “perpetual foreigners.” AHPID activism has continued since then, of course, but seems to spike following tragic instances of violence against AHPID people—this may be caused by spotty news coverage, where AHPID activism only makes national headlines during times of tragedy. But we can also see this mobilization following AHPID tragedy as one of solidarity, empathy, and strength. Activism continues steadily, but when members of the AHPID need to be heard we can create a large platform, which cannot be ignored by politicians, news sources, or other Americans.