Ian Rios

Summer Research Paper

Oct. 3^rd 2005

There have been many articles which address the issue of Asian Americans in politics. Often Asian Americans are painted as uninterested and apathetic to the political situations that take place in America around them. Asian American youth are just as equally colored in a similar light due to the belief that they are hard-working and academically driven. These stereotypes serve as the basis for how Asian Americans and Asian American concerns are usually treated when it comes to outside criticism when facing off in the political arena. Although there have been many Asian Americans who have successfully done battle in the political arena, New York City Councilman John Liu and former Washington Governor Gary Locke to name a few, altogether Asian Americans are a highly underrepresented group within the American Political system. Asian Americans make up 4.2 percent of the population, but hardly make up 4.2 percent of the elected officials in America. Asian Americans have been constantly represented as lacking any sort of political activity and even worse as being a model-minority who embraces and becomes the ideal assimilated American. Asian Americans are usually seen as a denomination that fulfills the American way of life without actually partaking in the responsibility of it. Whenever Asian Americans do try to run for an elected office they often meet with dirty attacks from the media groups who draw on old ideas of Asian Americans in America. An article by Jeffrey Page discusses a recent attack on Jun Choi, who ran for mayoral election in Edison, New Jersey earlier this year. Page writes, "On several occasions, these two talk-show hosts - Craig Carton and Ray Rossi - have revealed their astonishing 1950s prejudices as well as their breathtaking ignorance. Their most recent rant was directed at American citizens of Asian ancestry behaving like native-born citizens by flexing their political muscle." These racial stereotypes have been around ever since Asian Americans settled in America. It’s no wonder that Asian American youth today are dealing with the same issues that have been effecting Asian Americans for decades. My focus on the importance of Asian American youth groups in developing young Asian American political identity and social awareness. Through the exploration of why Asian American youth are joining Asian American youth groups, the issues and pressures that Asian American Youth are facing, the role of parents in the social and political education of Asian American youth, and how Asian American youth groups are making positive strides towards the education of Asian American youth, we can see the role Asian American youth groups are playing in changing the Asian American political identity.

The pool of participants in which I drew my interviews from all came from a single organization called CYI or Chinatown Youth Initiates. The Executive Director of CYI Jennifer C. expressed the charter of CYI as such, "CYI empowers youth to be more politically active by providing them with a foundation which consists three main components: (1) developing self- and community-identity, (2) learning about family and community history, and finally (3) skills-building." CYI was founded 5 years ago from a grant from Swarthmore University by Gloria Chan. Gloria’s vision was to create a youth program in which high school students could be exposed to Political and Asian American issues as well as build leadership skills centered around the setting of New York’s Chinatown community. Students came from all levels of education, public and private, as well as a very diverse set of locations from all around the 5 boroughs of New York City as well as parts of New Jersey. CYI is an 8 week program that meets for 1 mandatory day a week, and also provides extra voluntary workshops throughout the summer. Each Session of CYI deals with a different topic each week, ranging from Chinatown history, to politics, to Arts and Literature and media representation, just to name a few. Each week the chosen topic is led by the executive director as well as 6 facilitators who were hired at the beginning of the summer and often have previous experience with CYI as former participants who now give back by being facilitators.

During the course of my study I interviewed 20 participants who have had experience with CYI during their high school and in some instances college years. Participants in the study ranged from the ages of 14 to 26, with most of the participants being 17-18 years old. All the participants level of education ranged from high school to post-college age with most beginning their last year in high school or their first year in college. The timeframe for their participation in CYI ranges from participating in CYI this summer while others were involved in CYI a few summers ago. I drew very heavily from the pool of participants from this summer in CYI. Aside from the fact that former members of CYI were not as willing to participate in the interview process it also gives me the chance to focus on this particular Asian American Youth group in its latest stage of development and gives me the chance to more accurately draw data from people who had similar summer experiences although they came from very different backgrounds. I tried to incorporate people who were involved in every aspect of CYI from being a CYI participant, a CYI facilitator, and finally the Executive Director of CYI. Each interview was aimed at gaining a complete and expansive view of the role of Asian American youth groups from every possible level of involvement.

I tried to concentrate on doing interviews in person, over the phone, and via e-mail. This provided a wide range of results based on the medium used in which to do the interview. While interviewing in person created more honest, spontaneous, and sincere answers; interviewing via e-mail allowed for the participants to really think their answers through and respond with a thought process that could encompass the experience of the entire CYI summer and even their experiences throughout life. I found both interview mediums to be very telling and necessary to capture the complete and varied experiences of all the participants.

I encountered some difficulty during the course of the summer. CYI is an 8 week program that starts in the middle of the summer and goes until the end of August. First off, it took some time before any of the participants were ready to be interviewed. The first round of interviews was very shallow and was hardly candid. It took some time and exposure to the CYI program before they were able to confidently express their views and discuss their thoughts on political awareness, political identity, leadership, and Asian American issues.

Another issue I encountered during the course of the summer came from being unable to find suitable candidates from other Asian American Youth groups that either wanted to or felt qualified to be interviewed on the issue of Asian American youth groups. There is another group in New York named APAYA (Asian Pacific American Youth Alliance), which I thought would have plenty of eager potential participants waiting to be interviewed. Instead I found that APAYA did not readily give out the names of it participants, which is understandable. The APAYA participants I was able to get in touch with due to networking were either unwilling or believed they were unqualified to help me in my interview process. I was very surprised to find so many unwilling people or how much time and patience it took to get some of the interviews I did get. In the end all the participants said they thoroughly enjoyed the interview, but it was shock to meet so much resistance. In the end though I feel I captured some great views of the past present and future of Asian American Youth and their new place in the social and political realm.

The first issue I looked into was the reasoning behind why Asian American youth would join a youth group and the myths that surrounded Asian American Youth. They reasons in which the participants got involved in CYI are varied and unique depending on each participant. Writers such as Dr. Robert Wallace see Asian American youth as very academically oriented, without the same time and resources as other American students. Wallace writes, "It is true that Asian-American students are stars in many of the nation's classrooms, but the reason is family support and pressure, plus, of course, good old-fashioned hard work, not higher IQ." Wallace goes on further to explain that Asian American students have very particular time constraints that keep them in engaging in activities outside of Academic achievements. Wallace continues, "The heavy emphasis on education in these homes begins at birth. Schoolwork is so important in many Asian-American families that children aren't allowed to have part-time jobs or do household chores. Some Asian teens are not allowed to date or even talk on the phone." It is my belief that this is the common "knowledge" that is held by most people when thinking about the goals and desires of Asian American Youth who they would generally describe as "hard-working and "passive". In talking to various participants in the study I asked why they would give up time that they could use toward studying to join a youth group oriented towards building leadership skills. Some of the participants joined CYI because of simple reasons. Josh C. explained to me, "I just needed to do something for the summer, and it was free." This simple explanation would most likely show the motivations behind most youth when deciding what to do with their summer, but for others they saw joining CYI as a chance to address fears, issues, and perceived weaknesses. In interviewing a former participant at CYI and current facilitator, Cindy C. explains,

Cindy C. saw CYI as a chance to explore other areas of herself that don’t conform to the standard idea of Asian American youth. She was not content to just fall into a "passive" role of hard work but instead spend time to try to make something better of herself. Other participants joined CYI for reasons connected to their heritage. Monna W. told me, "I joined CYI and APAYA because I didn’t really know much about API (Asian Pacific Islander) issues.  I felt that as an Asian American it was important to know of the struggles and triumphs of other Asian Americans in order for me to understand my own struggles and triumph. Really, I just wanted to learn something about being Asian American, not just Asian, and not just American but the combination of the two."

Many Asian American youth are looking for groups and other organizations in order to find a sort of outlet for their Asian American Issues. They look upon Asian American youth groups as a way to solve some sort of internal conflict or just some ignorance of what they see as their own heritage. Monna’s reasoning seems to be a very similar to many other participants at CYI. The desire to try to learn something about Asian American issues was a strong drive for many of the CYI participants. When discussing why he joined CYI, Jeremy L. told me, "Sometimes I thought it was really hard to be Asian American. My friends kind of see me as Asian with a little bit of American, and my parents kind of see me as American with a little bit of Asian. Although I suppose I’m both, I really never got the chance to talk about my own Asian American issues. When I joined CYI, I finally wanted to be able to actually talk about being Asian American and not just talk around being Asian American." Jeremy brings up a very strong point within the Asian American community, the idea of Asian American visibility as issues of representation. In an article referencing Jane Hyun’s book, Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling, Hyun anecdotally states, "They ‘have often experienced being the only Asian in the room, and too often feel as if they represent every Asian in America,’ she writes. Colleagues may lump all Asian Americans ‘into one big group.’" This idea of lumping all Asian Americans into one group and one rigid set of characteristics is something that Jeremy felt on both fronts not only from his peers but his parents as well.

Outside pressures were often cited by participants as reasons for joining CYI and immersing themselves in this type of summer program. These different outside pressures and stereotyping are often the reason why Asian American youth are more and more trying to find organizations that can provide them with some sort of leadership and initiative training. Cynthia K. provided an anecdote about an experience that made her seek out an organization like CYI, "In my AP Government class everyone just likes to sit around and argue with each other about things like US policy. They talk so much and are so opinionated. I’m often too afraid to say anything in class. …Sometimes I get the impression that no one would take me seriously in class because I’m Asian. I thought I could be more comfortable at CYI, and hopefully be able to express myself better." Cynthia’s issue is one of feeling pressure from outside forces. She feels as if her race plays a role in how she in perceived inside the classroom. Writers such as Wallace, who believe that the much talked about Asian American hard work leads to success leave out a very important part of the lives of Asian American youth. Asian American youth are struggling through the inside and outside pressures from society and racialized American histories in order to try to find their own place within their high schools, their colleges, and their lives. A former participant and current facilitator Wendy L. explained to me,

The second issue I tried to address through the interview process was what impact CYI made on the participants and how CYI addressed their various social issues and desires to be more politically active. Through a combination of racial identification and skills building Asian American Youth groups have become a desirable place for Asian American Youth to try to find an outlet to discuss and learn more about many Asian American issues that they are only just starting in which to deal. Wendy L. continues, "I didn't know anything about Asian American issues before I joined my first youth group, Chinatown Youth Initiatives.  I wasn't aware of any Asian American movement or political solidarity.  I just liked being Asian. Once I started learning about Asian American activists, writers, and others, I felt really proud to be a young Asian American with a growing interest in her community and political activism."

With a strong pride or at least a strong sense of being Asian American, many participants seek out CYI in order to find aspects of their identity to which they believe they are unaware. Haemee K. explained to me, "I think my biggest obstacle is knowledge.  I need to know more about the history and background of politics to really understand my own positions and what I can do about it.  It is work to go and read resources and sometimes, I'm just too lazy.  Also, there are times when I just don't really know what to do. I may get upset over something and want to get active but am not sure how to go about it.  It would be great to have more connections that I can easily turn
to." Many participants in the Asian American program found this to be a common explanation for their lack of political awareness or social activism. They would cite the fact that being so young, they just aren’t as in touch with the world around them. Early in the summer program Joshua C. mentioned his school pressures as his lack of motivation to get involved, "Politics and social issues come second to grades. I get this from my parents, and other kids get this from their parents." He continues to discuss the role political activism in his life, "Being Asian has made being politically active one of the last priorities in my life." If lack of knowledge comes through as the reason for the participants’ lack of political and social ambivalence then I had to explore the effect parents and schools played on the shaping of Asian American youth’s ideas on social and political awareness.

The 3^rd issue I looked at was the problems that the participants faced on a everyday basis that led them to seek out CYI. Parents and the youths’ perceptions on themselves and their surroundings played the most crucial part in uncovering how they saw the role of Asian American youth in politics and society. It turns out that the parents of Asian American youth play a very significant role in the development of the political and social values of the Asian American youth. Although this is not really a surprise, my initial hypothesis was that Asian American parents played a strictly negative role in the development of a political identity and social activism, but it turns out that there were a substantial amount of reports of parents playing both a positive and a negative role in the development of their child’s political and social awareness. Jeremy L. explained to me how his parents lack of interest in the political system created his own apathy towards political activism, "I feel that up until I was 15, my parents had a negative impact on my political activism.  By not being exposed to it in the past, I felt apathetic of the current situations of our world leaders.  I also feel that
because they do not choose to vote, it shouldn't be my problem to understand politics either. It just didn’t feel like a priority." Jeremy states that there is a lack of pressure on taking an active role within a political system, similarly Xing W.’s gives more evidence on why many the pressures from his parents that might lead other Americans to see Asian Americans as hardworking and invisible, "I mean its not like I’m being yelled at by my parents to be more politically active and fight for a cause. I’m being yelled at to work hard in school, come home in time for dinner, get a high salary job, and to marry a Chinese girl." Xing shows that his pressure is more focused on things in his own life and that he should leave the world outside of himself alone.

However, Parents themselves are not alone in the political apathy found in many Asian American youth. Parents and children alike are facing the impact of Asian American stereotyping within the American political system. Jeremy L. explains why he feels Asian American parents don’t put pressure on their kids to be political. "I think it is stereotypical that most Asian-Americans live by the idea of "don't rock the boat" or the idea of being independent and minding one’s own business.  From personal experience, this is partially true.  Because of this, they <my parents> only wish to focus on themselves and their goals.  Another idea of mine is that because most Asian-Americans did not have a voice in politics from where they came from, they aren't exactly sure how to choose a leader. They just haven’t changed since they came to America." Jeremy describes the issue as being a cultural manifestation from a different space across in Asia, but recognizes that his parents don’t distinguish between life in Asia and life here in America. Cindy C. confessed to me how the idea of being political sometimes scares her, "Being Chinese has definitely affected how I see politics because it’s difficult to not feel like a foreigner in one’s own country when culture and society are determined to view me that way. It can be paranoia but being a second generation Chinese has made me afraid of the political system due to my ignorance. Republican or Democrat? I have no idea. I am determined to not be a nonchalant Asian American who will be another number in a statistic, but I wish someone can just explain to me how politics work or don’t work." Cindy states that her "Chineseness" has made her ignorant and fearful of the American political system. The unfamiliarity with the subject and the assumption that she should be familiar with it, has led her to feel a type of dissonance with her role as an American making her feel more like a foreigner than an American. Cindy continues to talk about how she fears her representation is her biggest obstacle in becoming more politically active and worries about acceptance from other based one her marginalized characteristics which lead her to doubt her abilities to be politically active. Cindy tells me, "I think my biggest obstacle in becoming more politically active is being an Asian American woman. The first impression people will see me as is an Asian and then the second impression people will see me as is a woman. Add my fear of public speaking and poor writing skills, no one will take me seriously. People judge and people criticize; it’s inherent in the political process. Why do you want to represent me? Will you understand my views and my experiences? Look at her hand gestures. Listen to how she gives her speech. All these insecurities that seem to come from no where have always been my battles for running for political positions in school. I often find it’s less difficult to just be quiet and let people align myself with people’s assumptions about me. Growing up thinking that way is difficult to get out of habit." Cindy’s fear comes from her belief that she lacks the ability to properly represent others. Her view of herself as "Asian" overshadows her view of herself as American and lacks a feeling of inclusion and belonging. Wendy L., brings an interesting light to the politics of fitting in to stand out, and standing out in order to fit in. Wendy takes the issue of representation and creates a way to bind Asian Americans into the American political fabric. Upon pondering her own racialized political identity Wendy states, "I don't know what my political identity would have been like had I not been born Asian.  As it is, I think it's had a positive effect on my identity.  Knowing I belong to a minority group makes me more loyal to it, and as a person of color, that leans me left even more.  I relate more to queer issues, black issues, etc. because I am Asian American and I feel like we need to have a strong coalition."

Often many other Americans see Asian Americans as both simultaneously assimilated and unassimilatable. In addressing the issue of Asian-Americans simultaneous minority and non-minority status, David Palumbo Liu author of Asian/American writes, "…the assumption that Asian are no longer "minorities" in the sense that they are economically disadvantaged, and therefore the sensitivities of the American political economy are excused from laboring to ‘include’ Asian Americans – we have already made it ‘inside.’ This economic ascension brings with it then an assumption of full social, cultural, and political integration." The issue lies in the fact that because Asian Americans are both seen as assimilated and unassimilatable no influential institution within the Asian American youth’s life is really pushing political or social activism a priority for Asian American youth. They aren’t believed to be marginal enough to warrant any special attention, and they are considered mainstream enough to already follow the American ideal of political activism. Parents aren’t often reinforcing their children to become more politically active so the Asian American youth often seek out institutions like CYI in order to find the voice of initiative they find is lacking in their lives.

The fourth issue I addressed in my research into the effects of Asian American youth groups on social and political awareness of Asian American youth, was how CYI actually changed the social and political understandings of its participants and facilitators. The goal of CYI as stated by the Executive director is, "I think that CYI addresses in its summer workshops help youth to expand their worldview and facilitate their awareness of how these issues can impact their personal lives in both small and large ways." CYI’s focus is strongly directed toward giving its participants a sense of belonging and of purpose that they may not get from the classroom or any other of the other activities they partake in their high school lives. These CYI participants find that joining an Asian American youth group actually does tie them to a political movement focused around empowerment. Alice W., a former participant and now a member of the Barnard college community states, "I know I feel a special inclination toward Asian American issues because of my racial identity.  There has been much discussion about the apathy that exists in the AA (Asian American) community, and for this reason, I feel that it is especially important to focus on Asian American concerns, and to solidify the bonds between AAs through political means, so that goals may be met and those concerns answered." Alice continues by saying, "CYI was a first step in a long process of educating myself in Asian American issues. After CYI, I took classes in AA literature. I joined some voting drives aimed at AA’s in Chinatown. I have a real passion for community work." I believe that that CYI is not actually creating a passion for political activism and social awareness, but rather facilitating the desire that is inherent within Asian American youth. Jeremy L. states, "I used to think that CYI was just teaching me about being a leader in the Asian American community, but I’m not really sure that’s all there was to it. …I think I was already a leader. Everyone is a leader in a different way. I think CYI just made me feel safe with my own ideas and gave me a space to express myself." CYI gave these Asian American youth the ability to reinvent themselves on their own terms outside of an environment that is determined to both acknowledge and deny their Asian American heritage. Cindy C., tries to shine some light into why she thinks CYI is so effective. "I feel that how society views groups of any kind has a big impact on how individuals in that group act. If society keeps saying Asian Americans are passive and impassionate about politics, despite the contrary, then a lot of the Asian Americans will act that way. I don’t think it’s done consciously but if someone is always reminded of a stereotype since he or she was young then most likely he or she will fulfill this stereotype." Although CYI focuses mostly on the idea of leadership and initiative, a space free of the pressures of America’s perceptions gives the participants a chance to act without expectations of their behavior. This process sets them up with the tools to face any stereotypes that may have been holding them down and reinforces the idea of being able to take initiative in their lives and in the social and political arena.

Through the exploration of the role of Asian American youth groups in today’s Asian American youth education, we can see how Asian American political identity is quickly on the move. Through becoming a safe and influential factor in the growing development of Asian American youth, CYI and other Asian American Youth groups are taking an active role in combating the stereotypes and fallacies that have been following around Asian Americans for decades. By empowering a new group of young Asian Americans at all levels of education they are preparing a new group of Asian Americans to be active representatives of a new politically active Asian America. David Palumbo Liu reiterates the work of Park and Burgess when he writes, "The nature of social contacts is decisive in the process. Assimilation naturally takes most rapidly where contacts are primary, that is, where they are most intimate and intense, as in the area of touch relationship, in the family circle and in intimate congenial groups." From these words we can see the importance of an outside organization that actually takes time to develop the leadership skills that many Asian American youth are looking for. Although assimilation is not precisely the issue that is dealt with at Asian American Youth groups, I feel like Asian American youth groups deal with tyhe very important issue of letting Asian American youth find their own creation of political, social, and thus racial identification.