By Melody Cen & Sofie Chan
Financial & Print Officer, Cover Editor
Our first exposure to political activism starts in elementary school, with the notable events of the civil rights movement. We learn about the icons—Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, John Lewis and W.E.B. Du Bois—but something about these lessons always felt detached or sanitized.
Our teachers often presented the movement as a homogeneous story of Black versus White, which never felt relatable to a room of mainly Asian faces. I, Sofie, remember thinking: if segregation was based on visual perceptions of race, then where did non-Black passengers sit on the bus? Did Asians even exist in the context of civil rights activism?
As kids, we quickly moved on to other priorities like lunch and sand box time. Now as young adults, it’s evident that TC elementary schools oversimplified and curated the narrative to exclude Asian struggles for racial justice. We grew, and so did the subconscious idea that Asians always keep their heads down.
The Asian immigrant mentality teaches us that it’s wrong to cause trouble, stick out or dishonor the family. When we experience racial barriers, we are urged to work harder, be better and achieve more instead of confronting injustice. With many Asians already growing up to believe they have no place in activism, the lack of representation further solidifies his aversion.
Our lessons were cherrypicked and tailored to appeal to the masses. Most people only know MLK from his “I Have a Dream” speech and not his anti-capitalist views, and most Asian Americans don’t even have political role models.
It feels as though American education was designed to further deter Asian youth from straying from the model minority monolith. We watch our families fight for footing in this country by staying silent and complying, so we learn to do the same. It’s hard to convince kids to do what’s right when it jeopardizes their cultural values and individual success.
Still, by dodging conflict or asserting that things aren’t our business, we remove our accountability from the situation. The education system erased our predecessors, but what they stood for still belongs to us.
Yuri Kochiyama, a Japanese American activist, was friends with Malcolm X, advocated for Black and Asian rights and supported Puerto Rican independence; Grace Lee Boggs was Chinese American and is considered one of the key figures of the Asian feminism and Black Power movements; Capitol Police arrested Judy Chu, our district’s Congresswoman, in 2022 for peacefully protesting against the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
If we don’t continue their legacies and show future generations that activism is vital, then we forfeit our rights and grievances. Straying from expectations is always the hardest step, but complacent and self-pitying mindsets only reinforce generational trauma.
We live in an age where we can demand more without facing the same backlash our parents experienced. By fighting for change, we honor our families and build upon their sacrifices.
To allow our world to grow with us, we should prioritize current affairs, attend protests, donate to political organizations, be well-informed and speak out. It is our duty as Asian Americans and a marginalized group in the U.S. to understand that the fight for civil rights won’t end until we dismantle oppressive structures. Call for our history to be spotlighted. Acknowledge what a privilege it is to live in a culturally rich area and remember to appreciate our close-knit community.
Keeping your head up is hard when everyone is ducking down, but once you overcome those barriers of expectation, you’ll see that there are already people standing with you.