Asian-Americans in the United States of America

Résumé du document

The term Asian-American was first used in the 1960s by activists who disliked the term Oriental, saying that it was derogatory and colonialist. Historian, Yuji Ichioka, popularized the expression and today, the term Asian-American is commonly used. In the U.S. Census, the word "Asian" refers to people having origins in the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent. It also means that groups are not limited to nationalities but include ethnic terms. So Asian-Americans are Americans of Asian origin. They include sub-ethnic groups such as Chinese-Americans, Filipino-Americans, Indian-Americans, Vietnamese-Americans, Korean-Americans, and Japanese-Americans etc. We study about their origins and characteristic features in this document.

Extraits

[...] President Carter made them an annual event in 1978 and President Bush decided that the entire month would be dedicated to the recognition, celebration and spreading of this heritage. Several state departments or agencies host official observances and ethnic cultural organisations, organise festivals and parades, suggest to taste ethnic food and watch performances. There are also workshops to learn more about Asian-Pacific-American culture and history. Great Asian-American personalities are memorialised. So are the hardships the first settlers encountered. In average, Asian-Americans are more qualified. Asian-Americans are over- represented in selective universities. The end of affirmative action in California increased their representation in those universities. [...]

[...] So Asian-Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry. They include sub-ethnic groups such as Chinese-Americans, Filipino-Americans, Indian-Americans, Vietnamese- Americans, Korean-Americans, and Japanese-Americans etc. We can notice that, in the data collected by Census 2000 on race, the Asian- Americans can be divided into two broad categories : people who answered they belonged to only one race are referred as the “single-race Asian population”. The others who answered they were belonging to the Asian race, but also to another one are considered as the “race in-combination population”. [...]

[...] So Asian-American immigrants generally had high social status in their native countries which are themselves rich countries. We can see why comparing Black and Asian communities does not make any sense, because of the huge differences in the reasons and conditions of their coming Consequences of this artificial myth on Asian-Americans Also, it is necessary to realize that income inequality is severe within the Asian-American community. In 1994, the individual Asian-American poverty rate was compared to a national rate of and a White rate of In fact, the poverty rate for Asians in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York is nearly twice as high as the Whites' one. [...]

[...] In 1917, immigration from Asia, except from Japan and the Philippines, was banned. In 1924, Asian immigration was totally banned. In 1924, in spite of bilateral agreements, the American Congress forbade immigration of Japanese people. During the Second World War, the Japanese were relocated. Even those who were American-born or American citizens could be sent to internment camps after 1942. This policy was not based upon individual suspicions but on a collective assumption that they were all “enemy aliens”. Among the 100,000 people of Japanese descent who were relocated, some neither spoke Japanese nor had close ties to Japan. [...]

[...] In conclusion, the status of the Asians in the U.S. has been greatly improved, from the Chinese coolies to the recognition of the Asian- Americans, even if we have to be careful about the myth of a “minority model” : there are still many clichés about them. Bibliographie Indicative Chin, G. J the Civil Rights Revolution Comes to Immigration Law: A New Look at the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, North Carolina Law Review. American Census Bureau the American Community, Asians 2004. [...]