Discussion Questions

UNIT 13 DISCUSSION UNIT QUESTIONS

1. What does the article mean by arguing, “… we must restore the forgotten heritage of all people forged through struggle and remember the stories of AAPIs (Asian American/Pacific Islanders)”? What were the contributions and experiences of Filipino Americans in the Farm Workers’ strike and the UFW in the Delano Valley? How does this information expand our understanding of Cesar Chavez and the legacy of the Farm Worker’s Movement? Lastly, how does this information, “sweep away the tired public perceptions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands (AAPI) as passive and docile”?

2. Using the JACL’s “An Unnoticed Struggle”, document and describe five major struggles Asian Americans have faced in the U.S.? How hav these issues and struggles affect the experiences and opportunities of the Asian American community, and why do you think learning about this information is important to know, when studying the Asian American Movement?
a. Which ethnic groups are a part of those included in the Asian American ‘umbrella’, and how can this categorizing lead to an over-simplification of this identity group?
b. What does this document argue is the significance of coalition building and community organizing? Why does the JACL argue this is important?

3. Using the PowerPoint Lecture and readings as evidence, what is the ‘model minority’ stereotype, and why is it problematic for Asian Americans? How does the belief in this stereotype affect the struggles of Asian Americans?

4. Using Maeda as a source, discuss in your opinion, the three most important organizations of the Asian American Movement, and what did they contribute to the Movement? (pp.9-26) How could it be argued that these organizations and their actions contributed to the, “beginning blocks of the movement … [for] Yellow Power”? (pp.17). Finally, what political and social movements and ideologies contributed to the political ideologies of the Asian American Movement?

5. As Asian American community-based activists, how did the organizations and community members involved participate in both urban and rural campaigns for justice? Using specific examples from the readings, discuss which regions had strong Asian American Movement organizing, and what types of political, economic and social issues were Asian Americans fighting and advocating for? Lastly, what does it mean that Asian American activism, “was characterized by coalitional politics”? (pp.53)

a. Using both the PowerPoint Lecture and readings as a source of information, what happened at the I-Hotel, and why was this struggle so significant? What did the struggle do for the Asian American communities in San Francisco, and how did it contribute to their mobilizing and organizing efforts?

6. In Wei’s article “The Origins of the Movement”, he discusses the development and tensions of the Asian American Movement. According to this article, why was the 1970s a difficult period for the Asian American Movement? What was the ‘rude awakening’ that Asian Americans experienced? (p.13) What did ‘Asian America’ (movement, community experiences, or community activism) look like in the United States at this time? Why did the Third World Strike symbolize the potential of Asian American activism? (p.20)