Between 2000 and 2010, the Asian American population grew faster than any other racial group in the U.S., increasing by 46 percent nationally, and 27 percent in Illinois. Most of that growth occurred outside of the traditional gateway communities of New York, California and Hawaii. These new geographies of AANHPI community growth have brought into sharp relief the ongoing struggles within these communities around unresolved issues of race and class. As we celebrate the 50th anniversaries of the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, this talk will map out some of the major opportunities and challenges for an Asian American* civil rights and civic engagement agenda that seeks to bridge the divide across other communities of color. In this discussion, we will begin to offer an analysis of how Asian Americans can begin to craft new narratives about their own identity in light of the current confluence of three major public narratives - disturbing viral images of black men being brutalized by police and the resulting the Black Lives Matter movement, extreme anti-immigrant rhetoric calling for mass-deportations and the elimination of birthright citizenship, and anti-Muslim fervor which has led to violent assaults against South Asian men.
Thanks to the Asian American Cultural Center listserv for this information item.
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