As predominantly White institutions (PWIs), independent schools in the United States can alienate students who are either not White or do not possess the cultural capital necessary to navigate those spaces. Scholars have argued that alliance/affinity spaces help students of color acclimate to PWIs and help create a sense of belonging. My work with…

Children's literature is a powerful way to engage young learners in understanding the civil rights movement (CRM); yet at the same time, most children's books focused on the CRM often create ahistorical, inaccurate depictions by only focusing on a few key people such as Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King Jr. or events such as the March on…

This paper documents the involvement of students who advocated for what eventually became the federal designation for Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs). Through interviews with 12 student activists, we document students' motivations for mobilizing, as well as the challenges they encountered.…

The Midwest regional context complicates Asian American college student activism and social justice efforts; so understanding these dynamics can equip higher education practitioners to better support these students.

The Hmong people are an ethnic group from Southeast Asia. Hmong Americans came to this country as refugees from Laos. Serving as the fabric of the Hmong community, the "1.5 generation" is the unique generation of those born in Laos or Thai refugee camps and transported to America in their childhood. They represent the link between their…

In this article, I apply a critical autoethnographic approach to frame my experience as a Taiwanese immigrant woman faculty in the US higher educational institutions where I served and continue to serve. I describe how I developed research agendas to produce knowledge as a means to diversify our understanding of minorities. Conducting research in…

Beginning in the early 1990s, this article describes the influences of the California Pilipinx American hip-hop scenes on the author's development as a youth and son of immigrants from China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Taiwan, and as a hip-hop artist, organizer, educator, and scholar. This essay highlights a few historical moments and lessons learned…

This article analyzes the process of youth political activism and development by drawing on ethnographic research on Asian and Pacific Islander youth activists. Young people revealed that collective action begins with a critical analysis of their lived experiences with inequalities. Their actions also involved oppositional consciousness that was…

In this article, the author discusses the work of Dr. Grace Lee Boggs. It begins with a history of her childhood and education, then provides an account of Boggs's awakening to the cause of Black liberation, the history of her work within the movement, and her current activities. Throughout the article, other scholars discuss their deep…

This article features the life of Yuri Kochiyama as a social, political and civil rights activist. Kochiyama is one of many whose social, political and civil rights activism was inspired by Malcolm X. She is one of the few non-Blacks often associated with him and has forged multi-ethnic coalitions, especially between Asian Americans and Blacks. An…

Ask the average person what comes to mind at the mention of the Black Panther Party (BPP). Odds are the answer involves armed African-Americans winding up in shootouts with police. Those images have overshadowed the Panthers' free breakfast programs, medical clinics and other efforts to improve poor Black neighborhoods in the late 1960s. Also…

Presents an ethnographic study of the Asian Business Association in San Diego (California) highlighting the role that well-educated first generation immigrants play in pan-Asian economic mobilization. It examines how the first and subsequent generations challenged the institutionalized economic barriers in order to protect and promote their…

Activists say colleges have a tendency to view all Asian Americans as a "model minority" succeeding without need for affirmative action. Demographic diversity of Asian Americans raises complex questions for institutions, who are unable to provide for needs of refugees, recent immigrants, and native-born Americans in two dozen ethnic…

When and where did we learn to stop caring about rodent feces in a child's classroom? This essay is a lamentation, delivered as opening remarks at a gathering of educators concerned about access to a rich and relevant curriculum for all children. The reality of public education in the growing portion of the United States that is not wealthy, is of…

Describes the campaign for tenure for an Asian Pacific American university professor, D. Nakanishi, within a historical context. Includes discussions of Asian Americans' and Pacific Americans' experience of discrimination since the 1900s, civil rights struggles in the 1970s and 1980s, and the history and development of the "Amerasia…