Asian American activism

Asian American activism broadly refers to the political movements and social justice activities involving Asian Americans. Since the first wave of Asian immigration to the United States, Asians have been actively engaged in social and political organizing.^[1] The early Asian American activism was mainly organized in response to the anti-Asian racism and Asian exclusion laws in the late-nineteenth century, but during this period, there was no sense of collective Asian American identity.^[2] Different ethnic groups organized in their own ways to address the discrimination and exclusion laws separately.^[1] It was not until the 1960s when the collective identity was developed from the civil rights movements and different Asian ethnic groups started to come together to fight against anti-Asian racism as a whole.^[1][3]

While racism has always been its main focus, Asian American activism has started to cover a more diverse range of issues such as women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights, labor rights, criminal justice, affirmative action, and climate change in the past decades.^[4] The increasing heterogeneity of the Asian American population has further diversified the Asian American activism scene, as various new organizations emerge and new alliances are formed both within and beyond the Asian American community.^[4] Asian Americans have sought to effect social and political changes through legal means, strikes and rallies, literature, petitions, political campaigns, and even social media.^[1][4]