The Committee of 100 national, non-partisan, non-profit membership organizations composed of American citizens of Chinese descent, released important findings on Monday, revealing substantive perception disparities between the general population and Chinese Americans. See the press release, fact sheet, and full report here

The survey had four key conclusions:

1. The general population really does not know that much about Asian Americans, let alone ethnic-specific groups (i.e., a substantial majority of the general population believes that there are far more Asians in the United States than in reality).
2. A lack of education and cultural exposure is a key underlying factor for prejudicial views.
3. More interactions with diverse communities improve public attitudes (i.e., more than a quarter of the general population report they never or rarely interact with Asian Americans).
4. Negative attitudes toward Asian Americans correlate with negative attitudes toward other racial groups such as African Americans and Hispanic Americans.

So what does this mean? What do we do? Well, as much as these findings are alarming and saddening, the Committee of 100 Survey left me with some action items to share with you.

First, what do you do when there is a lack of knowledge? You bring the knowledge. As the population continues to grow, policymakers and the general population need to increase their awareness to make good decisions that affect all Americans. How can we help increase their knowledge? Participate in the 2010 Census so that there is an accurate count of Asian Americans. Fight for Asian American Studies courses on your campus. Host Asian Pacific American Heritage month activities with your organizations. Post accurate information about Asian Americans on your Web site. Correct inaccurate representations and respond to clearly ignorant incidences. There are many active things we can do to ensure that accurate information about Asian Americans is out there.

Second, put your best foot forward. With more than a quarter of the general population reporting that they never or rarely interact with Asian Americans, Asian Americans need to increase their visibility through participating in local activities, increasing philanthropy, and enhancing their voices in government. However, increasing visibility isn’t just putting any foot forward, but your best foot. If the 25 percent of people who never or rarely interact with you, and they see you doing something you shouldn’t be doing, what do you think that they’ll remember? Treat any interaction with respect and don’t burn any bridges. It only takes one bad experience to set a lifetime of expectations.

Last, and probably one of the most important and least recognized tip, bridge minority communities. “Power in numbers” or “the more the merrier,” whichever idiom you pick, remember the survey showed that negative attitudes toward Asian Americans correlate with negative attitudes toward other racial groups. Other findings in the survey showed that more prejudiced respondents are also less tolerant of gay marriage, free speech, and equal rights. So, remember that fight towards equity isn’t just one group’s fight. Band together and stay together.

National Cherry Blossom Festival
By Mai Suzuki, JACL Intern

March 2009

The cherry trees were presented as a gift from Japan in 1912 and are symbolic of Japanese flowering trees and a lasting friendship between people in the United States and Japan.  On Saturday, March 28, 2009, the opening ceremony of the National Cherry Blossom Festival was held at the National Building Museum.  This two-week petal party takes place around the Tidal Basin, which is a spectacular sight lined with beautiful cherry trees, and all over town in Washington, D.C. to mark the beginning of the celebration of cherry blossoms and the commencement of spring in Washington, D.C.

Continue reading Spring Blooms with the National Cherry Blossom Festival…

Generations of Americans came to the former site of the Pinedale Assembly Center in Fresno, Calif., on Monday, to remember and respect the legacy of the Japanese American community during World War II and the subsequent redress of injustice.

The dedication capped off the three-day Tri-District JACL Conference, which featured panel discussions with former internees, the coram nobis legal team and those involved in the legislation of H.R. 442, seeking redress for the internment of more than 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry.

Excerpts from Secretary Norman Y. Mineta’s Keynote Address:

• They came from all walks of life, but they all shared the common experience of having their lives disrupted and their freedoms removed simply because of their race.
• It required willingness to confront the mistakes of the past and force some to confront their own life awareness of what happened here, and it took more than 45 years.
• Forty-five years in which we slowly but steadily educated our fellow Americans about our story. Forty-five years in which we saw the ranks of our allies and friends continually grow, our numbers stronger each and every year until the day the Congress of the United States formally apologized for those injustices that we had faced with president Ronald Reagan signing that apology into law.
• I have had many moments in my life for which I am grateful beyond my ability to adequate describe…September 17, 1987, it was on that day after years of work as part of the Japanese American community and our friends, that the United States House of Representatives took up the bill to redress the injustice of the internment.
• The debate lasted much of that day and it was not easy for many of us to watch. The House at that time had a number of members who vividly remembered the opening days of World War II and a number who defended the internment as a necessary action as a result of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, something that we all recognized was a great threat to our great nation.
• But as I look back on that day, I have to say that I am glad they were there because it gave us the opportunity to actually respond to those arguments and to respond to those fears. It gave us the opportunity to have an honest debate about the internment, and at the end of that day, it gave us the opportunity to vote.
• September 17, 1987, is significant for another reason. It was the 200^th anniversary of the adoption of the constitution of the United States of America. History will record that the United States House of Representatives observed the bicentennial anniversary of the Constitution by debating the meaning of the Bill of Rights, and history will also record that in doing so, this time, the House voted to get it right.
• This memorial is about much more than what happened here in Fresno, it is about much more than what happened in the 1940s, this memorial also tells the story of what happened after.
• Pinedale was like Santa Anita, a kind of weigh station. The memories that were forged here in 1942 are bitter ones, of that there is no doubt. They must be remembered, as others have mentioned, and thanks to this memorial they will be. But equally importantly is the understanding of how far we have come as a nation. There are many people who even to this day look at the commemoration of the internment and the injustices that we suffered as a people as somehow unpatriotic, less than American but what those people do not understand that nothing could be further from the truth.
• This country has made light-years of progress beyond where it was in 1942. It is progress that all of us are deeply, deeply proud, but progress cannot be properly understood without reference to the past. In other words, you cannot understand how far you have come if you do not remember where you have been.
• And this memorial tells the story of a community that has suffered terrible and heartbreaking discrimination but it reminds us all as well of what happened next. It tells the story of a people who never stopped loving their country, and who never stopped working to make it the nation that it could be.
• It reminds us of the fact that Americans of Japanese ancestry are one of the smallest minorities in this great country, and that redress for injustice of the internment, could not have been accomplished by our votes, and our voices alone. It was accomplished by the dedicated support of our fellow Americans from all walks of life: white, black, Latino, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhism, men, women, gay, and straight. All of whom came to see us as fully American and who then poured their hearts into the effort to redress the wrongs that were done so long ago.
• Many of you who are here today will visit this site in future years and your children will visit this site as well, and when they do so, remind them that while this memorial reflects on a time of great injustice, it’s most fundamental purpose is to show how far we have come. As I said, you cannot appreciate where you are if you do not understand and remember where you have been.