Yellow PowerTHE POLITICS OF IDENTITY

No Person Is Illegal• To racialize MX immigrants as illegal is dehumanizing. • It obscures & simplifies social, political, & economic conditions of

immigration

MAKING (IL)LEGAL ALIENS

• Explosion of Asian immigration due to preference categories• Family reunification community support &

increased probability of assimilation• Brain Drain legal Asian workers come in as

skilled/professional labor to develop industries

• Shutting down of Mexican immigration due to universal quotas Creates problem of “illegal” immigration

racializes Mexican immigrants as criminals Undocumented immigrants fuel agricultural

and service industries, continue legacy of marginalized, racialized, low-skill, cheap labor in developing US economy

• Model Minority versus Illegal Alien• “good” immigrants versus “criminals”

Current reform?• Continues militarization of the border

• Doubles amount of agents • Adds 700 miles of border fence

• Pathway to citizenship• Takes on average 13 years• Cannot go into effect until border security is

increased• Increased surveillance

• Electronically tracks international exits/entries• Employers must use e-verify to identify

undocumented• Increased # of taxpayers by 10 million

• Predicted to result in $900 billion in taxes in 10 years

• Won’t pass without mass movement of immigrants and allies

Question 3While Cold War liberals were reforming immigration policies in the 60s & 70s,

what political projects were Asian immigrant communities engaging in on

the grassroots level?

The Asian American Movement

Defined by 1968 SFSU/UC Berkeley strikes for ethnic studies

Key characteristics: Coalitional politics Broad criticism of multiple

vectors of oppression Recognition of domestic and

international connections▪ Cycle of center & periphery

Primarily college-aged, second generation movement

Education as Politics Why are you here? What

is the goal of education? 1960 California Master

Plan (Umemoto 29) Public Good vs Private

Profit Privatization of the public

university serve the corporation vs

“serve the people”

Key Terms Hegemony

maintenance of social dominance through force and consent

Subordinate groups can always become hegemonic cycles of dominance and resistance

Politics actions taken in response to social structures of power

Situational political mobilization depending on the specific historical situation, groups will unite with each other to mobilize for political action

Politics & Identity Identity Politics

Your social identity determines your politics Ex: because you’re black you would automatically

vote for Obama Politics of Identity

The recognition that race is a social construction. Not all people of color are naturally the same

politically. The choice to work together because of shared

social position and experience. Ex: supporting immigration reform because of

recognition of how illegality dehumanizes

Politics of Identity From Oriental to Yellow

Power to Third World Front SFSU strikes as moment

to (re)create Asian American identity as act of resistance and coalition in Cold War context

1st world – developed capitalist nations; US & Western Europe

2nd world – developed socialist nations; USSR & PRC

3rd world – newly decolonized, developing/underdeveloped countries of Asia, Africa, & Latin America

QUESTIONS Who was Vincent Chin? Why was his life and

death pivotal to Helen Zia’s decision to become a political activist in the Asian American community?

According to Glenn Omatsu, who are Asian American neoconservatives and what role did they play in diminishing the Asian American Movement?

“Are the ideas of the movement alive today, or have they atrophied into relics – the curiosities of a bygone era of youthful and excessive idealism?” (Omatsu 57)