Racialization for decades has been a problem in the United States of America, and an issue of concern all over the world. People of different races and origins are discriminated based on their skin complexion, religion, ethnic group, and financial or economic status (Hing, 1997). The black community, for instance, has been the epicenter of racial discrimination, and for years, has endured all manner of social evils showered upon them by the “superior race.” However, as much as the black community has been racially discriminated against, other ethnic communities have also been discriminated against at equal levels. The Arabs and Asians have also been on the receiving end in the American soil, and are discriminated at equal levels.
According to Anchheta Angelo, Asian Americans are among the “minority” ethnic communities in America. Their existence over the years has earned them a place in America, most of the Asian Americans occupied territory in the US through migration, and ever since, their population has gradually increased. Asian Americans are “white,” and have always been called out for being too sensitive when it comes to racialization; however, the fact remains that as much as the Asian Americans have stayed in America for decades, no matter how much they are assimilated into the American way of life, they are still “foreigners.” In America, exclusion and foreigners have always been the core of racial discrimination of Asian Americans despises the white Americans rubbishing their thoughts and instead branding them model minorities ( Hinnershitz , 2015). To rubbish claims that Asian Americans are too sensitive, it is essential to discuss their experiences in the hands of white Americans.
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Angelo Ancheta has studied the Asian American existence and the relationship between them and other ethnic communities, while at the same time, noting down the treatment they throw as an expatriate community. He said that, As much as the Asian Americans are part of America, they, however, face socioeconomic discrimination, which leads to racism. In society, Asian Americans were despised because of their economic success; they stayed in expensive homes and owned valuable possessions in the community. They also owned industries such as the automobiles industries; as such, the Americans saw them as a barrier to their growth. Just as the black communities were aggressively discriminated against with utmost hostility, the Asian Americans also suffered the same fate. In 1982, Vincent Chin was murdered by two white men, over claims that he was the reason for cases of unemployment in Japanese owned automobile industry, Vincent Chin was a Chinese who was mistaken for a Japan National. Similarly, in 1989, a Chinese National, Jim Loo, was murdered and called a “gook.” He was mistaken to have originated from Vietnam. These two deaths were highly profiled in American history and highlighted the height of racism in America; at the same time, these two deaths are evidence that racism is still a significant problem in America (Angelo, 2006).
The perpetual foreigner stereotype is another experience the Asian American community has lived with for years (Orser, 2007). Although America is known historically as an immigrant nation, with cultural and ethnic diversity, however, the small minority ethnic communities in America has always felt inferior, the notion of a superior ethnic community in America has seen other minority groups denied recognition. The assumption that minority ethnic communities do not fit the definition of what it means to be American has only fuelled racial discrimination against the Asian American community. The minority ethnic groups in America, especially the Asian American society have been subjected to social injustices because of the perception that they are foreigners, for instance, it is almost impossible for an Asian American student to get admission in most learning institutions across the country (Orser, 2007).. They also get equal discrimination when they are in pursuit of job employment. The Americans are also social distancing themselves from Asian Americans.
Immigration acts and rules are yet other racial experiences the Asian American community was subjected to. The majority of white Americans are racists; hence, they were privileged to be represented in most American immigration depends, which ensured imposing bans, making biased rules against countries they discriminated against ( Hinnershitz, 2015). For instance, in the late 19th century, white Americans started a xenophobic war and propaganda against the Chinese community; they claimed that the Chinese were unclean in the city of San Francisco. This fuelled the implementation of the infamous Chinese Exclusion Acts, the first law in America that barred immigration categorically based on race. However, Chinese Nationals could still make their way to America, though limited, those who were lucky to enter America as laborers had a considerable challenge, and while working to send money back for their families; they also had to set some money aside to pay the immigration department for allowing them in America.
The Asian American community faced criticism and discrimination because of their poor command of the English Language. A larger majority of the American population uses English as their cultural language; at the same time, it is the National language. However, Asian Americans were discriminated against because they do not know English; the white Americans equated their poor command of the language to lack of knowledge. At the community level, mockery was the order of the day. The white Americans denied the Asian community deliberately because of the language barrier; they also regarded most of the Asian communities’ cultural linguistics as barbaric. Trying to fit in a country or community with a different cultural language is a huge hustle; as such, being discriminated against because of the language barrier is prone to affect people’s lives socially and psychologically, this kind of treatment the Asian American community had to endure.
In conclusion, the Asian American community suffered racial discrimination at equal measures like the Africans and the Arabs. The bad experiences that they faced from the white Americans are proof enough that they were racially discriminated against and looked down upon. From the experiences, it is evident that racial discrimination takes different forms; that is, it is beyond discrimination based on skin complexion. For the Asian Americans, they were economically and financially sabotaged, unnecessary bans that limit their activities in America were also imposed on them, they were linguistically discriminated because of their inability to speak, write and understand the English language, and the stereotype that they were foreigners, as such, America was not their home, this made them feel unwelcomed. The white Americans also denied Asian Americans jobs or employment, admission in learning institutions, and at times denied health services. All these discriminations are proof that Asian American was going through a lot of biasness and racial discrimination.
References
Ancheta, A. N. (2006). Race, rights, and the Asian American experience .: Rutgers Univ.
Hinnershitz, S. (2015). Race, religion, and civil rights: Asian students on the West Coast, 1900-1968 .
Hing, B. O. (1997). To be an American: Cultural pluralism and the rhetoric of assimilation .
Rong, X. L., & Endo, R. (2014). Asian American Education: Asian American Identities, Racial Issues, and Languages Information Age Publishing.
Orser, C. E. (2007). Archaeology of race and racialization in historic America . Gainesville:
