Journalist and civil rights activist Helen Zia said Asian-Americans often have difficulty finding a place within the context of civil rights in a speech at Rockefeller Center last night.
Although many Asian-Americans contributed to the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s, they often have trouble finding laws that directly support their own civil rights, Zia said.
When Asian-Americans ask for help, "they often will be turned down because civil rights was not designed for Asians," she said.
"We have to create a new paradigm for America that offers a place of understanding for all of us," Zia said. "It is far more easy to split up and divide than it is to come together and build unity."
Asian-Americans are often encumbered by the "model-minority" stereotype, which leads many people to think that Asians do not experience discrimination, Zia said.
Zia pointed out that such stereotypes can lead to unrecognized violence against Asian-Americans.
In a New York City subway, a Chinese-American was stabbed and an Indian-American was killed by New Jersey youth. Asian-American female students were raped when a fraternity at Ohio State University conducted a "sex game" in which members made a check list for having sex with women from different racial backgrounds.
"Crimes like this don't get recognized ... things get worse by ignorance and refusal of institutions like law enforcement, media or politicians not to take Asian-American civil rights cases seriously," Zia said.
Zia also said Asians have a longer rooted history in the United States than most people think. The first Asians came to North America in the 16th century on Spanish slave ships from the Philippines.
"You can still find their descendants, eighth and ninth generation Filipinos, living in Louisiana," she said.
By understanding history, Zia said, people will see how much Asian-Americans are deeply rooted in and connected to American history. She added there will be less pressure for Asian-Americans to blend into the mainstream culture.
Zia said there are still stereotypes of Asians-Americans as being "invisible," "foreign" and "invaders." She pointed out that during the Winter Olympic games in February, when a European-American figure skater defeated Michelle Kwan, MSNBC ran a headline, "American beat Kwan," despite the fact that Kwan is an American.
Zia asked students in the audience to work together to reduce violence toward minorities in the next millennium.
"I challenge all of you to be attentive to the legacies and linkages we share, so we can bridge our differences, and go into a world where we can have a common future," Zia said.
Zia said students have a unique opportunity to meet and learn from people of different backgrounds. The lessons they learn will stay with them for the rest of their lives regardless of what professions, businesses and communities they choose, she said.
"In your life time, there will be a point where there is no majority people in this country," Zia continued. "We will all be minorities. And that day is coming very, very soon."
Zia said her brother, Hoyt Zia '75, was one of the founding members of an Asian student organization at the College. Hoyt Zia is currently working as an attorney representing Asian-Americans in Washington, D.C.
Zia is a journalist and former executive editor of Ms. Magazine. She has also worked on the Academy Award nominated film, "Who Killed Vincent Chin," which featured an Asian-American civil rights case.
