Theorizing Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Critical Race Resistance

• In Event: 67.058 - Dismantling Institutional Racism in Asian American and Pacific Islander College Student Experiences

Abstract

Purpose: While we have substantial information on the experiences of Black and Latinx student resistance (Davis, 2015; Hope, Keels, & Durkee, 2016; Revilla, 2004; Rogers, 2012), we know comparatively little on Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) student resistance. Few studies examine how APIDA students politicized identities and resistance has evolved since the Asian American Studies movement (Chung, 2014; Manzano, Poon & Na; 2017; Nguyen & Gasman; 2015; Osajima, 1993). The lack of research on APIDA resistance renders APIDA resistance invisible or unimportant. In response to the limited scholarship, I present a study that engages with contemporary APIDA resistance through examination of critical race consciousness.

Theoretical Framework: APIDA resistance is best understood when examined through their racialized experiences, much of which is defined by a legacy of social and political exclusion in the United States (Chung, 2014; Museus, 2014; Sue & Sue, 2003). Drawing from Racial Triangulation (Kim, 1999) this work situates APIDA students in their unique historical, geographical and sociological context which is often missing in studies on student organizing, which include APIDA participation. In addition, a critical contribution of this work is its highlight on the often overlooked ethnic communities within the APIDA racial category. Despite Kim’s lack of analysis on Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, Desi and Southeast Asian ethnic group experiences, her two-axis framework allows for one to explore how different APIDA ethnic groups might distinctly experience racialization in the United States. The study also draws from Transformational Resistance (Solorzano & Bernal, 2001) to account for the varying forms of resistance that APIDA students might display, based on their intersecting identities, sociopolitical context and institutional experiences.

Method, Data & Results: Using the methodological approach of narrative case study, findings are situated within the narratives of 12 undergraduate students who identify with an ongoing process of critical race consciousness. Emerging themes that will be discussed include 1) ethnicity and generation status as salient informative identities in one’s understanding of race 2) pan-Asian identity is a political orientation and informs the kinds of social concerns (domestic vs. global) one cares about, and 3) off-campus involvement in community organizations. The study also proposes the APIDA Critical Race Resistance (ACRR) model. Current Existing APIDA student leadership models incorporate elements of activism (Kodama, Poon, Manzano, Sihite, 2017, Liang, Lee, Ting, 2002), however, none focus primarily on racial identity and resistance alone. ACCR builds from Racial Triangulation, Transformational Resistance and the Polycultural Identity Consciousness Model (Accapadi, 2012). ACRR accounts for a process in which students raise critical race consciousness from 1) individual social identity, 2) sociopolitical context, and 3) institutional structure.

Significance: The heightened political climate of the current temporal moment presents an opportune time to explore APIDA student experiences in the larger landscape of student organizing and resistance. This study provides explanation to many unanswered questions surrounding APIDA student engagement in racial justice based resistance. In addition, the objective of my presentation is to spark new questions which will initiate further scholarship on APIDA racial identity and resistance in higher education.

Author

• Marissiko M. Wheaton, University of Southern California