Being (Asian) American: Young Children's Exploration of Racial/Cultural Identity and Representations of Asian Racism

• In Event: Exploring Contours of Race and Culture in the Educational Lives of Youth

Abstract

This study explores young Asian American (AA) children’s emerging ideas of racial identity, experiences of racism, and use of multimodal representations of Asian racism and identities. To explore children’s identity and understanding of racial experience, we used suda with children, which refers to deeply engaged conversations, often involving participants’ emotions. Adopting ethnography, we used multiple data sources, including documentation of children’s conversations with family relating to their identity and experiences of racism and a collection of children’s artifacts. Findings show our children explored various aspects surrounding them, ranging from their body, classroom materials and passports to their family origins. Suda provided the space for our children to freely explore their racial identities and experiences of Asian racism/Hate Crime.

Authors

• Su-Jeong Wee, California State University - Los Angeles

• Sohyun Meacham, University of Northern Iowa

• Jinhee Kim, Kennesaw State University