Racial Paradoxes, Democratic Inclusions/Exclusions: Group Consciousness among Asian American Young Adults

• In Event: 174 - Regular Session. Asians and Asian Americans

Abstract

Relatively low levels of Asian American political engagement defy expectations according to overall socioeconomic status, posing a long-standing paradox. Some studies have employed the model minority trope to explain ostensible political apathy, whereas others have considered the possibility of oppositional identities in promoting political involvement. In this paper, I help unravel this paradox by engaging with broader contexts of hegemonic colorblindness and relative valorization and civic ostracism of Asian Americans through the framework of group consciousness. Originally modeled on African Americans, this concept identifies certain racial identities and ideologies that can promote political engagement, but it has failed to map neatly onto Asian Americans. I explore how involvement in activist organizations can develop group consciousness among Asian American youth, challenging assumptions that certain personal characteristics, social positions, and catalytic events incite political involvement. Instead, I shift attention to the processes that can develop group consciousness around experiences and positions. Both alumni of high school activist organizations and those who had not participated in such organizations experienced racial marginalization; the former cited their organizational participation in developing group consciousness, whereas the latter often diminished their experiences with racism, while expressing wariness towards politics. I argue that explicitly political spaces are especially critical for Asian Americans, who are neglected in larger political socialization efforts and considered insulated from racial discrimination. I also make contributions by exploring differentiations in impacts of civic participation, challenging linearity in the relationships between consciousness and engagement, highlighting everyday practices of politics, and illuminating complex political subjectivities.

Author

• May Lin, University of Southern California