Second Generation South Asian Americans and People of Color Identity

• In Event: Asian Politics

Abstract

This paper analyzes the political identity development among second generation South Asian Americans. Immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other South Asian ancestry are the fastest growing and Indian immigrants constitute the second largest Asian American group. They, alongside other Asian Americans, are often seen as honorary whites, assimilated, and model minority. They are shown to be doing well on traditional indicators of assimilation such as education, income, and employment. Their professional accomplishments in the fields of technology, medicine, science, and business are touted as examples of success and hyper mobility. However, the existing literature on Asian American second generation assimilation fails to fully explain their path of political socialization and identity development shaped by the U.S. racial hierarchy. The experiences of South Asians, Arabs, and Muslims in the post-9/11 period has foregrounded how racialization shaped their lived social and political world. This research project explores the ways and extent to which ethnoracial identities shape their political identity and preferences. More specifically, it explores the extent to which the emerging category of people of color has found acceptance among second generation South Asian Americans as they navigate their sense of American political identity in relation to other racial minorities as well as the dominant white identity. The paper draws on original qualitative interviews including focus group discussions with South Asian American youth. The paper also uses existing quantitative data that speaks to the question of person of color identity.

Author

• Sangay K. Mishra, Drew University, New Jersey