Asian-Americans hope US$250 million plan to fight racism will support women, celebrate diversity
- The Asian-American Foundation will support projects that eradicate hate and highlight the contributions of Asians and Pacific Islanders in US schools
- The move comes amid a spate of high-profile attacks against Asians during the Covid-19 pandemic
Growing up in Los Angeles, Korean-American Eunice Kim, 34, learned to assimilate by downplaying parts of her heritage that her family celebrated proudly at home. It was only in recent years that the second-generation US citizen started to share Korean food and traditions with her non-Asian friends.
This is despite her being born and raised in California, a state where Asians account for 14.2 per cent of the population, double the 7 per cent they make up nationwide. Kim said she felt a need to conform despite growing up “in a fairly diverse neighbourhood and [attending] a diverse school”.
It was harder for Arthur Liu’s Asian-American friends in the Bronx in New York City, where just 3 per cent of the population is Asian.
Liu, who has Malaysian citizenship and Hong Kong permanent residency, said many felt they were not seen as American. “The underlying thought is that there is one racial group in America, white people, that are the ‘real’ or ‘true’ Americans,” he said.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese-American Michael Viet Nguyen, 31, said schoolmates made fun of his eyes, pulling theirs sideways while saying “ching chong ching”, when he was growing up in a suburb in south Seattle.
