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melodys_library's review against another edition
4.0
DNF
Made it through chapter 6 before the library made me return it as someone had placed a hold. I’ll need to re-check this out to finish. I was reading it slowly in order to absorb the all the facts and take my own notes. It reads a bit like an interesting history textbook. I learned so much, and felt very emotional throughout
Made it through chapter 6 before the library made me return it as someone had placed a hold. I’ll need to re-check this out to finish. I was reading it slowly in order to absorb the all the facts and take my own notes. It reads a bit like an interesting history textbook. I learned so much, and felt very emotional throughout
katiez624's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of those books that was not easy to read but I felt like I HAD to read.
It was difficult to get through because of the focus on heavy topics such as hate crimes, politics, and race relations. But as an Asian American, I feel like it is my duty and responsibility to have at least a general understanding of the history of how Asians had to fight to be in this country, how far we've come, and how far we still have to go.
The current COVID-19 pandemic is a perfect example of how Asian Americans have come to be perceived as "model minorities" and how all of that can change in an instant. Asian Americans are once again being persecuted because of their race and the ignorance of many Americans.
I really enjoyed the brief anecdotes that Zia used to introduce each chapter. I wish there was a lot more of that. I also really appreciated that Zia talked about a wide expanse of Asian American experiences, including those of the Koreans, Chinese, Indian, Hmong, and Hawaiians.
It was difficult to get through because of the focus on heavy topics such as hate crimes, politics, and race relations. But as an Asian American, I feel like it is my duty and responsibility to have at least a general understanding of the history of how Asians had to fight to be in this country, how far we've come, and how far we still have to go.
The current COVID-19 pandemic is a perfect example of how Asian Americans have come to be perceived as "model minorities" and how all of that can change in an instant. Asian Americans are once again being persecuted because of their race and the ignorance of many Americans.
I really enjoyed the brief anecdotes that Zia used to introduce each chapter. I wish there was a lot more of that. I also really appreciated that Zia talked about a wide expanse of Asian American experiences, including those of the Koreans, Chinese, Indian, Hmong, and Hawaiians.
vklopez's review against another edition
4.0
super vital reading about the asian american cultural and political histories we never hear about!! i want to be helen zia when i grow up
margaretefg's review against another edition
4.0
Helen Zia blends personal, historical and journalistic writing in this exploration which focuses on Asian American identities and organizing after 1965. The pain of invisibility and lack of perception of anti-AAPI violence as hate crime runs throughout. Yet Zia's message is full of hope. I was struck by her description of the Japanese American Citizens League debate over support for same sex marriage. "The principle of standing up for the equal rights of what was perceived to be... Another community... Every American has a right to speak out on any issue... because every issue has implications beyond immediate self-interest."
That's a key piece of her vision for building movements for change. Compelling.
Published in 2000, it left me wanting a next chapter dealing with the past 20 years.
That's a key piece of her vision for building movements for change. Compelling.
Published in 2000, it left me wanting a next chapter dealing with the past 20 years.
kat07's review against another edition
5.0
WOW!! So often when we think about history, we think of events that happened centuries ago. We need to rethink this framework to include events that also happened ten, twenty, thirty years ago. History is ongoing, and we need to consider how our actions and policies affect future groups and generations: Which groups will be minimalized by putting these policies in place? Do these groups have representation and a say as these policies are enacted?
This novel is a heavy read, but I don't think I could have picked a better informed one. I'm glad I read Minor Feelings first as an intro (see review in previous post), because this book went so much more in depth. Most of this history is from the 1900s, discussing prejudice and policies made specifically to limit Asian immigration, citizenship, and representation in government. It also discusses conflicts in identity, as Asian Americans often developed a learned status of silence and invisibility - it was sometimes easier to try to remain invisible when regularly switched between being perceived as either "the enemy" or the "model minority."
Topics addressed:
• Asian Americans internalizing the stereotypes and developing a learned status of silence and invisibility - becoming the "model minority"
• The Yellow Power Movement coining the term "Asian American" and fighting against discriminatory practices and views
• Racial tensions between Asian Americans and other groups (ex: African Americans saw Korean stores as a reminder of economic inequality)
• Representation in entertainment and these stereotypes leaking into Asian Americans' lives (victims of violence)
• Policies targeting specific Asian groups out of fear (Japanese, Chinese) or in conflict with traditional ways of life (ex: Native Hawaiians, Hmong)
This novel is a heavy read, but I don't think I could have picked a better informed one. I'm glad I read Minor Feelings first as an intro (see review in previous post), because this book went so much more in depth. Most of this history is from the 1900s, discussing prejudice and policies made specifically to limit Asian immigration, citizenship, and representation in government. It also discusses conflicts in identity, as Asian Americans often developed a learned status of silence and invisibility - it was sometimes easier to try to remain invisible when regularly switched between being perceived as either "the enemy" or the "model minority."
Topics addressed:
• Asian Americans internalizing the stereotypes and developing a learned status of silence and invisibility - becoming the "model minority"
• The Yellow Power Movement coining the term "Asian American" and fighting against discriminatory practices and views
• Racial tensions between Asian Americans and other groups (ex: African Americans saw Korean stores as a reminder of economic inequality)
• Representation in entertainment and these stereotypes leaking into Asian Americans' lives (victims of violence)
• Policies targeting specific Asian groups out of fear (Japanese, Chinese) or in conflict with traditional ways of life (ex: Native Hawaiians, Hmong)
kmsmith2425's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
sallielu's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/4: I really had no sense of my Asian American history, and wish this was included in my K-12 education. This book provided a great overview, and is truly the only American history that feels intimately applicable to me. It also somehow feels so relevant despite being published two decades ago. That being said, this reads more like an exhaustive textbook to me which makes it less approachable. The first half I found to be quite interesting, but the second half I struggled through as I kept falling asleep.
ikuo1000's review against another edition
5.0
I can't believe this book was published in 2000, and I've only just now read it. As an Asian American, I wish I had read it when it first came out, so I could have benefited from its clarity 20 years earlier.
This book chronicles when, where, and how Asian Americans have fit in within the tapestry of American history, politics, and culture. This book is a must-read for all Americans, not just Asian Americans. Everyone should know how much Asian Americans have helped shape this country, and Asian Americans especially can benefit from Helen Zia's reassurance of our belonging here in America. This book made me feel seen.
Asian American Dreams is part memoir, part survey of Asian American history, and part commentary on current events. Though events from the 1990s are no longer "current", the same types of events - for better or for worse - are still happening. The first-person narrative is very readable.
Helen Zia's personal stories were particularly relatable for me as a Chinese American growing up in a predominantly white suburb with immigrant parents. Though we are not the same age, I think I could have taken some of her stories and repeated them verbatim about myself, that's how similar our experiences were. Describing her childhood, she wrote, "[W]e stuck out like yellow streaks on a white-and-black canvas... The pressure on us was to fit in with the 'American' kids we looked so unlike, to conform and assimilate... But the joke was on us, because no matter how hard we might try to blend in with the scenery, our faces gave us away." (p. 7)
This book examines a number of events in modern America that have helped shape the Asian American consciousness: Vincent Chin's murder in Detroit; tensions between Korean shopkeepers and Black customers in NYC and LA; protests against Asian misrepresentation in entertainment; worker's rights for Filipino migrant workers in CA and Alaska and South Asian cab drivers in NYC; LGBTQ rights as civil rights worthy of support from all people, regardless of race. As a journalist, Helen Zia was personally involved in the activism surrounding a number of these movements; her deep dive into these issues included first-hand experience that provided invaluable details and insight.
It is meaningful and noteworthy that this book explored subjects that are commonly omitted in the Asian American narrative, like the inclusion of South Asians as part of the community. She quotes an activist whose words, unfortunately, still ring true today: "Asian Americans as a whole must re-evaluate what it means to be Asian American in order to finally stop the cycle of concentric exclusions... The alternative is that Tamils will continue to feel ignored by Sri Lankans, who are in turn tokenized by South Asian Americans, who feel marginalized by Asian Americans, who are invisible to Americans because they aren't black or white." (p. 222)
I appreciate that Helen Zia did not shy away from examining the context of Asian Americans in a racial landscape that is predominantly Black versus white. Excerpts such as the following are still relevant today: "We tried to explain that we recognized and respected African Americans' central and dominant position in the civil rights struggle; we wanted to show that we weren't trying to benefit from their sacrifices without offering anything in return. On the other hand, many European Americans were hostile or resistant to 'yet another minority group' stepping forward to make claims. Underlying both concerns was the suggestion, a nagging doubt, that Asian Americans had no legitimate place in discussions of racism because we hadn't really suffered any." (p. 68) I am greatly encouraged by how much progress has been made, though in some circles, whether or not the word "racist" can apply to African Americans being racially prejudiced against Asians is still up for debate. (p. 104)
Growing up, I identified as Chinese American because my parents were born in China. However, my parents were raised in Taiwan, are Taiwanese citizens, and consider Taiwan their homeland. Yet, we did not call ourselves Taiwanese, a label which, at the time, was reserved for native Taiwanese families. These days, as the separation between Chinese and Taiwanese is made more and more clear as tensions rise across the Taiwan Strait, I still identify as Chinese American, I also identify as Taiwanese American, and more and more often I find myself identifying as Asian American. This book opened my eyes to how this evolution in my own identity reflected the growth of the pan-Asian community in the United States. "Out of numerous disparate, even hostile, Asian ethnicities, we have forged a sense of shared experience and common future as Americans - Asian and Pacific Islander Americans." (p. 310)
This book describes how the term "Asian American" continues to be defined and re-defined by the people who claim the identity, from the first Chinese immigrants to modern day Hmong refugees and Korean adoptees in Minnesota to a new generation of hapa (a Hawaiian word for mixed-race people) across the country. Helen Zia assures us that as the Asian American community grows, Asian American groups and individuals will continue to find their place in America and their voice on issues in every facet of American life.
This book chronicles when, where, and how Asian Americans have fit in within the tapestry of American history, politics, and culture. This book is a must-read for all Americans, not just Asian Americans. Everyone should know how much Asian Americans have helped shape this country, and Asian Americans especially can benefit from Helen Zia's reassurance of our belonging here in America. This book made me feel seen.
Asian American Dreams is part memoir, part survey of Asian American history, and part commentary on current events. Though events from the 1990s are no longer "current", the same types of events - for better or for worse - are still happening. The first-person narrative is very readable.
Helen Zia's personal stories were particularly relatable for me as a Chinese American growing up in a predominantly white suburb with immigrant parents. Though we are not the same age, I think I could have taken some of her stories and repeated them verbatim about myself, that's how similar our experiences were. Describing her childhood, she wrote, "[W]e stuck out like yellow streaks on a white-and-black canvas... The pressure on us was to fit in with the 'American' kids we looked so unlike, to conform and assimilate... But the joke was on us, because no matter how hard we might try to blend in with the scenery, our faces gave us away." (p. 7)
This book examines a number of events in modern America that have helped shape the Asian American consciousness: Vincent Chin's murder in Detroit; tensions between Korean shopkeepers and Black customers in NYC and LA; protests against Asian misrepresentation in entertainment; worker's rights for Filipino migrant workers in CA and Alaska and South Asian cab drivers in NYC; LGBTQ rights as civil rights worthy of support from all people, regardless of race. As a journalist, Helen Zia was personally involved in the activism surrounding a number of these movements; her deep dive into these issues included first-hand experience that provided invaluable details and insight.
It is meaningful and noteworthy that this book explored subjects that are commonly omitted in the Asian American narrative, like the inclusion of South Asians as part of the community. She quotes an activist whose words, unfortunately, still ring true today: "Asian Americans as a whole must re-evaluate what it means to be Asian American in order to finally stop the cycle of concentric exclusions... The alternative is that Tamils will continue to feel ignored by Sri Lankans, who are in turn tokenized by South Asian Americans, who feel marginalized by Asian Americans, who are invisible to Americans because they aren't black or white." (p. 222)
I appreciate that Helen Zia did not shy away from examining the context of Asian Americans in a racial landscape that is predominantly Black versus white. Excerpts such as the following are still relevant today: "We tried to explain that we recognized and respected African Americans' central and dominant position in the civil rights struggle; we wanted to show that we weren't trying to benefit from their sacrifices without offering anything in return. On the other hand, many European Americans were hostile or resistant to 'yet another minority group' stepping forward to make claims. Underlying both concerns was the suggestion, a nagging doubt, that Asian Americans had no legitimate place in discussions of racism because we hadn't really suffered any." (p. 68) I am greatly encouraged by how much progress has been made, though in some circles, whether or not the word "racist" can apply to African Americans being racially prejudiced against Asians is still up for debate. (p. 104)
Growing up, I identified as Chinese American because my parents were born in China. However, my parents were raised in Taiwan, are Taiwanese citizens, and consider Taiwan their homeland. Yet, we did not call ourselves Taiwanese, a label which, at the time, was reserved for native Taiwanese families. These days, as the separation between Chinese and Taiwanese is made more and more clear as tensions rise across the Taiwan Strait, I still identify as Chinese American, I also identify as Taiwanese American, and more and more often I find myself identifying as Asian American. This book opened my eyes to how this evolution in my own identity reflected the growth of the pan-Asian community in the United States. "Out of numerous disparate, even hostile, Asian ethnicities, we have forged a sense of shared experience and common future as Americans - Asian and Pacific Islander Americans." (p. 310)
This book describes how the term "Asian American" continues to be defined and re-defined by the people who claim the identity, from the first Chinese immigrants to modern day Hmong refugees and Korean adoptees in Minnesota to a new generation of hapa (a Hawaiian word for mixed-race people) across the country. Helen Zia assures us that as the Asian American community grows, Asian American groups and individuals will continue to find their place in America and their voice on issues in every facet of American life.