Imagine for a moment – that your government issues an executive order stating that all citizens of your ethnicity has 3 DAYS to pack what you can in ONE SUITCASE and sell your possessions (home, cars, businesses, clothes, heirlooms, photos). You have no idea where they’re going to take you or how long you’re going to be there. This happened in 1942 to 120,000 Japanese Americans who were US citizens.
As a 3rd generation Japanese American, I still have difficulty wrapping my head around this gross injustice that happened simply because of our ancestors’ affiliation with Japan. Not one Japanese American was found to be a “spy” – the reason the US government incarcerated JAs along the west coast for over 3 years.
I talked with my grandparents about their experiences in these internment “relocation” camps. They never wanted to speak out against America because they loved being in America. But my uncle told me stories about the vitriol and hatred people had for anyone who looked Asian. While standing on a corner at 5 years old, holding his father’s hand, people called them “Japs!” and spat at them.
My family lost their business, vehicles, and trust. After WWII, they had to rebuild their lives while being subjected to hate crimes they never reported. Because we look different from Caucasian Americans, we became the easy target of misplaced anger. This was clearly discrimination by the government and the public.
While Germany and Italy were also clearly the enemies during WWII, German Americans and Italian Americans were not incarcerated like the Japanese Americans. JAs from Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona were forced to relocate to 10 relocation camps. If the government was concerned about spies on the west coast, then why did they NOT incarcerate JAs in Hawaii?
I write this to help us see one piece of discrimination and hate against Japanese Americans. It’s happening against Chinese Americans (and Asians) today because of the fear and unknowns about the coronavirus. Unhappy and insecure people often seek what they consider “underdogs” to pick on just the way bullies do on the school yard, social media, and the workplace.
Don’t be complicit. Stand up and speak out against hate crimes.
Imagine for a moment – that your government issues an executive order stating that all citizens of your ethnicity has 3 DAYS to pack what you can in ONE SUITCASE and sell your possessions (home, cars, businesses, clothes, heirlooms, photos). You have no idea where they’re going to take you or how long you’re going to be there. This happened in 1942 to 120,000 Japanese Americans who were US citizens.
As a 3rd generation Japanese American, I still have difficulty wrapping my head around this gross injustice that happened simply because of our ancestors’ affiliation with Japan. Not one Japanese American was found to be a “spy” – the reason the US government incarcerated JAs along the west coast for over 3 years.
I talked with my grandparents about their experiences in these internment “relocation” camps. They never wanted to speak out against America because they loved being in America. But my uncle told me stories about the vitriol and hatred people had for anyone who looked Asian. While standing on a corner at 5 years old, holding his father’s hand, people called them “Japs!” and spat at them.
My family lost their business, vehicles, and trust. After WWII, they had to rebuild their lives while being subjected to hate crimes they never reported. Because we look different from Caucasian Americans, we became the easy target of misplaced anger. This was clearly discrimination by the government and the public.
While Germany and Italy were also clearly the enemies during WWII, German Americans and Italian Americans were not incarcerated like the Japanese Americans. JAs from Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona were forced to relocate to 10 relocation camps. If the government was concerned about spies on the west coast, then why did they NOT incarcerate JAs in Hawaii?
I write this to help us see one piece of discrimination and hate against Japanese Americans. It’s happening against Chinese Americans (and Asians) today because of the fear and unknowns about the coronavirus. Unhappy and insecure people often seek what they consider “underdogs” to pick on just the way bullies do on the school yard, social media, and the workplace.
Don’t be complicit. Stand up and speak out against hate crimes.
I remember when I was a child, I was told not to stare at people in wheelchairs or homeless people sleeping on sidewalks. By not looking at them, I wouldn’t have to see a person who isn’t “normal.” Not sure if it was to protect me from seeing how many people live outside of my bubble or to make sure that I didn’t interact with those types of people because they might be violent or they might make me uncomfortable.
Either way, I quickly formed the stereotype, prejudice, and stigma about that person. While this was not to create a discriminatory bias, it did, however, on both a conscious and subconscious level. It dehumanized those people who were different from me. And today, this has become accepted social behavior.
One of my students is doing a project on how to reduce negative stereotypes in her plan to stop the hatred that fuels violence and discord in America. We’ve explored ways to break these stereotypes and recently came across a study done by Professor Alicia Nordstrom. She required her students to interview a person that they either didn’t like or belonged to a religious or ethnic group that they feared. Then, the students had to write a memoir about that person’s life.
While her students didn’t want to do the assignment at first, they all found that their interviewees were just “regular” people – like you and me. Nordstrom expanded her study to include people with mental health issues and physical disabilities. The results were the same: they found that their subjects were all normal, regular people, regardless of their disability and psychological issues.
So maybe if we could open doors to have conversations with people who don’t share our ideas or lifestyles, we might – just might – become more compassionate and understanding. Maybe we could find a way to create solutions to the many problems we ALL face.
Discrimination comes in many forms. In a time when headlines like Black Lives Matter, Voters’ Rights Act, and others consume the press – as they should, — I’d like to address discrimination in college admissions against Asians and white applicants.
As a private college advisor, I work closely with hundreds of students as they apply to the Ivy League and other top universities in the world. My students conduct independent projects that change the world and make them dynamic young leaders. They study hard – like all college-bound students – but they separate themselves from their peers by doing unique projects over 1-4 years. They get in based on their academics and projects.
Yale University is under investigation for violations to the 1964 Civil Rights Act (considering race and ethnicity in admissions policies). Harvard is dealing with a similar case under appeal. What’s different now is that Asians and white students are being denied admission even when their scores and rankings might be higher than those of people of color who get in. The original Civil Rights Act was established so colleges wouldn’t discriminate against black and Hispanic students for simply being people of color. Now the Act is being challenged by the opposite end of the spectrum.
I completely support the BLM movement and believe that we as a society need to even the playing field so people of color have opportunities available to them. The rates at which blacks and Hispanics are incarcerated, killed by police, and receive higher education is appalling. Systemic changes need to be made starting in preschool so they will receive the skills and guidance needed to lift them out of this unconscionable state.
I do believe, however, that students should be accepted to colleges based on their academic and innovative skills. Isn’t that why universities were organized in the first place? They were designed to be places of higher education where intellectuals gathered to share ideas and improve society. I don’t believe admissions officers should consider race or ethnicity and base admission decisions on a formula that factors in discriminatory practices against anyone.
When an Asian or white student is denied admission to an elite college, to open up a spot for a student who has lower academic and innovative skills, this is discrimination. It bothers me when I tell my students that if their last name is “Wong” or “Agrawal,” their applications have to be substantially better than student applicants who are black or Hispanic.
I met with a student who got into a 4-year college back under Affirmative Action. His academic foundation and ability to succeed in the freshman year was low; his reading comprehension and writing skills were substandard. Even with tutoring and psychological support, the student dropped out and felt like a failure. Admitting students who don’t have the same high-caliber academic skills as the other students at the university will only exacerbate the low rate of graduation and career opportunities for these students.
Fixing this problem doesn’t start with admitting these students into colleges that they won’t prosper in. Instead, we need to create better preschools so underrepresented students have the same, or better, exposure to academics before they start kindergarten than their white and Asian counterparts. Elementary, middle, and high schools that serve students of color should receive more funding, smaller class sizes, better teachers (with better pay and benefits), computer equipment, and everything each student needs to be successful in school. Students who live in poor neighborhoods should be equipped with personal computers, internet, smart phones, and wifi. And during turbulent times like today, these students should also receive personal tutoring to ensure that they are learning, making it to classes whether on site or online, and completing daily homework and keeping up in classes. Then, and only then, will these students of color have a fair chance at moving up the ranks and succeeding in a world that is designed to keep them down.
Then, I believe the playing field will be more level for high school students applying to the elite colleges. I’d like to see a day when all students can compete to get into college based on their own merit.
And if two students (one Asian/white; the other black/Hispanic) have the same academic and innovative skills, I believe the black or Hispanic student should be granted admission until our K-12 education truly offers equal educational opportunities.