Snap perspective: Joe Lu, a Cornell student
Obama’s candidacy has had huge implications for African Americans, while Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin have made it clearer than ever that national politics don’t have to be a male-dominated arena. Asian Americans, however, are a group that have received considerably less attention. According to the Ithaca Asian American Association, or IAAA, 17% of Ithacans are Asian American—not an insignificant percentage. In states like Virginia and Nevada, according to a Voice of America article, Asian Americans could even swing the election. Participation among Asian Americans in politics, however, tends to be inconsistent from place to place.
According to Tompkins County legislator and Cornell graduate student Nathan Shinagawa, the key factor in Asian American political participation is a generational one. In states like California, where Asian American populations have been well-established for multiple generations, residents have elected legislators like Senator Leland Yee and Assemblymember Mike Eng. In New York State, however, Asian American populations are newer and so political participation is less firmly established.
“When you go to places like New York State, then you can count the number of Asian American elected officials on one hand,” Shinagawa said.
There are a variety of reasons for new generations of Asian immigrants to be uninvolved politically. Amy Kwo Somchanhmavong, a member of the IAAA’s board of directors, said that some Asian Americans avoid politics due to a toxic political environment in their home countries. Others suffer from a lack of a real sense of belonging within the new culture.
“There’s this whole perception of Asian Americans as an immigrant population, that they’re new to the area, that they don’t speak the language…so the sense of foreignness has an impact
,” Somchanhmavong said.Thankfully, as Asian American populations have time to settle and grow, they become more and more integrated which, according to Shinagawa, will lead to increased participation and more Asian American candidates, just as is happening in California.
“The treasurer of California is an Asian American guy. In Santa Clara county, there’s more than 40, I think, elected officials that are Asian American. And so it’s huge there.”
The puzzle pieces for increased participation in more parts of the country are already in place. Shinagawa said that more than half of Asian Americans in US colleges and universities were born in the United States. These populations are educated, well informed, and understand American culture and politics.
“Give them another 10 years, and those people will be running for local-level office,” Shinagawa said.
Tiffany Cheng, spokesperson for the Ithaca College Asian Culture Club, drew from her own experience living in New York City’s Chinatown to explain why early generations of Asian immigrants tend to avoid politics. Her explanation echoed Somchanhmavong’s: Chinatown residents, Cheng said, feel less comfortable outside of Chinatown because values, language, and overall culture suddenly change. Outside of their ethnic enclave, they feel they have to adhere to a separate and sometimes unfamiliar set of rules.
“We’re pretty loud and outspoken within our own community because we feel like these are people that can connect to us. But once we step out of Chinatown, Chinese people kind of get shy about it.”
In addition, newcomers to the country might too preoccupied with immediate needs to worry about politics. Settling into a new place is never easy, and some priorities are going to take precedence over others.
“They’re really focused on having a good job, getting enough money to pay for bills…you know, just making sure you have enough money to live for the next day. So they’re not really worried about politics or anything like that,” Cheng said.
Related Media:
A piece on the Asian American vote, courtesy CBS News.
--Eric Raue
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