Asian-American political participation lags but is rising

by Booyeon Han Special for the Republic Feb. 27, 2010 12:00 AM

One day, the brother of my childhood friend Megan asked her, "Megan, why are you playing with that Chinese girl?" At age 7, I was confused because I was Korean, not Chinese. Moreover, why should my friend not invite me to her house?

That was some time ago while growing up in Arizona. Today, I'm a student at Princeton University, where I have discovered an overwhelming population of Asian-Americans -17.7 percent of the freshman class alone. There are no overt acts of discrimination such as those I encountered during my primary education in Arizona, but I observed more interaction between Asians than with other ethnicities. Asian-Americans have become more aware of others who share their cultural background.

Does this suggest an incomplete integration into society?

The U.S., the land of immigrants, is characterized by its acceptance of different cultures. But is everyone really equal?

My experiences tells me no.

Although Asian-Americans have been relatively successful in the United States, prejudice has persisted for over 100 years. The Chinese Exclusion Act and the Japanese-Korean Exclusion League illustrate two overt actions of discrimination.

To overcome this obstacle, Asian-Americans have found an answer to the assimilation question: economic gain.

According to Lisa Sun-Hee Park, an expert in the field of sociology, Asian-Americans pursue economic advancement, because the "possession of material goods symbolize[s] that one contributes to rather than burdens the United States."

Even though hard-working Asian-Americans have been steadily rising in socioeconomic class, these efforts hit a glass ceiling that impedes Asian-American efforts to achieve leadership positions.

Marlene Kim and Don Mar, researchers in Asian-American economic status, describe that college-educated Asian citizens are underrepresented in management positions when compared to Caucasian citizens.

A glass ceiling exists to prevent "too much" progress. Nevertheless, economic gain is an important part of the American identity for Asian citizens.

Alexis de Tocqueville, the 19th-century French historian and political observer, suggested that a dedication to economic gain prevents interests in spheres outside the monetary world. In this way, Asian-Americans are pressured to create goals that depend on the never-ending acquisition of money. Their desire for assimilation makes them blind to citizen responsibilities such as political participation.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the percentage of voter turnout among Asian-Americans in the 2008 national election (32.1) was much lower compared with Caucasians (58.2) and African-Americans (60.8). Moreover, Asian-Americans make up about 5 percent of the American population but hold only 12 of the 535 seats in Congress, or 2.2 percent. These disparities suggest that political participation and representation in the Asian-American community fall noticeably behind those of other groups.

However, Asian-American political activity has been growing with increasing income. Asian-American voter registration and turnout are slowly rising, and the number of representatives in government has been increasing over the past few years. These trends inspire hope that Asian citizens will become more assimilated into society.

To accomplish this, American society must consciously erase the prejudice that taints democracy in the U.S. Meanwhile, Asian-Americans will continue to strive for an equal opportunity in our democracy.

Booyeon Han is a graduate of Desert Vista High School and is a student at Princeton Univer sity. She is a 2009 Presidential Scholar and was inspired by the LEAD Academy at Arizona State University to write a research paper that corresponds to the topic of this op-ed piece.