Creating a panethnic identity: The Asian American movement's vision of racial and political solidarity

Rosette Ho Wirtz, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Abstract

The Asian American movement occurred in the late 1960s when America was being criticized as a land of inequality where racial discrimination degraded all people of color. Asian American activists participated in the effort to achieve social, political, and economical equality with the larger White dominated society. Answers will be sought for three questions one should ask when confronted with the problem of analyzing a minority movement. The questions are: (1) What are the goals of the movement?; (2) What forces initiate and propel the movement into existence?; and (3) How does the movement attain its goals? Lastly, this thesis determines the outcome of the Asian American movement of the late 1960s and 1970s and its effect on society.