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ALONG THE COLOR LINEAfrican, Asian Americans: Toward a multicultural dialogueBy DR. MANNING MARABLECall and Post Contributing WriterRacial minorities -- African Americans, Asian American, Pacific Island Americans, American Indians and Hispanics — are growing more than seven times faster than non-Hispanic whites. Much of this population explosion has occurred in only the past decade. Nationwide in 1990, minorities accounted for about 61 million Americans, representing 25 percent of the country’s total population. By the year 2000, that percentage will have increased to nearly one-third of the US population. According to demographers, the entire United StatesTO BE EQUALBy HUGH B. PRICE President National Urban LeagueA report issued last month by the Office of Minorities in Higher Education of the American Council on Education showed significant gains in the enrollment of AfricanAme»rir'Or»c» onrl nthnr rtnHnntnwill have a majority minorityby the year 2060. Issues of multicultural diversity will become even more central to all aspects of American life.Racial minorities themselves must engage in a critical, honest dialogue about their areas of mutual concern. Certainly one dimension of that discussion must occur between Asian Americans and African Americans Asian Americans are the most rapidly-growing group in the U.S. today, there are more than 7.5 million people of Asian descent in this country.Like African Americans and Latinos, Asian Americans have exface the likelihood of being pushed to the margins of the society.The fact that some form of postsecondary degree is the critical requirement for a greater array of jobs has become glaringly obvious during the past two decades. You can be sure that requirement willperienced a history of discrimination and oppression. As early as 1854, the California Supreme Court ruled that Chinese weren’t permitted to testify against whites. In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act banned all immigration from China As Japanese immigration to the US grew, discriminatory legislation was extended to them. In 1913 California prohibited aliens ineligible for citizenship from owning property. The 1924 National Origins Act excluded most Asians from migrating to the US. With the outbreak of World War II, 110,000 Japanese Americans were relocated to internment camps. It was only in 1952importantpopulation see each other, compete academically and socially with one another, and make friends with one another on an equal footing.No wonder that learning to deal with diversity—to accept difference without devaluing the people who are different-has proven sothat Asians born outside the US were permitted to become citizens. African Americans have not been alone in their search for a non-racist democracy.Conversely, an appraisal of racial and ethnic realities today illustrates profound differences between minority groups. Blacks and most Latinos, for example, continue to be subjected to extreme economic and social discrimination, while most Asian Americans are not. According to census surveys, the median household income in 1989 of Asian Americans was$36,100, compared to $304,00 for non-Hispanic white households, $21,900 for Hispanic households, and $18,100 for African-American households.According to the Census Bureau’s 1987 Survey of minority-owned Business Enterprises, the number of Asian-American-owned businesses in the US grew from 187,691 in 1982 to 335,331 in 1987, as increase of 79 percent By 1987, about six percent of all Asian American owned a business of some type, compared to 6.5 percent of all non-Hispanic whites, two percent of all Latinos, 1.5 percent ofall black Americans, and one percent of American Indians.Similarly, in terms of access to higher education, there are real differences between minority groups. Although African-American and Latino college enrollments reached 1.4 million and 1 million respectively by 1993, both were well under represented, based on their percentages of the general population. Between 1976 and 1992 the number of African Americans who received both master’s degree and doctorates actually declined. Conversely, access to higher education for Asian American increased significantly during these same years..From 1976 to 1993, the number of Asian Americans enrolled in colleges and universities soared from 198,000 to 724,000. In academic year 1992-1993, Asian Americans were awarded more doctorates (1580) than African Americans (1350) and Latinos (830), and earned more professional degrees (5,160) than blacks (4,100) or Latinos (2,980). So while the overall proportion of degrees earned by racial minorities has sharply increased, the actual status of individual groups varies significantly. These statistics may explain whyLatinos and African Americans overwhelmingly support affirmative action programs and minority scholarships, while a large percentage of Asian Americans do not.We are rapidly moving beyond the older black vs. white model of race and ethnic relations in the US, and African Americans must recognize the impact of this social transformation in We need recognize that within the Asian-American population that there are many nationalities and communities whose interests parallel our own. Areas of political an economic tension, such as the burning and destruction of Korean-owned stores during the Los Angeles upris-ing in 1992, or the racially-motivated discrimination against blacks by Asian merchants,have to be openly discussed. A strategy for black empowerment must have the ability to build coalitions based on mutual self-interest with others.Dr. Manning Marable is Profes-sor of History and Director, Institute for Research In African-American Studies, Columbia University, New York Along The Color Line appears in over 275 publications across the US and internationally.A college education is
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Cincinnati Call and Post
Cincinnati, Ohio, US
Thu, Aug 08, 1996
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