Summary
In the tradition of W. E. B. Du Bois, Cornel West, and other public intellectuals who confronted the "color line" of the twentieth century, journalist, law professor, and activist Frank H. Wu offers a unique perspective on how changing ideas of racial identity will affect race relations in the new century.Often provocative and always thoughtful, this book addresses some of the most controversial contemporary issues: discrimination, immigration, diversity, globalization, and the mixed-race movement, introducing the example of Asian Americans to shed new light on the current debates. Combining personal anecdotes, social-science research, legal cases, history, and original journalistic reporting, Wu discusses damaging Asian American stereotypes such as "the model minority" and "the perpetual foreigner." By offering new ways of thinking about race in American society, Wu's work challenges us to make good on our great democratic experiment.
Author Notes
Frank H. Wu is the first Asian American to serve as a law professor at Howard University Law School. He has written for a range of publications including The Washington Post, The L.A. Times, The Chicago Tribune, and The Nation, and writes a regular column for Asian Week. Wu participated in a major debate against Dinesh D'Souza on affirmative action that was televised on C-Span and was the host of the syndicated talk show Asian America on PBS. He lives in Washington, DC
Summary:
In the tradition of W.E.B. Du Bois, Cornel West, and other public intellectuals who confronted the "color line" of the twentieth century, journalist, law professor, and activist Frank H. Wu offers a unique perspective on how changing ideas of racial identity will affect race relations in the new century. Often provocative and always thoughtful, this book addresses some of the most controversial contemporary issues: discrimination, immigration, diversity, globalization, and the mixed-race movement, introducing the example of Asian Americans to shed new light on the current debates. Combining personal anecdotes, social-science research, legal cases, history, and original journalistic reporting, Wu discusses damaging Asian American stereotypes such as "the model minority" and "the perpetual foreigner." By offering new ways of thinking about race in American society, Wu's work challenges us to make good on our great democratic experiment.-- PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Beginning with a recap of his childhood bewilderment with the paltry selection of appealing Asian characters in 1970s American pop culture, Frank H. Wu, associate professor at the Howard University School of Law, describes the alienation experienced by Asian-Americans in the 20th-century in Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White. An activist and journalist (the Washington Post, the Nation, the L.A. Times, etc.), Wu discusses key moments and phenomena in Asian-American history: the WWII internment camps, the 1992 L.A. riots, the "model minority myth," the virulent anti-Asian sentiment in the U.S. during the 1980s' recession (exemplified by the murder of a Chinese American engineer by two white auto workers, fined $3,780 for the crime) and periodic fads involving "Asian-ness" in American media. His sobering, astute, compelling investigation locates the particulars of Asian-American experience with racism in this country's spectrum of ethnic and cultural prejudice. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
An exhaustively detailed brief provocatively argues that Asian-Americans should be included in the national dialogue about race. Drawing on an eclectic range of references from John Stuart Mill to Tom Wolfe, Wu (Law/Howard Univ.) admits he hopes to stimulate discussion as well as invite dissent as he advances his ideas. Addressing both black and white prejudices against Asian-Americans, Wu is punctilious about acknowledging the greater burden race has imposed on blacks. Divided into three sections, his study begins with personal recollections of growing up as a Chinese-American and ends with a chapter detailing his reasons for teaching at Howard, a historically black university. In the first section, Wu rebuts the myth of the model minority by demonstrating that, while Asians are highly educated, they receive a lower return on their investment in education and are underrepresented in management; their higher income, he argues, reflects families pooling their resources. Next, he analyzes the implication of mixed-race marriages, as well as such problems as Asian-Americans' stand on affirmative action (he supports it), racial profiling (he discusses the case of Wen Ho Lee), and the dilemma of diversity. Citing the abhorrence that the Asian custom of eating dogs evokes in Westerners, he argues that, while everyone favors diversity, no one has thought critically enough about its implications. Wu suggests that one way of reconciling assimilation with multiculturalism would be to distinguish the division between what is substantial and what is superficial: ". . . an Afrocentric curriculum that is rigorous may be preferable to one that is auctioned off for product placements." In the final section, he suggests that Asian-Americans should engage in building coalitions with African-Americans and other minorities as well as with whites to create a tolerant civic society. A timely and thoughtful, if at times overidealistic, plea for full participation in the great ongoing debate.
Booklist Review
Wu, an associate professor of law at Howard University School of Law, offers a provocative perspective on race relations in America. While many would look on Asian Americans as America's "model minority," Wu demonstrates how even positive references to Asians can have damaging effects on Asian American psyches. Indeed, he discusses at length "the model minority myth" (that Asians are "intelligent, gifted in math and science, polite, hard-working, family-oriented, law-abiding, and successfully entrepreneurial" ). Although Wu sometimes seems overly sensitive, he makes a valid point that while white Americans might have felt superior to poor, uneducated (if held back) blacks, "Asian-Americans are the first group that seems to jeopardize the dominance of white Americans." He calls for coalition building among Asian Americans, but one that does not selfishly seek political power. Rather, he proposes a principled coalition--what Cornel West has called the "ethics of ethnicity." Wu has contributed another chapter to the continuing saga of American democracy. --Allen Weakland
Choice Review
Providing an informed Asian American perspective on race relations, Wu (law, Howard Univ.) addresses issues of concern to Asian Americans, such as stereotypes. Often viewed as the "yellow peril" or as perpetual foreigners, Asian Americans know that stereotypes can have harmful consequences. Whether Japanese Americans living on the West Coast or Chinese Americans offering political donations, Asian Americans are frequently seen as disloyal to the US. Even a positive stereotype of Asian Americans as a model minority can involve them in bitter affirmative action debates; it can also mislead policymakers and educators, causing them to overlook the struggles of the Southeast Asian refugee community and their children. Wu also discusses topics such as immigration, transnationalism, globalization, multiculturalism, diversity, intermarriage, mixed race identity, coalition building, and the prospects for realizing a civil society with racial justice and equality. A welcome surprise is the application of legal reasoning with reflections on moral and political philosophy. Thus, Wu makes reference to the ideas of Immanuel Kant, John Dewey, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Michael Walzer, and others. A fascinating and erudite study, suitable for a general readership. All collections. F. Ng California State University, Fresno
Library Journal Review
Most discussions of race and affirmative action focus on the relationship between Caucasian Americans and those of African descent. With this important book, Wu, an associate professor of law at Howard University School of Law in Washington, DC, and a columnist for A. Magazine, attempts to expand the discussion by including Americans of Asian descent. Starting with his own childhood experiences, Wu talks about the difficulties of being Asian in America, discussing the stereotypes associated with Asian Americans and the reasons why they are often blamed for discrimination. He then goes on to discuss crimes committed against Asian Americans because of their race and way of life, explaining that police investigations are often more thorough when Asian Americans are accused of criminal wrongdoing. This fascinating blend of Wu's personal experiences and his experiences as a lawyer, professor, and reporter provides a different and much-needed perspective on an important and often neglected subject. The only drawback is the lack of bibliography. Even so, this title belongs in all academic libraries. Danna Bell-Russel, Library of Congress (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
