The Politics of Multiethnic Relations

After Hillary Clinton won the California Democratic Primary with strong support from Latino and Asian voters, it was an accepted truism among some political pundits that Latinos and Asians were averse to voting for an African American. Within the next weeks, however, we witnessed Barack Obama winning Virginia while carrying the majority of Latino voters and also drawing even or even surpassing Clinton among Latinos in national exit polls. Then, Obama carried Hawaii, the nation's only state with an Asian American majority (nearly 2/3 of the population), by a 3-1 margin. Now, Clinton's big lead in Texas has all but disappeared. Was it possible that Obama eradicated the supposedly ingrained prejudices of Latinos and Asians in less than a fortnight? While it may be tempting to add this feat to the list of extraordinary things he has accomplished, the reality is that interethnic relations have always been more complex than the pundits realize.

We need to recognize that the concept of "race relations" we have inherited from the twentieth century is impoverished in two fundamental ways. First, studies of relations between races often reinforce the wrongful impression that "races" are fixed metrics, when the crucial thing to understand is how our notions of racial identity are constantly evolving. Second, the idea of "race relations" is generally premised on the existence of a white majority and a black minority or other ethnic minorities. But the white majority, a distant memory in California, is fading from the national scene faster than one can regret saying "macaca."

When we move beyond fixed and outmoded conceptions of race, we can develop a better appreciation of how and why interethnic attitudes tend to be contradictory. In December 2007, a collaborative of ethnic news organizations, New American Media, released the findings of what it called "the nation's first multilingual poll, which examines how the nation's largest ethnic groups feel towards each other." Not too shocking, given the general lack of multiethnic awareness in America, the poll revealed some "deep divisions" between communities of color. For instance, 47% of Asians and 44% of Latinos agreed with the statement, "I am generally afraid of African Americans because they are responsible for most of the crime." Meanwhile, 52% of African American respondents agreed with the statement, "Most Asian business owners do not treat us with respect." Poll respondents from all three groups also tended to socialize and date primarily members of their own group.

At the same time, the vast majority of Latinos (92%), African Americans (89%), and Asian Americans (86%) agreed with the statement, "African Americans, Latinos, and Asians have many similar problems. They should put aside their differences and work together on issues that affect their communities." Seemingly, most people of color embrace an ideal of multiethnic solidarity, but many tend to act on the basis of real or perceived divergence of interests. Overcoming this contradiction in the future will necessitate telling a new story about the past.

History can provide us with a better sense of how the tensions and possibilities we face today are part of a continuously shifting politics of race -- one whose future direction we have the power to shape. History can also shed light on the genealogy of relations transcending the bipolar majority/minority framework. As I have written previously, my studies of Los Angeles have helped me to anticipate some of the ways in which the multiethnic dynamics are shaping up on a national scale today. In researching my book, The Shifting Grounds of Race: Black and Japanese Americans in the Making of Multiethnic Los Angeles, I began to appreciate why common experiences with discrimination provide a rationale for interethnic cooperation but are insufficient to make it a reality. Black and Japanese Americans in 20th century LA recognized they were similarly hampered by white racism, and leaders of both groups espoused the virtues of multiracial solidarity. They formed interpersonal relationships, and some united to fight restrictive covenants and other forms of oppression.

But black and Japanese American economic survival strategies varied and their political statuses never completely aligned. Moreover, the actions of the state and of white elites perched atop the racial hierarchy drove a wedge between them. Some material differences of historical experience are obvious. For instance, blacks made major political advances during World War II while Japanese Americans were interned behind barbed wire.

However, racial ideology can prove just as divisive. Indeed, it is often differences in perception that hinder the prospects for coalition building -- even when diverse communities of color recognize that they share "many similar problems." Some African Americans, for instance, view Asian Americans as a politically passive people who have not carried their own weight in the struggle for civil rights. Of course, there are Asian Americans who are conservative and passive, but the same is true of every group. Yet, because Asian American history and politics are inadequately addressed by the media and public schools, many blacks are unaware of the actual struggles Asian Americans have waged and do not recognize the barriers that have obstructed Asian American political agency. Likewise, many Asian Americans get a simplistic and distorted view of African American history and protest from popular culture. As such, some are quick to dismiss black activism as counterproductive and not conforming to their vision of advancement through hard work and good deeds.

Scholars at the forefront of multiethnic studies are helping to make sense of our changing reality by uncovering the stories behind the statistics. The recent poll's finding that Latinos and Asians are more likely than blacks to believe in the "American Dream" is part of a longer narrative concerning the desire to "belong" in America. While ostensibly a basis for interethnic unity, the quest to belong has often pitted communities of color against each other. During World War II, African American activists in LA advanced a patriotic "victory" discourse to build a case for civil rights. They asserted that their desire to contribute to the win-the-war effort mandated the removal of discriminatory barriers to defense employment and housing. Although few blacks argued for Japanese American internment, African Americans generally saw their social status rise as Japanese Americans were singled out for persecution and Mexican Americans were targeted next.

Then, the tables quickly turned, as white elites highlighted the postwar construction of Japanese and Asian Americans as a "model" minority to reinforce the stigmatization of blacks as a "problem" once again. American-born Asians made an unprecedented move into jobs previously reserved for whites and into suburban homes nestled within majority white neighborhoods. Ironically, the movement for racial integration wound up creating new divisions. Since then, the rise of post-1965 immigration simultaneous with the heightened globalization of capital, the unmaking of the industrial order, and the evaporation of the New Deal safety net has created new anxieties and new bases for interethnic tension.

And yet in the face of these historical cleavages, LA has consistently produced conscious voices of solidarity. At the height of white wartime prejudice against Mexicans and Japanese, some black activists rushed to the defense of the Mexican American defendants in the Sleepy Lagoon case and also demanded the right of Japanese American internees to reclaim their homes (many of which were occupied by African Americans). Some of today's Japanese American leaders, who came of age at the height of postwar assimilation, developed cultural and political worldviews shaped by the black and Mexican American movement activists.

There is reason to believe the shared ideal of multiethnic solidarity will come closer to reality in the new millennium. The once prevalent notion that minority advancement necessitated assimilation to white norms has largely vanished. Moving beyond the idea that "whiteness" equates to "majority" in America opens up new possibilities for interethnic and multiethnic relations. Communities of color need not view themselves as "minorities" in competition with each other to get closer to the status of whites but instead must recognize their increasing power and responsibility to redefine and reshape the majority culture.

Scott Kurashige is the author of The Shifting Grounds of Race: Black and Japanese Americans in the Making of Multiethnic Los Angeles (Princeton University Press). He is an associate professor of History, American Culture, and Asian/Pacific Islander American Studies at the University of Michigan.

Comments

[MagisterLudi]

"When we move beyond fixed and outmoded conceptions of race, we can develop a better appreciation of how and why interethnic attitudes tend to be contradictory."

Yes, it is a problem in many in various ethnic communities where leaders are vested in the racism-victim narrative.

Perhaps when we move out of parceling and emphasizing race perspectives and move towards economic class perspective then all ethnic groups will benefit. To emphasize race based research is to emphasize race based conflict, not solutions.

How about economic class based research?!
This kind of research provides a much more meaningful data for analysis.

Speaking of outmoded race perspectives:

Hispanics are no longer minority in California. They are a majority in many California counties.
Whites, blacks and Asian are minorities.

As a European American I have been entering "minority" when requested demographic information.

[Reeceecup]

This was the most poignant and accurate synopsis of ethnic relations I have read in a long time. We need more voices like yours in mainstream media to comabat all the ones telling us Latino's don't like Blacks and Blacks don't Asians. As if it is that simple.

KUDOS

[Reeceecup]

This was the most poignant and accurate synopsis of ethnic relations I have read in a long time. We need more voices like yours in mainstream media to comabat all the ones telling us Latino's don't like Blacks and Blacks don't Asians. As if it is that simple.

KUDOS

[WAdem]

I agree with those who find your post slanted towards dissing whitey. The problem for most of us is that while we agree in principle that racism has harmed all of us. When Oprah, for example, spins that O.J. was convicted because the LAPD actually discriminated against him. Say what? And she now endorses Obama because he is the best candidate in her humble estimation despite never endorsing another candidate in the past. I see blatant racism where none should exist. Most caucasians that I knew back then were deeply saddened by O.J. delimma and Oprah is a jewel of a person with the exception of her stances on these 2 racist issues. Whether we like it or not, we need to recognize where the problem lies. As I said to my Republican friends when busing was implemented and they were complaining about costs, "Let's just bus those who don't want to go". Some problems are more difficult than others, though, and I don't think Obama can carry very many of the Red states where he outdrew the Republicans in the primaries. We're a long way from that.

[WAdem]

I agree with those who find your post slanted towards dissing whitey. The problem for most of us is that while we agree in principle that racism has harmed all of us. When Oprah, for example, spins that O.J. was convicted because the LAPD actually discriminated against him. Say what? And she now endorses Obama because he is the best candidate in her humble estimation despite never endorsing another candidate in the past. I see blatant racism where none should exist. Most caucasians that I knew back then were deeply saddened by O.J. delimma and Oprah is a jewel of a person with the exception of her stances on these 2 racist issues. Whether we like it or not, we need to recognize where the problem lies. As I said to my Republican friends when busing was implemented and they were complaining about costs, "Let's just bus those who do want to go". Some problems are more difficult than others, though, and I don't think Obama can carry very many of the Red states where he outdrew the Republicans in the primaries. We're a long way from that.

[detriangulation]

The way you define multiethnic solidarity is curious. Aren't the Polish, Irish, Italians, etc. ethnicities too?

"...black and Japanese American economic survival strategies varied and their political statuses never completely aligned. Moreover, the actions of the state and of white elites perched atop the racial hierarchy drove a wedge between them".

You say "white elites," surely an apt description for the mostly white male capitalist establishment. But you don't consider blue-collar European Americans. The greatest wedge by far is the one between "people of color" (last time I checked, my skin has a color: pinkish, not white) and poor "whites." The vast majority of the poor are white, although people of color are vastly overrepresented in the underclass as a consequence of racial oppression. But the greatest political import of these false "race" catagories is to divide and conquer white and non-white poor; the former can scapegoat the latter and feel falsely superior to them.

"History can provide us with a better sense of how the tensions and possibilities we face today are part of a continuously shifting politics of race." This applies to European ethnic groups as well (or at least it used to). Although most discrimination against them is largely non-existant today, it's important to note that Irish and Italian Americans weren't even CONSIDERED WHITE for decades b/f their assimilati­on---that'­s a fact.

To "redefine and reshape the majority culture" is a good thing, but class conscious and historically conscious "whites" have a role to play too. F@!K this "white" crap---I'm an Irish Italian American, but even before that, I'm a world citizen and a human being.

[tsicby]

Very 60's. Very divisive. Ok now, people "of color" on this side of the room and people without color...mm­m...please leave, its our culture now.

Here's a hint, when you hear someone use the term "people of color" you know their anti-caucasian.

I just can't imagine what it must be like to live life with grudges like that. Must really suck.

[Nommo]

You can't imagine it, but you can comment on it.
I think that you need to make up your mind.
There used to be signs that directed on to this door or that, this fountain or that, depending upon one's color. That world, I suppose, would have been far less confusing to you.

[detriangulation]

Nommo, I also disagree with the assertion that those who use the term "people of color" are somehow consciously "anti-caucasian." But as I posted earlier, the term is essentially a misnomer. So-called "whites" are actually pinkish, which happens to be a color! "People of color" denotes the victims of a white supremacist history that pigoenholed non-Europeans, pejoratively ( as in "colored people" etc.), into these false "race" catagories (black, white, red, etc.) in the first place. The historical greivances of racially subjugated peoples are no doubt completely justified (as is the anti-racist solidarity that the term "people of color" connotes), but it's important that this "grudge" be directed in the right direction---against the mostly white male Western political and economic ELITE, certainly not "whites" in general.

So I think the term "people of color" is problematic because it tends to focus upon and perpetuate these false racial catagories that were socially constructed by European imperialism, by design, as a wedge to divide and conquer the masses in the first place. Besides, the opposite of "people of color" would seem to have a negative, "soul-sucked", deluded or "grafted" connotation. What does that make peeps like me? "People without color"? "Colorless people"? "People of monochrome"? I'm not nearly that dull! We all share the same genes, we all trace our origin to Africa, we're all people of color on the inside (sceintifically speaking, because basing things on our outward appearance and our epidermises, as has been done for centuries, is pure pseudo-science).

[SeanGardner]

Very good post.

[HC]

I feel SO conflicted even reading any of these postings that are all about multiracial politics. Just the way it's all couched does smack of "collaborate to get back at whitey".

You know why people should get along politically? And when I say people I mean all people --- Because most of us are either married to someone else or have someone in our family who is married to someone else or have children who may not share our genetic line. In other words there is no such thing as the other since the other is US.

[nihilon x]

Good article.

Time heals all wounds, as they say.

[1849]

Is this a generational problem? As a post-civil rights adult, I can see the benefit of working with latinos and asian americans.

[LoRiseAntlers]

As a Native American,I can only say I find you to be as racist as it gets.Your posts are nothing but attacks against whites,couched in terms of racial harmony.