Interracial Politics: Asian Americans and Other Communities of Color

Abstract

The Los Angeles rebellion of 1992 was a flashpoint in which the struggles of blacks, Latinos, and Asian Americans converged with explosive consequences. Dubbed the nation's first “multiracial” riot, it drove home the point that racial dynamics in the United States cannot be understood through a simple black–white framework. The events in L.A. were only the most dramatic example of interminority conflicts that have emerged in many American cities during the post-1965 era, as economic restructuring and immigration have brought racial/ethnic groups into more extensive contact with one another, reshaping their identities and relationships and creating new pressure points for conflict. Rapid economic and demographic change has also opened up new possibilities for coalition and cooperation among racial/ethnic groups, from electoral politics to grassroots community activism. Asian Americans, often depicted as an “interstitial” group and a potential “swing vote,” have played and will continue to play a key role in interracial conflicts and coalitions in American politics.Although we focus on the post-1965 period in this article, conflict and cooperation between Asian Americans and other communities of color date back into the 1800s.

Inclusive victim consciousness predicts minority group members’ support for refugees and immigrants

“…A well‐known example of minority‐minority tensions in the United States are the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, during which there was violent conflict between African Americans and Korean Americans as well as Latinos (Bergesen & Herman, ). Other cases have included conflict over resources, such as housing and employment; over symbolic issues such as language; or over the perceived lack of support among other minorities for affirmative action or immigration laws (Kim & Lee, ; Rodríguez, ).…”

Negational racial identity and presidential voting preferences

“…This pattern reflects a long standing divide among minority racial groups in the United States-instead of combining strengths, various minority groups often view each other as a source of competition over social and political resources, weakening the political power of minorities relative to the White majority (e.g., Meier & Stewart, 1991;Kim and Lee, 2001).…”

“…Similarly, Asian-Americans are often seen by other minority races as ''unscrupulous, crafty, and devious in business" (National Conference of Christians and Jews, 1994). Lacking positive attitudes toward each other, Asians, Blacks, and Latinos in the United States often compete over material and political resources, preventing them from formally and informally building coalitions (e.g., Meier & Stewart, 1991;Kim & Lee, 2001). In fact, in one survey both Blacks and Latinos felt closer to Whites than to each other (Dyer, Vedlitz, & Worchel, 1989).…”

Perceptual Knots and Black Identity Politics: Linked Fate, American Heritage, and Support for Trump Era Immigration Policy

“…Still, the belief that coalitions would be the norm of minority politics has been called into question by scholars who found coalition to be contextual rather than a mainstay of inter-minority political organizing [8,10,11]. In circumstances where one group is the majority, coalitions are less attractive and less likely to occur because there is no incentive to join [12].…”