New book narrates lessons for organizing across borders and generations

‘Contemporary Asian American Activism: Building Movements for Liberation’

Asian American activism has a long, impactful history in the United States. The Asian American Movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s fought against racism and war, and for labor rights. But this kind of organizing continues today, speaking to current issues while trying to build a more just future.

Scholars Diane C. Fujino and Robyn Magalit Rodriguez chronicle current Asian American activism and its many victories and challenges in Contemporary Asian American Activism: Building Movements for Liberation. The book narrates the lived experiences of organizers and activists to highlight their work across diverse issues like mass incarceration in the United States and the global fight for democracy. Rodriguez and Fujino’s work highlights how knowledge and experience is transmitted between generations as the many of their subjects continue to work for transformative justice.

Diane C. Fujino is a professor of Asian American Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara. She is the Faculty Equity Advisory and Associate Dean in the Division of Social Sciences and co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Asian American Studies. Fujino also sits on the advisory board of Kalfou: A Journal of Comparative and Relational Ethnic Studies and the Journal of Civil and Human Rights. Her work focuses on the history of Japanese and Asian American activism within the Asian American Radical Tradition.

Robyn Magalit Rodriguez is a professor of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Davis. She writes about Filipino and Asian American issues, with a recent focus on Asian American activism. She has also published work about global migration and overseas Filipino workers. Rodriguez is the founding director of the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies. In 2021, she was awarded the Excellence in Mentoring Award by the Association for Asian American Studies.

This talk was presented on January 18th, 2022 by Town Hall Seattle.