Best Asian American Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings Page 2

“There were aspects of their lives that felt familiar. Their parents were busy working as many jobs as they could, and whatever connection they maintained to the past had more to do with household tradition than politics. Words like 'genocide' and 'trauma' were forbidden. ...To me, Asian American was a messy, arbitrary category, but one that was produced by a collective struggle. It was a category capacious enough for all of our hopes and energies. There were similarities that cut across nationality and. class: the uncommunicative parents, the cultural significance of food, the fact that we all took our shoes off at home.”

Community Identity Immigration Asian American First Generation Assimilation Nondualism

Book:Stay True

Source: Stay True

“Jiang whistled. 'Well, that's not a prison.' 'It's worse,' Rin said. 'That's a church.”

Church Prison Asian Asian American Triumphalism Cultural Assimilation

Book:The Burning God

Source: The Burning God

“My interest has always been in the place where sex and race are both obscenely conspicuous and yet consciously suppressed, largely because of the liminal place that the Asian man occupies in the midst of it: an “honorary white” person who will always be denied the full perquisites of whiteness; an entitled man who will never quite be regarded or treated as a man; a nominal minority whose claim to be a “person of color” deserving of the special regard reserved for victims is taken seriously by no one. In an age characterised by the politics of resentment, the Asian man knows something of the resentment of the embattled white man besieged on all sides by grievances and demands for reparation, and something of the resentments of the rising social justice warrior, who feels with every fibre of their being that all that stands in the way of the attainment of their thwarted ambitions is nothing so much as a white man. Tasting of the frustrations of both, he is denied the entitlements of either.”

Race Asian Asian American Race In America

Book:The Souls of Yellow Folk: Essays

Source: The Souls of Yellow Folk: Essays

“[…] as the bearer of an Asian face in America, you paid some incremental penalty, never absolute, but always omnipresent, that meant that you were by default unlovable and unloved; that you were presumptively a nobody, a mute and servile figure, distinguishable above all by your total incapacity to threaten anyone; that you were many laudable things that the world might respect and reward, but that you were fundamentally powerless to affect anyone in a way that would make you either loved or feared. What was the epistemological status of such an extravagant assertion? Could it possibly be true? Could it survive empirical scrutiny? It was a dogmatic statement at once unprovable and unfalsifiable. It was a paranoid statement about the way others regarded you that couldn’t possibly be true in any literal sense. It had no real truth value, except that under certain conditions, one felt it with every fibre of one’s being to be true.”

Race Asian Asian American Race In America

Book:The Souls of Yellow Folk: Essays

Source: The Souls of Yellow Folk: Essays

“Things to know about me: I'm half English, half Taiwanese, and no, I don't know karate. I'm definitely not good at math and I don't know how to spell your name in Chinese.”

Math Chinese Karate Asian American Taiwanese

Book:Death by Dumpling

Source: Death by Dumpling

“Try being an indie author, a minority author, a woman, and a person with health issues in the world of traditional - that's where you are clearly 'different' and marginalized. I am all of that, yet I am still here and smiling. Life is good!”

Writing Different Women Author Publishing Asian American Minority Indie Women Of Color Ya Fiction Author

Author:Kailin Gow

“Only on a few occasions had I ever been comfortable showing my body off, and now here I was, taking a job where Asian boobs and ass ran free.”

Chinese Body Image Erotica Asian American Chinese Literature Nightclub

Book:The Red Lantern Scandals

Source: The Red Lantern Scandals

“Unassimilability is a proposition to refuse to belong here altogether, together.”

America Activism Resistance Asian American Anti Racism Anti Colonialism Asian Diaspora Anti Genocide

Author:Biana Mabute-Louis

“Unlike Americans, who value egalitarian relationships, the Chinese recognize the hierarchical nature of relationships that have uneven power dynamics. Since it is easy for those with power to become paternalistic or patronizing when they serve others, we must learn Christ's humility and self-emptying. As we fill our different roles, we need to fulfill our responsibilities with love and a humbleness to serve. This Chinese understanding of humility serves as a helpful counterbalance to American approaches to urban ministry and development. As guests in any community, we need to approach our neighbors empty of expectations and plans. Instead, we must become reliant on the people of peace whom God sends out. When doing ministry, our joy and strength cannot be based on our own success or power. We receive these gifts only when being guests of the King and recognizing our limitations while in exile.”

Faith Christianity Activism Asian American

Book:At Home In Exile: Finding Jesus among My Ancestors and Refugee Neighbors

Source: At Home In Exile: Finding Jesus among My Ancestors and Refugee Neighbors

“It was hard for me to do the show (All-American Girl) because a lot of people didn't even understand the concept of Asian-American. I was on a morning show and the host said, "Awright, Margaret, we're changing over to an ABC affiliate! So why don't you tell our viewers in your native language that we're making that transition?" So I looked at the camera and said, "Um, they're changing over to an ABC affiliate."”

People Said Hard Shows Girl Language Morning Concepts Cameras Native Transition Host Viewers Asian Asian American Native Language

Author:Margaret Cho

“Jeremy Lin is the only Asian American in the NBA today and one of the few in any professional U.S. sport. His arrival is surely leading other talented Asian American athletes this week to contemplate a pro career.”

Today Sports Careers Week Athlete Nba Contemplating Asian Arrivals Asian American

Author:Eric Liu

“I was grateful to see President Obama's victory speech. I was over the moon to see the audience. There were about 60 percent white voters the other 40 percent were African Americans, Asian, Spanish speaking etc. I wept at that spectacle, it told me that the pundits that continue in our country to try to polarize us, to keep us apart, are not succeeding. Americans are waking up not only to the truth, but the truth in each other. Hallelujah!”

“Hawaiis own Patsy Mink served as the first congresswoman of color and first Asian American woman in the House; she later sought the Democratic Party presidential nomination.”

Firsts House Party Color Democratic Presidential Hawaii Asian Democratic Party Nominations American Woman Asian American Mink

Author:Colleen Hanabusa

“There have been, in recent years, many Asian American pioneers in the public eye who've defied the condescendingly complimentary 'model minority' stereotype: actors like Lucy Liu, artists like Maya Lin, moguls like Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. They are known, often admired.”

Years Has Beens Eye Artist Actors Known Models Minorities Ceo Stereotype Asian Pioneers Lucy Public Eye Asian American Moguls

Author:Eric Liu

“The next Republican that will win will campaign in the Latino community, will campaign amongst Asian-Americans, will campaign in the black churches, will campaign in college campuses.”

Next Winning Black Community Church College Republican Campaigns Asian Latino Campus Asian American College Campus Black Church

Author:Jeb Bush

“It is imperative that young white men and women study the black American history. It is imperative that blacks and whites study the Asian American history.”

Men Young Black White Study Men And Women American History White Man Asian Imperatives Asian American

Author:Maya Angelou

“I think we have to really focus on the issues much more than we may have in the past. I think we have to seek to create coalitional strategies that go beyond racial lines. We need to bring black communities, Chicano communities, Puerto Rican communities, Asian American communities together.”

Thinking Needs May Together Past Black Community Lines Issues Focus Strategy Asian Asian American Black Community

Author:Angela Davis

“People take pride in being Irish-American and Italian-American. They have a particular culture that infuses the whole culture and makes it richer and more interesting. I think if we can expand that attitude to embrace African-Americans and Latino-Americans and Asian-Americans, then we will be in a position where all our kids can feel comfortable with the worlds they are coming out of, knowing they are part of something larger.”

“You don't get respect for being an Asian-American basketball player in the U.S.”

Player Basketball Asian Basketball Player Asian American

Author:Jeremy Lin

“As an Asian American at pilot season you take whatever there is.”

Seasons Pilots Asian Asian American

Author:Reggie Lee

“To be honest, at that point, just being so fresh to L.A., I was in the mind-set of just getting work, at all costs. But, if you take a step back from it, it's just such a blessing to be able to play somebody like Glenn. Me being Asian American, it's nice to have something to play that's not so very stereotypical. It's also nice to have somebody that I identify with.”

Ifs Mind Play Able Steps Nice Honest Blessing Cost Being Honest Just Being Asian Mind Set Asian American

Author:Steven Yeun

“Once there are more African Americans and Asian Americans behind the scenes as producers, writers, and directors, I think more inclusive casting will happen.”

Thinking Happens Behinds Scene Directors Producers African American Casting Asian Behind The Scenes Asian American

Author:Nicole Ari Parker

“Americans are fickle. And what constitutes the enemy is always changing. Believe it or not, at one time Blacks were the favored model minority over Asian Americans.”

Believe Enemy Models Minorities One Time Asian Fickle Asian American

Author:Ishmael Reed

“I reached the age of 70, because I have cultivated an association of multicultural intellectuals who are informed and alert to whatever "tricknology" that's laid on us by the powers that be. These include White ethnic intellectuals- people who know their roots- as well as Native American, Asian American, Hispanic and Black intellectuals. These are thirty, forty-year associations with some of the best minds around. Minds that are ignored by the media.”

People Knows Years Mind Wells Age Black White Media Roots Thirty Native Forty Association Native American Ignored Asian Hispanic Multicultural Asian American

Author:Ishmael Reed

“Kusewera, an organization that fosters orphanages in Africa and the Philippines and encourages through creative play and education. Anything and everything that supports cancer research. East West Players, the oldest and biggest Asian American theater in the U.S.”

Play Support Creative Player Research Organization Theater West Cancer East Asian Philippines Asian American Orphanage Anything And Everything Cancer Research

Author:Reggie Lee

“Our film [Hide and seek ]was created as part of the Asian American Film Lab's 11th 72 Hour Film Shootout filmmaking competition, where filmmaking teams have just 72 hours to conceive, write, shoot, edit and submit a film based on a common theme. The winners were announced during the 38th Asian American International Film Festival in New York last July. The theme for 2015 was 'Two Faces' and was part of a larger more general theme of 'Beauty'.”

“It's interesting for myself, growing up as an Asian-American filmmaker. Coming into the industry, my parents always said, "No one's going to give you the opportunity. You just have to do the work. Be better than everyone else, so they can't deny it."”

Giving Said Opportunity Parent Interesting Growing Up Growing Industry Deny Filmmaker Asian Asian American

Author:Daniel Radcliffe

“I am honored to have Ajamu Baraka as a running mate. I think he brings enormous credibility in the disenfranchised communities, not just African American but Latino, Asian American and Native American. He is a recognized advocate for racial justice, economic justice and human rights, and I think this conversation is only just begun. It is very important.”

“Some Asian American male scholars have claimed this muse to be Guong Goong, God of Literature, and, simultaneously, although not coincidentally or triflingly, God of War, but I did not have such a gendered muse in mind then.”

Mind War Literature Males Scholar Muse Asian Asian American God Of War

Author:Shirley Geok-lin Lim

“Is there deeply embedded change within our industry? And I would say, as a black filmmaker, it's easy for me to focus my attention on black work, but true change would include brown work, and it would include work by Asian-Americans, and it would include natives, and it would include women, and it would include more LGBTQ voices.”

Easy Black Voice Attention Focus Industry Filmmaker Brown Asian Embedded Asian American

Author:Ava DuVernay

“Asian American men, Asian men have been basically eunuchs in American cinema and television.”

Men Has Beens Television Cinema Asian Asian American Eunuchs

Author:John Cho

“So how do Latinos feel if there's a big investment just in the African American community, and they're looking around and saying, "We're poor as well. What kind of help are we getting?" Or Asian Americans who say, "Look, I'm a first-generation immigrant, and clearly I didn't have anything to do with what was taking place."”

Ifs Feels Firsts Wells Looks Kind Helping Bigs Community Poor Generations Investment African American Immigrants Asian Latino Asian American

Author:Barack Obama

“The strike and its outcome had an enormous impact on the system of education and on our lives as well. The strike began as a response to the college's refusal to hire Professor Nathan Hare [the so-called father of black studies], and certainly unified the college around issues of justice. These issues were reflected in many communities: the Asian American community, Hispanic community, Native American community.”

“As an Asian American, I'm aware of how stereotypes can be very destructive. We've been defined by the drag queens. And yes, they exist. But we've been defined as irresponsible, flamboyant, loud, and garish. I think what we need to do - and what we haven't done as aggressively as we should have - is to depict the vast diversity of the GLBT community.”

Thinking Needs Should Done Community Havens Diversity Should Have Defined Loud Queens Destructive Drag Stereotype Asian Irresponsible Asian American Flamboyant Drag Queen Glbt

Author:George Takei

“There's the complex categorization of low warmth/high competence. This is the hostile stereotype of Asian Americans by white America, of Jews in Europe, of Indo-Pakistanis in East Africa, of Lebanese in West Africa, of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia, and of the rich by the poor most everywhere. It's the same low-high derogation: They're cold, greedy, clannish - -but, dang, they're sure good at making money and you should go to one who is a doctor if you're seriously sick.”

“I started asking friends, my white friends around, I said, "What's something that you think all Asians have in common?" They almost always immediately said, "Slanted eyes." I thought that's really interesting. No. 1, it simply isn't true. Not all Asian Americans have slanted eyes, and of course, Asians aren't the only ethnic identities to have them. No. 2, we could talk about our slant on life and what it's like to be people of color, while at the same time, using this outdated and obscure racial slur, and turning it on its head.”

People Thinking Said Eye Courses White Interesting Common Identity Color Asking Obscure Asian Really Interesting Outdated Asian American Slurs Ethnic Identity

Author:Simon Tam

“Today, we have come a distance. We have made a lot of progress. That cannot be denied. You cannot dispute the fact that our country is so different from 50 years ago. But we still have problems. There are too many people that have been left out and left behind, and they are African American, they are White, Latino, Asian American, and Native American.”

“The Vietnam War was taking place, which was raising all sorts of questions in the United States, and it was forcing Asian-Americans to stop thinking of themselves as model minorities and to identify themselves more with world revolution, which was very important in my development.”

Thinking World Important War States United United States Revolution Development Models Minorities Vietnam Asian Vietnam War Asian American

Author:Grace Lee Boggs

“I think we have to get beyond the idea that we have to categorize people. We can now have action movies with two stars where one might be African American and one might be Asian American. One of them doesn't have to be white, and the other one doesn't have to be the ethnic sidekick. We're way over that. And I think it's happening in society, too.”

People Thinking Way Two Ideas Might Action Stars White Happenings African American Asian Action Movie Asian American Sidekicks

Author:Roger Ebert

“I happen to be one of those lucky people who says that she's a working actor. And to always be working is very fulfilling and I'm just lucky because the opportunities just came up. And as an Asian American female actor, the opportunities have been furthering, have been widening all across the years. And I can say that there are many young people who see that the opportunities are expanding, as well as you can make it yourself.”

People Opportunity Lucky Female Fulfilling Asian American

Author:Tamlyn Tomita

“Coming out of college into the draft, being Asian-American and being from Harvard, that's not going to be an advantage because of stereotypes.”

College Advantage Coming Out Stereotype Asian Harvard Asian American

Author:Jeremy Lin

“I want to be a representative and be a role model for the Asian American community.”

Want Community Roles Models Role Models Representatives Asian Asian American

Author:Jeremy Lin

“A lot of my students are Asian-American, and it has been thrilling to watch them break through the stereotypes into something alive and surprising.”

Has Beens Watches Break Alive Students Surprising Stereotype Asian Thrilling Break Through Asian American

Author:Robert Morgan

“We cannot educate white women and take them by the hand. Most of us are willing to help but we can't do the white woman's homework for her. That's an energy drain. More times than she cares to remember, Nellie Wong, Asian American feminist writer, has been called by white women wanting a list of Asian American women who can give readings or workshops. We are in danger of being reduced to purveyors of resource lists.”

“As a Chinese American legislator, I applaud the RNC's Growth and Opportunity Project. Engaging Asian American and Pacific Islander communities about Republican principles is a worthwhile effort. I thank Chairman Priebus and Co-Chairman Day for making this a priority. We need to ensure our message of growth and opportunity is being heard in all communities throughout this nation, and I am proud to be a part of this effort.”

“There is no way that we know what is going on between the African American and the Asian American. We don't understand what an Indigenous American is. We don't understand what a Latino American is”

Knows Way African American Asian Indigenous Latino Asian American

Author:Edward James Olmos

“I bring quadruple diversity to the Senate: I'm a woman; I'll be the first Asian woman ever to be elected to the U.S. Senate; I am an immigrant; I am a Buddhist. When I said this at one of my gatherings, they said, 'Yes, but are you gay?' and I said, 'Nobody's perfect.'”

“As a first-generation "Asian American woman," for one thing, I knew there was no such thing as an "Asian American woman." Within this homogenizing labeling of an exotica, I knew there were entire racial/national/cultural/sexual-preferenced groups, many of whom find each other as alien as mainstream America apparently finds me.”

Firsts America Justice Generations One Thing Groups Social Justice Aliens Mainstream Asian Find Me American Woman Labeling Asian American

Author:Shirley Geok-lin Lim

“OK, it was black, it was below grade, I was female, Asian American, young, too young to have served. Yet I think none of the opposition in that sense hurt me.”

Thinking Young Artist Black Hurt Female Grades Opposition Asian Hurt Me Hurt Feelings Asian American

Author:Maya Lin

“Within the model minority rhetoric, Asian Americans are represented as “good” minorities and African Americans are represented as “bad” minorities. Here, the achievements of Asian Americans are used to discipline African Americans. As model minorities, Asian Americans achieved the status of “honorary Whites”. Again it is important to point out that the honorary whiteness of Asian Americans was granted at the expense of Blacks. It is also significant that as “honorary Whites,” Asian Americans do not have the actual privileges associated with “real” whiteness.”

Important Real Used Discipline Achievement Models Privilege Significant Granted African American Minorities Expenses Rhetoric Asian Whiteness Asian American Honorary

Author:Jennifer Lee

Asian American Quotes

Related topics

Asian American Quotes