Mobilizing a Pan-ethnic Community: Analyzing the Difference Between Pan-ethnic and Co-ethnic Mobilization in the Pan-Asian Community

Abstract

Asian Americans have become the fastest-growing racial group in the United States. With more than 20 million Asians living in the United States, almost all Asian Americans trace their roots to at least nineteen countries in Asia. While Asian Americans today differ significantly by income, education, and political ideology, the history of the term "Asian American" dates back to the mid-1800s, when the first wave of Asian immigrants arrived at American shores (Maeda, 2016). This work focuses on the efficacy of pan-ethnic and co-ethnic mobilization for the large Asian American community. Specifically, it is an analysis of the mobilization efforts of two pan-ethnic organizations, Asian Americans United (AAU) and the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance (APIPA), and one Vietnamese-focused co-ethnic organization, VietLead. For AAU and APIPA, while their mobilization strategies may differ from each other, they are working to create a pan-ethnic group consciousness that they can use to encourage Asian Americans to participate in the political system. For VietLead, the organization's Vietnamese leaders are forming personal and intimate relationships with members of the Vietnamese community, creating a group consciousness specific to their interests and history that can be used in mainstream politics.This empirical research was aided by the use of virtual interviews with leaders of each group and survey responses from volunteers and ordinary Asian Americans who have contact with the organization's leaders.