Asian American Is Not a Color by Oiyan A Poon

Asian American Is Not a Color by Oiyan A Poon

A mother and race scholar seeks to answer her daughter's many questions about race and racism with an earnest exploration into race relations and affirmative action from the perspectives of Asian Americans

Before being struck down by the US Supreme Court in June 2023, affirmative action remained one of the few remaining policy tools to address racial inequalities, revealing peculiar contours of racism and anti-racist strategies in America. Through personal reflective essays for and about her daughter, OiYan Poon looks at how the debate over affirmative action reveals the divergent ways Asian Americans conceive of their identity. With moving sincerity and insightful study, Poon combines extensive research with personal narratives from both herself and a diverse swath of individuals across the Asian American community to reflect on and respond to her daughter's central question- What does it mean to be Asian American?

Poon conducts interviews with Asian Americans throughout the US who have been actively engaged in policy debates over race-conscious admissions or affirmative action. Through these exchanges, she finds that Asian American identity remains deeply unsettled in a contest between those invested in reaching the top of the racial hierarchy alongside whiteness and those working toward a vision of justice and humanity co-constructed through cross-racial solidarity.

Poon uses these contrasting viewpoints to guide her conversations with her daughter, providing a heartfelt and optimistic look at how understanding the diversity and nuances of the Asian American experience can help us envision a more equitable future.

Poon, Oiyan A.: - OiYan A. Poon is an assistant professor of Higher Education Leadership at Colorado State University. A nationally recognized scholar on the racial politics of college access, affirmative action, and Asian Americans, OiYan received a 2014 Emerging Scholar award from the American College Personnel Association and was a featured keynote speaker at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education in 2013. Dr. Poon currently serves on the editorial board for the Journal of College Student Development, Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity, and as a reviewer for the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Amerasia Journal, and the Journal of Asian American Studies.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780807016589
ISBN 10	0807016586
Title	Asian American Is Not a Color
Author	Oiyan A Poon
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Beacon Press
Year published	2025-04-29
Number of pages	232
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.