Returning to Yellow Peril During Times of Panic and the Importance of Building Solidarity Beyond the Contemporary
Reflection on the 1992 L.A. Riots by Minnie Jung (Cornell ‘20)
Disrupting hegemonic norms is not easy work. It is not paid, nor accredited work. But it is necessary work, and we must be ready to take on the responsibility for ourselves for a change.
Asians in America embody a long history of exclusion and vulnerability. Carrying the legacies of Yellow Peril, a racist ideology that paints East Asians as a threat to the Western world, Asian Americans today are a scapegoat for the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the U.S and globally. The current public health crisis, along with histories of anti-immigration in America, can be explained as a crisis of capital, not a crisis of race — but the latter is being supported by powerful voices in our country, excusing violent behavior and misinforming many Americans nationwide. Having been forced into upholding the model minority myth, which is the perception of universal success among the Asian American demographic, for nearly fifteen decades, our community is now being stripped of this “privilege” and reverted back to a perilous group who is undeserving of resources, protection, or citizenship from a country we call home.
We can see clearly, now more than ever, the fluctuation between these two frameworks of identity based on the climate of politics — Asians in America are used as the model minority when useful to disparage black and brown communities, and as Yellow Peril during times of panic or insecurity. During the 1992 L.A. Riots, anti-black brutality created tumultuous racial violence that spilled over into Koreatown. The riots were an expression of black frustration, after the brutal beating of Rodney King by majority white police officials and their acquittal of the violence. Consequently, police enforcement refused to respond to calls in areas of dense rioting, located within the most under-resourced areas of Los Angeles, leaving Koreatown defenseless and needing to mobilize unexpectedly and unprepared. Yellow Peril has dubbed Asian Americans as another threat to white America once again. Police and government aid failed to be present forces of protection, while allowing the rest of the country to watch the poorest parts of L.A. burn and shatter, and frame the riots as a result of racial tension between Asian and black communities.
The riots mark the first time Korean-Americans mobilized in order to protect themselves, businesses, and families against the consequences of white power and anti-black racist attacks that have harmed black communities in devastating ways. The L.A. Riots prompted the emergence of a unified Korean American identity, forming around the need to protect one another, and the common struggle of feeling like a “human shield” or “buffer” between racial groups in America. In hindsight, this history allows us to reflect on instances where America has justified violence based in anti-Other rhetoric, and sobers a vision of white hegemony as dangerous. Ultimately, the riots serve as a critical historic example of how important it is for minoritized groups to talk to each other, stay bound together, stay informed, and understand and support each other.
Within the wake of COVID-19, contemporary racial justice cannot only resist anti-Asian racism, but must also work protect others who face systemic and social discrimination as a result of their identities. Other people of color, LGBTQ+, poor, disabled, aged, etc. communities within this discourse exist, yet continue to remain invisible or Othered even during moments/movements of “solidarity.” Yes, internalized racism is a problem that we must confront and unpack in order to help ourselves and others. Yes, we must address the tensions within the Asian American community in order to make cohesive and productive responses for all of our well-beings. Yes, we must voice our needs to our government and fight for our rights, but we must also address how the work we do can also uplift those who have been living this long before the pandemic outbreak, and are more likely to continue living with its consequences long after. For people who are unhoused, incarcerated, undocumented, detained, separated, and poor, for example, liberation from racism and injustice is only temporary. We need to make sure that when we are fighting for racial justice, that we are fighting for all of us.
Our community also needs to acknowledge the benefits we have succeeded from black and brown movements, and learn how to practice solidarity, even beyond this moment. Asian Americans are at the forefront of movement work, both on the ground and online, against racism and violence as a result of COVID-19. However, in addition, we need to be aware of how the consequences of this outbreak is not only affecting our safety, but also how our black and brown allies are being disproportionately harmed as a result of systemic inequality and value hierarchy. In her book Unapologetic, Charlene Carruthers says that being in movement work has “taught [her] how to take information, put it in context, and produce [her] own knowledge to understand current conditions and to create a vision for the future,” and that “[our] generation has a responsibility to carry [justice work and] the struggle for liberation forward” and “[show] up for all oppressed people.” Disrupting hegemonic norms is not easy work. It is not paid, nor accredited work. But it is necessary work, and we must be ready to take on the responsibility for ourselves for a change.
There are valuable lessons that can be learned from activist leaders who helped lead the Asian American movement, and whose voices continue to guide our communities today — through the people in our lives who show strength and empathy, clubs and programs on college campuses that are doing incredible work in advocating and knowledge-building, and organizations like the Korean American Grassroots Conference and
East Coast Asian American Student Union, and many others, who have made it possible for young Asian Americans, like myself, to find connection with culture and community, learn from ourselves and each other, deepen our capacities for understanding, and learn the tools to mobilize in order to continue making the changes we need for our communities.
These people continue to push forward our movement by encouraging us all to be brave and reminding us to reflect on why we are here today, and why we do the work we do. We learn from Yuri Kochiyama that our histories are what frame the struggles of our communities, and that we are the embodiment of how our communities can “pass on the spirit” of the movement. For Asian Americans, our bodies have been seen as unbelonging, cultures as exotic, actions as greedy, and motives as perilous. But, movement work never ends, for as long as violence and injustice continue to control the systems that scorch communities of color; and good news is, we are not ready to stop any time soon. Right now is another opportunity for all of us to build something that is bigger than ourselves, and build for it to last longer than now.
Minnie is a senior at Cornell University, where she will be graduating this summer with a degree in Development Sociology with a minor in Asian American Studies, Inequality Studies, Anthropology, and Business. Minnie is a member of the 2020 KAGC Student Leadership Committee, through which she helps organize advocacy efforts and discussions on the history of our community, as well as the impact of public policy on our daily lives, a topic on which Minnie will help lead at the 2020 KAGC National Conference. Click here to learn more about KAGC, the largest nationwide network of Korean American voters, and its upcoming 2020 National Conference, for a rare opportunity to share the Korean American identity, discuss the key issues of our community, and get our voices heard, counted, and reflected in public policy.
Read the rest of the series of the reflections on the 1992 L.A. Riots after 28 years, in times of COVID-19:
- “Anti-Blackness, Civil Rights, and Model Minority” by Averi Suk (Columbia ‘22)
- “Learning about My Family through History” by Angela Shin (University of Washington ‘21)
- “Reflections on pre- and post-1992 L.A. Riots” by Joseph Jung (Clark ‘20)
- “28 Years Later: Are we there yet?” by Sungkwan Jang (Program Director, KAGC)
- Interview with K.W. Lee, pioneer Asian American journalist, on the lack of voice for and of our community in 1992 and 2020 (coming up soon)
- Fast Facts on the 1992 L.A. Riots
