Comments on: Yellow by Frank Wu: A Snapshot

By: Top 10 Books Read in 2016 | Reading and Gaming for Justice

Top 10 Books Read in 2016 | Reading and Gaming for Justice — Mon, 26 Dec 2016 17:40:31 +0000

[…] #8 – Yellow by Frank Wu I read a couple of academic books every year mostly focusing on identity, social justice, and/or higher education. This year, I read Yellow, a book all about race in America outside of the Black-White paradigm. Mainly, Frank Wu explores where Asian Pacific Islander folks fit in the race conversation. A very dense read, but one I would recommend for anyone who wants to explore constructs of racism in the United States. I did not fully review this book but I wrote down some of my thoughts here. […]

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By: Glaiza

Glaiza — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 14:13:22 +0000

Yeah, both the micro-level and the more overt stuff catches me offguard and makes it hard to ask those questions too. No problem!

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By: Brendon

Brendon — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 17:50:24 +0000

Sometimes I find it so hard to ask questions when I feel triggered! it is something I definitely need to work on 🙂

Thank you for the link and suggestion! It looks great and I’m excited to dive in!

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By: Brendon

Brendon — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 17:48:45 +0000

Thank you for stopping by and sharing your experience! I definitely see what you have described with your community in my professional work around race -> Jewish communities lumped in with Whtie communities, culture lumped in with race. And for me, culture adds a whole other layer to the conversation of anti-racism work. The Jewish community has suffered horrible atrocities and oppression globally based on ethnicity and beliefs (including in the US), but in the US race conversation holds privilege in Whiteness. I am all about coalition building and not just between minoritized communities, to deconstruct privilege and share experiences. I think you make an excellent point:

“it’s still a shame we can’t bond together more. It’s important for diverse groups of people, of all background, to bond together and share their life experiences.”

And I absolutely agree creating these relationships will start breaking down boundaries put into place by racism. I think some communities of color are resistant to coalitions because of all the hurt piled up by White supremacy. I see the same reason on why the API community is so disjointed with the model minority myth.

I want to thank you for sharing and providing a lot for insight. I think you bring up great points on intersectionality and how it matters in conversations about social justice.

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By: Brendon

Brendon — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 17:16:47 +0000

Thank you for stopping by! This was definitely a book that required my commitment and processing power.

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By: Jackie B @ Death by Tsundoku

Jackie B @ Death by Tsundoku — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 16:54:29 +0000

I completely understand what you mean about the disconnect between diverse communities. Particularly in America, I feel like our history has taught us that we all need to look out for our own, or we will get burned. I am ethnically white, but religiously and culturally a Jew. It’s been a challenge to get other diverse groups of people to meet and build relationships with my community. They see us as part of the problem, not as another diverse group of people to share experiences with. While Jews aren’t as publically abused as other ethnicities, it’s still a shame we can’t bond together more. It’s important for diverse groups of people, of all background, to bond together and share their life experiences. If only we could fear each other less…
This sounds like a really insightful book! I can’t wait to hear about your experience reading Asian Americans in Higher Education.

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By: Resh Susan @ The Book Satchel

Resh Susan @ The Book Satchel — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 15:47:14 +0000

Great review. This sounds like a very serious book to be read with full attention. I enjoyed the gist of it. But perhaps it isnt a book for me right now.

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By: Glaiza

Glaiza — Sun, 18 Sep 2016 00:42:37 +0000

I’m so glad that this book really resonated with your current thoughts. I agree that discussing micro-aggressions and exploring how they can be unpacked by simply asking why is so important. Many of my friends pose that question either during those encounters and/or afterwards, upon reflection on social media. It seems like the American API experience is quite diverse and distinct but also shares come common experiences with the Australian API community. I have Filipino heritage and occasionally read Peril – an online magazine about uplifting creative and critical Asian-Australian voices, which I thought might be of interest: http://peril.com.au/

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By: Brendon

Brendon — Sat, 17 Sep 2016 14:41:29 +0000

Wu does address the myth in an entire chapter and how ‘success’ for Asian communities under the myth is a failure for race relations. For lighter academic reading on the myth I would recommend articles by Sam Museus. I believe you can find some of his writings on Google Scholar for free.

I hope to read and give thoughts on another academic book this year: Asian Americans in Higher Education, which should address the myth as it pertains to Asians in the university.

Thank you for stopping by and commenting 🙂

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By: Brendon

Brendon — Sat, 17 Sep 2016 14:25:57 +0000

Thank you for stopping by! I want to try to find a book less academic than Yellow, but still confronting the same issues of race outside the black-white binary and where the API community fits. I think it could make an engaging fictional story!

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