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A Critical Analysis of Asian American Involvement in the United States Environmental Justice Movement

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A Critical Analysis of Asian American Involvement in the United States Environmental Justice Movement Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont Pitzer Senior Theses Pitzer Student Scholarship 2020 PRESENT AND PASSIONATE: A Critical Analysis of Asian American Involvement in The United States Environmental Justice Movement Emily M. Ng Pitzer College Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/pitzer_theses Part of the Asian American Studies Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Oral History Commons, Place and Environment Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons, and the Race and Ethnicity Commons Recommended Citation Ng, Emily M., "PRESENT AND PASSIONATE: A Critical Analysis of Asian American Involvement in The United States Environmental Justice Movement" (2020). Pitzer Senior Theses. 106. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/pitzer_theses/106 This Open Access Senior Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Pitzer Student Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pitzer Senior Theses by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PRESENT AND PASSIONATE: A Critical Analysis of Asian American Involvement in The United States Environmental Justice Movement EMILY M. NG IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF A BACHELOR’S OF ARTS DEGREE IN ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND SOCIOLOGY PITZER COLLEGE, CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA MAY 2020 READERS: PROFESSOR AZAMAT JUNISBAI AND PROFESSOR BRINDA SARATHY 1 ABSTRACT Communities of color are disproportionately exposed to toxins and pollution. The environmental justice movement addresses the greater health and environmental risks experienced by minority groups. Although Asian Americans are the fastest growing population in the United States, there is little known about their involvement in the movement. In this thesis, I further observe Asian American involvement in the United States environmental justice movement. By analyzing community case studies, I identify Asian American-specific mobilization challenges and strategies. Interviews with prominent Asian American environmental justice activists reveal activism and collective identity are connected, but vary greatly according to individualized Asian American experiences. Results show Asian Americans stereotypes, as the civically disengaged model minority, are inaccurate and outdated. Asian Americans are currently active in the movement for environmental justice and will continue to become increasingly active as they become more aware of issues in their respective communities. Keywords: Asian Americans, social movements, environmental justice, environmental racism, community mobilization, civic engagement 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express gratitude for my academic advisors and readers, Professor Azamat Junisbai and Brinda Sarathy, without whom I would never have discovered my passion and curiosity to explore this topic. Thank you for being my biggest supporters and motivators. To Professor Susan Phillips and Kathy Yep -- thank you for the long brainstorm sessions. You have challenged and guided me to turn my visions for this thesis into a reality. Thank you friends, family, and mentors for the constant support and encouragement not only throughout this process, but throughout my academic journey. And of course, thank you to those interviewed, Charles Lee, Martha Matsuoka, Scott Chan, Kyle Tsukahira, and Lisa Thong. I am overwhelmed by your accomplishments, commitment, and passion for environmental justice. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2 INTRODUCTION 5 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 8 Asians in America 8 Asian Americans & Social Movements 10 The United States Environmental Justice Movement 14 Asian Americans & the U.S. Environmental Justice Movement 18 CHAPTER 2: METHODS 21 CASE STUDIES 24 CHAPTER 3: LAOTIAN ORGANIZING PROJECT’S MULTILUNGUAL WARNING SYSTEM CAMPAIGN 25 Laotians in Richmond, California 25 Laotian Organizing Project: Multilingual Warning System 27 Mobilizing the Laotian Community 30 CHAPTER 4: REBUILDING VERSAILLES & NEW ORLEANS EAST 34 Vietnamese in Versailles, Louisiana 34 Hurricane Katrina’s Ruins & Rebuilding Efforts 35 Chef Menteur Landfill 39 Mobilizing the Vietnamese Community 42 CHAPTER 5: THE VIETNAMESE NAIL SALON WORKER MOVEMENT 46 Vietnamese American’s Ethnic Niche 47 Occupational Health & Toxicity 48 Mobilizing Nail Salon Workers 53 CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION OF CASE STUDIES 57 INTERVIEWS WITH ASIAN AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ACTIVISTS 61 CHAPTER 7: FIRST WAVE – CHARLES LEE 62 Background & Identity 64 Passion & Interest 67 Asian American Activism 69 CHAPTER 8: SECOND WAVE – MARTHA MATSUOKA 71 Background & Identity 74 4 Passion & Interest 76 Asian American Activism 78 CHAPTER 9: THIRD WAVE – ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER FORWARD MOVEMENT 80 Scott Chan 81 Background & Identity 83 Passion & Interest 86 Asian American Activism 87 Kyle Tsukahira 89 Background & Identity 90 Passion & Interest 92 Asian American Activism 92 Lisa Thong 93 Background & Identity 95 Passion & Interest 97 Asian American Activism 98 CHAPTER 10: DISCUSSION OF INTERVIEWS 99 Identity & Passion 99 Asian American Activism 105 CHAPTER 11: DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION 107 REFERENCES 110 APPENDIX 117 5 INTRODUCTION Asian Americans are currently the fastest growing population. In 2055, they will make up the largest immigrant group in the United States (López, Ruiz, & Patten, 2017). Despite the ever- growing population, Asian Americans are still excluded from a myriad of conversations, which often focus solely on white, Black, and Hispanic populations. In addition to being left out of generalized population research statistics, Asian Americans are forgotten in efforts led by other communities of color. In this thesis I will address the lack of discussion of Asian American involvement in the United States environmental justice movement. Using multi-method qualitative research, I will address the following research question: “What does Asian American participation look like in the U.S. environmental justice movement?” In answering this question I hope to diversify narratives of environmental leaders, bring visibility to existing Asian American environmental justice activists, and understand social movement participation patterns of this racial group. Systemic racism portrays minorities as expendable bodies compared to those of white affluent individuals. Communities of color are placed on the frontlines, in polluted, toxic, and dangerous conditions. The environmental justice movement aims to address the disproportional environmental burdens faced by communities of color. While large organizing efforts have been led by Black and Hispanic communities, Asian American involvement has not been equally discussed. Asian Americans are sometimes overlooked as identifying as a community of color. Arguments suggest Asian Americans should not be considered a minority because they do not face the same systemic barriers of other groups. 2012 statistics show that Asian Americans earned the highest national median household income, even outearning whites (Ramakrishnan and Ahmad, 2012, p. 86). Household Asian American income is used as evidence to argue the group is not 6 oppressed, as they even outearn whites. This statistic is not representative of the entire heterogeneous Asian American population, as data from affluent and highly skilled individuals is aggregated with low income, refugee individuals. A small portion of Asian Americans may be privileged, but this is not the case for the entire Asian American group, which includes all South, East, and Southeast Asian ethnicities. The mainstream Asian American narrative focuses on the highly educated and affluent. Stories of Asian American populations facing systemic barriers and hardship are untold, but still exist. Asian Americans are a minority and should be included in the community of color’s fight for environmental justice. As environmental issues continue to worsen, conditions in communities of color will continue to worsen. More environmental justice advocates are needed to address social inequities. It is important to illuminate and further understand the role and contributions of Asian Americans in the environmental justice movement, especially as this demographic group continues to grow. In Chapter 1, I first situate relevant historical events and literature relating to topics of Asian immigration in the United States, Asian American social movements, and the history of the United States environmental justice movement. I begin with a broad discussion of these topics before drawing connections between Asian Americans and the environmental justice movement. A broad research question is posed in this thesis due to the current lack of information on Asian American environmental justice work. In Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 I engage with past community level mobilization efforts by Asian Americans and then go on to discuss successful cases of Asian American environmental justice community organizing. I analyze details from the case studies to provide specific tactics that can be used for future environmental justice organizing in Asian American communities. 7 To understand Asian American involvement on an individual level, Chapters 7, 8, 9, and 10 highlight interviews I conducted with five prominent environmental justice activists from three significant time periods. Interviews reveal various
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