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May is the Asian American Heritage month in the US. I reproduce here a talk I gave 13 years ago with the above title. It still seemed appropriate today.

An Asian American Experience

Talk by Yu-Chi Ho at US Army Corp of Engineers in celebration of the National Asian Pacific Month, May 18, 2000

I mean it when I say that I feel honored and privileged tospeak here today. We academics talk a lot and give lectures all the time. But it is rare to be asked to talk on something which is outside ones' usual areaof expertise.  In this case,  it is  the Asian American Experience. Now Asians represent a very diverse cultural group from Indians, Pakistanis to   Vietnamese/Cambodians,Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, Japanese, and Pacific Islanders. I certainly am not here nor can I speak for all Asian-Americans. However, I have lived continuously in the US since 1950 and have  seen and  experience first hand all the changes that took place in this country in the past half century.  Thus, Iwill speak not about "the" but "an" Asian AmericanExperience.

To put thing in perspective, you must recall the Chinese Exclusion Act which was only abolished in 1943 that forbids   Chinese immigrantsto ever become US citizens or to own properties in America. And we all know what  happened to the Japanese Americans during WWII. Thus, things were very different in the 1950s. It is unthinkable now,  but as recent as in 1955 I accept a job in Detroit but had difficulty finding apartment housing that will rent to me. The immigration quota then for the two most populous countries of the World was 105 per year for  Chinese and 100/yr for  Indians. In 1953, the Refuge Relief Act designed for Cold War refugees  in Europe, deliberately or unwittingly did not specify racial origin for applicants.  Many Asians including me then in the US was able to qualify  and receive the Green card and subsequent citizenship. However, real equality and door opening was achieved by  Senator Kennedy when he sponsored the Immigration Reform Act of  1965 which put all applicants on an equal footing regardless of racial or national origin. Without Kennedy, we will not be enjoying the variety of Asian  restaurants now everywhere in this country and the huge contributions  made by Asian immigrants in high tech  industries and other economic spheres. At the same time, the Civil Rights Act  of the  60's hard fought and  won by African Americans benefited Asian Americans tremendously. In the eyes of the law, we enjoyed equality and, on occasions during the early days, even the benefit of  affirmative action. Of course desegregation in law does not  imply integration in social behavior. Glass ceiling or covert discrimination continues to exist. In 1980,there  was the infamous  case of Vincent Chin, a Chinese-American in Detroit whowas mistaken as a Japanese  and was beaten to death with a baseball bat by two strangers who were unemployed Detroit auto worker. In the 80s,  covert admission quota was set in many universities to limit the number of Asian Americans students. More  recently, the campaign financing and the Los Alamos spy scandal put all Asian Americans under a dark cloud with  Senators and Congressmen questioning the loyalty of Asian Americans on the floor of Congress and in congressional report. But in general the Asian American experience was verypositive both for the country and for the  immigrants. As I have said it privately  and publicly many times, as a minority I would not want to live any where in the world  except in America since US is the most open and friendly country to minorities.

We are now in a new century, where is the Asian-Americanexperience going? Is this a finished story?   I submit we have one last chapter to write. One historian said it well: "the history of America is the history of the immigrant  under class using the political process to climb up toequal class." The history of Irish  Americans, Italian Americans, Jewish Americans, and African Americans are shining examples.  The Hispanic  Americans are now doing it. And Asian Americans must learn to do it too. It is the American way!

To buttress my point, I refer you to some government-published statistics available on the web regarding the  participation  of Asian Americans in academia, industry and government.  In academia where administrators  are almost exclusively recruited from the faculty ranks, one would think there  is a high  percentage of AA in senior administrative positions given the large number of AA faculties  in Universities.Yet, AA has the lowest percentage of  administrator to faculty (6 out of 100)vs. 15/100 for Hispanics and 16/100 for African-Americans). For industry, given the high concentration of  Asian scientists  and engineers, one would correspondingly expect to  see equal percentage of CEOs in  large companies. Yet in Fortune 500 companies, only one AA was in the CEO spot.  And she was only promoted in  11/99. Of course, you will immediately point out to me that I forgot Charles Wang of Computer Associate International and Jerry Yang of Yahoo. My answer is that they start  at the top when their company only had one employee. It is to  their enormous credit that they  built the company into a F500 company. But they did not have a glass ceiling  to break through while Andrea Jung started as a trainee in Neiman Marcus and climbed her way to the top at Avon  products. (Parenthetically, she was an English Literature major in college and never went to one day of business school. AA parents take note.) Finally,in the Clinton Administration we see AA in senior positions nine times smaller than  our population percentage (7/855 judicial appointments, 2/250 assistant secretary or higher appt.)

I point these statistics out not as evidence of overt or covert discrimination, which we know still exist here and

there, but more as indication that AA need to mainstream our political participation. Can you imagine any body sitting quietly if these above statistics were for African Americans instead? The laws and opportunities are already in existence, but no one will hand them to you on a silver platter. Political clout matters!  Justlook at the case of Jonathan Pollard and Wen Ho Lee. The former if you remember was the Jewish American convicted of spying and currently serving a life sentence. Congress, the Press, and the Public have already convicted  the latter,  without a trial. Lee is held without bail in solitary confinement until after the November 2000  election. One cannot help but speculate on the particular date set for his trial and bail release.  Even more recently, witness the case of Elian Gonzales and how government bent over backwards for accommodation.  I donot be grudge but envy the treatment accorded to these Jewish and Cuban Americans. As a well-known advertisement for business practice proclaims,"you don't get the treatment you deserve, you get what you can  negotiate". AA by cultural background tends not to opt for group political action but go for individual relationships.   But it is important in the American context to understand the political reality and the need for group  strength. Itis in our enlightened self-interest. Time does not permit to detail a plan for action.  But I refer you to one possible blue print. Just go to the web site80-20initiative.net and see.

Let me close by quoting a somewhat comical but rather poignant true story as reported in the NY Times of  Dec. 4,  1994.  It tells the story of one Stanley Newburger who emigrated to the US as a child.  He did well in school and later prospered in business. When he died at a ripe old age in1992 he willed his estate to the government of the United States of America, and I quote, " in grateful appreciation for the honor and privilege of living in this great country despite all her faults". So in 1994 when this stories was reported, his will was probated and  the estate settled.  His entirefortune of 5.6 million dollars went into the US treasury  where it made a difference - it lasted for 90 seconds! I think this just about says it all.Thanks you for your attention.