As Asian Americans, we are told that we have it good. But what do we make of the Atlanta massage parlor shootings, or the beatings of our elders in the streets, in the shadow of this enforced ethnic ignorance?
Critiques and summaries of “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” often reduce it to an apologetics paper for brutal “Chinese” parenting, but it’s true message is one of syncretism and parental evolution.
There is nothing the Americans do better than competing, but this occasionally productive competition has taken on a more toxic and macabre character in the form of the oppression olympics, the competition for the title of “most oppressed.”
I urge you to try to understand me and learn about Islam. You’ll see then that my religion is not a political ideology. You’ll see that we are full of life and full of love.
It wasn’t until leaving the South and attending college that I discovered a history I hadn’t known existed. Learning this gave me the privilege of sight; I was able to see myself as both a lesbian and a Southerner.
My parents, brother, and I came to the United States from Albania with no money, lots of debt, and zero English comprehension. All we had was the resilience of our culture and customs.
The experience of Indian Americans is a complex one, one that is plagued with racism and casteism along with economic privilege and meritocratic stereotypes.
“I Am,” our Fall 2021 Magazine, is a labor of love from across the Harvard collegiate community. In the following articles, you will hear from more than a dozen authors who attest to how complex, contradictory, and confounding one’s identity can be.
