Restitution for Collective Past Trauma: The Asian American Case
In a June 2014 article, Ta-Nehisi Coates put forward a comprehensive case calling for financial restitution to Black Americans for the country’s century-long mistreatment of the community. A little knowledge of Asian American history would show the overlapping experience of past injuries between America’s Black and Asian communities. But the overall lack of this knowledge is shocking — Asian Americans’ past makes a minor appearance on mainstream media. Over a century of coolie labor work, exclusion, and racial attacks still traceable today, the Asian American story certainly qualifies for a reparation scheme if it were to exist. However, the question arises in whether or not financial support is the best way to repay Asian Americans for the past injuries they experienced. Although cash reparations appear to be a moral and feasible solution, reparation schemes should focus on increasing the exposure of Asian American history in media and public education. Indeed, what constitutes a so-called “past injury” for the community lies in the ignorance experienced rather than structural financial difficulties in the case of other groups.
Admittedly, a financial reparation scheme resembles a reasonable suggestion with ostensible benefits. For communities that were struck hard by severe structural poverty from past injustices and segregation, an injection of funds would be imperative to fulfill basic needs and close down gaps of inequalities. As Coates states in his article, “plunder in the past makes plunder in the present efficient.” Discussion over reparations for the African American community tightly revolves around finance because the group was virtually denied all forms of opportunity for economic advancement until recent decades. With more money, more schools can educate the young, support local businesses to expand, or even basic pension to flatten the high crime rates due to poverty. In this case, monetary funds open up a door of opportunity that would otherwise be closed and address one of the community’s fundamental challenges.
Such is not the case for the majority of the Asian community in America, however, as structural financial hardships do not present as one of the most significant issues that require restitution. Indeed, although figures would show the average income of ethnic groups such as Burmese households in America as well below the national average, these values are only loosely associated with historical injustices but would rather be a result of other more complex factors. Among the groups that experienced the most racial discrimination and injustices, such as Chinese Americans in the mid to late 19th century or the Japanese American population in the 1940s, figures would should that their average income of $90,000 today is way beyond the national figure. The Asian American community in general, even those who are direct descendants of coolie laborers or victims of hate crimes, does not need cash reparation for their mistreated past because the community as a whole avoided structural restraints on economic opportunities.
The most needed restitution for the Asian community in America would be increased media exposure for the group’s past and current struggles. How many people in America have ever heard of the term “coolies” and understand the slavery nature behind it? And how many would relate the term to Chinese immigrant workers who gave up their liberty for minimum wage jobs to feed their families? The Asian American story is an untold story. As Olivia Waxman puts in her article, “anti-Asian crime is always related to history.” Ever since the first pioneer set foot on American land, the Asian community has been ignored, misunderstood, and pushed out. From the late 18th century “yellow peril” period to the term “Kung Flu” during the covid outbreak, the group’s lack of understanding, its past, and its place in American society leads to more injustices and hatred. Rather than financial support, therefore, it is paramount to provide the descendants of those brave men and women who traveled across the pacific ocean for a place in America a platform to tell their forefathers’ stories — the Asian American story.
It would further help if the history of Asian Americans could be acknowledged and taught in the public education system. Every kid in American classrooms has learned about the civil rights movement or has heard about the mistreatment of Native Americans — these injustices are openly acknowledged facts. However, the history of Asian Americans is largely missing from public school textbooks. As Olivia Waxman discusses in her article, “a complete version of the history would include a deeper look at anti-Asian discriminations.” On top of that, “milestones in American history achieved by people of Asian descent” should also be included. This again proves an Asian American image missing in the country’s classroom. Neither the traumatic past nor the community’s achievements are generally acknowledged and taught at school. If Asian American stories can break on a public education level, a more enhanced understanding of the group would be the best restitution for the forefathers who were pushed out and alienated.
It needs to be taken into consideration that the condition and expectations of different groups are not unanimous when we talk about reparations for descendants of those who used to be oppressed. As David Fumm puts in his article, a reparation scheme argued by Coates is “an assumption that America’s racial composition is binary.” There isn’t just a white majority inflicting suffering on a black minority. Many groups, including Asian Americans, suffer from oppression and injustices. There shouldn’t be just one solution to the “reparations,” therefore, only one uniquely tailored to every group based on their history and current needs. What the Asian American community needs is acknowledgment; an official, public recognition of the community’s struggles and past would mean more than a bucket of cash. Such a demand might be different from other groups like the African American community, so careful consideration would have to be taken.
Despite the benefits of a financial reparation scheme introduced by Coates, the idea of restitution would have to be more sophisticated in the case of Asian Americans. Without severe financial hardship due to economic oppression throughout time, the Asian American community needs a more qualifiable reparation scheme rather than a quantifiable one. To give more attention to Asian American history and introduce their past injuries and achievement in class, amid the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes, a little more understanding would be the best for everyone.
