Asian/Pacific Islander Americans in the Civil Rights Movement is an overview of civil rights issues as they have affected the A/PIA existence and experience. This course is perfect for those interested in civil rights issues or on a pre-law study path. There is no prerequisite.

We will examine federal and state laws that have historically excluded A/PIAs from our shores, and limited A/PIA civil rights. We will examine the legal cases brought to fight against discrimination from the days of the gold rush to the present, and we will see how the A/PIA community responded through journalism, activism, and those legal challenges. Topics include exclusion laws, bars to naturalization, Supreme Court challenges to the internment, the redress movement, anti-miscegenation laws, the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, affirmative action and the Harvard admissions case, hate crimes, immigration laws and potential reform, transracial adoptions, and “Doing research while Asian”, etc., with a focus on how many of these issues are still with us today, and the many ways activists are working to overcome them. The course utilizes lecture, discussion, film, and guest visits by several activists from those who were there during the internment of Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II, the civil rights case following the brutal baseball bat beating death of Vincent Chin, and the effort against Michigan’s anti-affirmative action Proposal 2.

Course Requirements:

There are weekly readings. A research paper is due at the end of the term. There is no midterm examination, and no final examination.

Intended Audience:

This course is perfect for those interested in civil rights issues or on a pre-law study path. There is no prerequisite.