Is Segregation in the API Community Vogue?

By Ken

Am I stuck in 1990s politics?

Recently someone who refers to herself as the Face of “the largest API organization” of its kind said that blasians or Afro-Asians are not accepted by the API community, including her organization and will only be thought of as (insert slur) black. I found this sentiment particularly vile especially from someone in a position such as hers: when did such remarks become acceptable?

In the 80s and 90s, the term Hispanic was on its way out and one of the reasons was because of the phrase it creates when broken down. How did we get from there to those of Central and South American heritage closely thought of as white, such that we require a qualifier “non-Hispanic white”?

And when did we get to the point that every event or organization I go to sheepishly apologizes for the lack of Desi and/or Muslim representation?

Maybe I’m living back in the Clinton Camelot Two cloud because I seem to remember being involved in organizations that were inclusive. And that we’d all protest when Latinos weren’t recognized as an ethnic group. Have we bypassed the era of the phrase “n-word”? Is an East Asian vs. South Asian version of West Side Story on the horizon?

Readers, is inclusiveness something from a far-gone era?

ABOUT KEN: Ken Choy is an actor, writer, community organizer, and producer of Breaking the Bow. He is gay, green, and gluten-free.