Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2014 August 25

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August 25

1960s, racial civil rights movement, and Asian Americans

I am aware of the fact that the 1960s was a time of civil rights. But what happened to Asian Americans during this time period? Where were they? What were they doing? And how did this group of people interact with other racial minorities (Hispanic and Black)? 65.24.105.132 (talk) 03:36, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, Vincent Chin case, Civil Liberties Act of 1988 etc. weren't until the 1980s... AnonMoos (talk) 06:24, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

By the way, Asian-Americans have sometimes been the group most negatively affected by affirmative action policies (definitely with respect to college admissions in California). AnonMoos (talk) 06:33, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

There's a little bit at Asian American movement. --Viennese Waltz 06:28, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

This Korea Times piece might be worth a read. Apparently, it was a good decade (compared to prior ones) for getting into college. InedibleHulk (talk) 06:37, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Or maybe I'm wrong about that, after reading AnonMoos' comment above. InedibleHulk (talk) 06:39, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

I don't think that educational affirmative action really took hold until the 1970s (or the very end of the 1960s). Anyway, Asian-Americans weren't hindered by it until they started getting admitted to colleges at significantly higher rates than their percentage of the population, after which informal "caps" or "quotas" seemed to come into being at some universities... AnonMoos (talk) 06:53, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Not sure, wasn't there. Just relaying what I Google. Did some more to find out the problem, and some current Asian-Californians (particularly Chinese) are pissed at a reintroduction plan that would help blacks and hispanics. Since the state banned discrimination in 1996, Asians have "disproportionately" been accepted on their own merits. I guess going to school for diversity's sake is a double-edged sword. You get your education, but people who "paid their dues" (in a non-financial sense) might look at you like a cheater. I'll look into those caps. InedibleHulk (talk) 07:18, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Re your question, "Where were they?", the answer is mostly in Asia during the 1960s. In 1960, there were fewer than 1 million U.S. residents of Asian or Pacific Island origin. Most of these were in Hawaii and most of the rest in California.

In 1970, there were still only 1.5 million, compared with almost 15 million in 2010 and certainly more than 15 million today, due to vastly greater immigration since 1970. So Asian Americans were not nearly the presence that they are today, and they somewhat lacked the critical mass to form the kind of nationwide, news-making movements that African Americans or even Latinos/Chicanos did in the 1960s. Marco polo (talk) 19:38, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Do you mean Asian-Americans went back to Asia before/during the '60s, or hadn't come to America yet? InedibleHulk (talk) 23:02, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

They had not come to America yet. Blueboar (talk) 00:24, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

Considering that anyone born in the 1960's would be about 50 years old today, the more accurate answer to "where were they?" is "not yet born". --Bowlhover (talk) 07:00, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

Jessica Nelson North

Is her famous poem Three Guests at a tea party available in a children's book? Christmas is only 4 months away! . R. R. Ratliff, [redacted]

Jessica Nelson North's poem "Three Guests" was first published in St. Nicholas Magazine in 1912 (source). I don't think it's in any collection that's currently in print (not according to Amazon, at least), although I may be wrong. Tevildo (talk) 21:04, 25 August 2014 (UTC)