Asian Americans in an Anti-Black World

by Claire Jean Kim

Where do Asian Americans fit into the U.S. racial order? Are they subordinated comparably to Black people or permitted adjacency to whiteness? The racial reckoning prompted by the police murder of George Floyd and the surge in anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic raise these questions with new urgency. Asian Americans in an Anti-Black World is a groundbreaking study that will shake up scholarly and popular thinking on these matters. Theoretically innovative and based on rigorous historical research, this provocative book tells us we must consider both anti-Blackness and white supremacy―and the articulation of the two forces―in order to understand U.S. racial dynamics. The construction of Asian Americans as not-white but above all not-Black has determined their positionality for nearly two centuries. How Asian Americans choose to respond to this status will help to define racial politics in the U.S. in the twenty-first century.

Genres: Nonfiction, Asian American, Politics, Race, Research, History, Political Science

400 pages, Hardcover

Published June 29, 2023

Reviews

[Alan Wang]

Claire Jean Kim builds upon the earlier racial triangulation theory by contending that the historical persecution of Asian Americans can be attributed to not only white supremacy/economic reasons but also a fear of affording the same basic rights to Black Americans.

I found a compelling case study in both the history of the Mississippi delta Chinese American community as well as the Arkansas Japanese American internment camps. In both situations, distance from blackness (as well as mixed-race individuals within the community) was a strategic decision informed by multitudes of conditioning both in a pre and post-migration context. What strikes me as surprising was how open early supreme court decisions were, such as in plessy and lum, about the need to preserve the white-black racial hierarchy as a matter of great importance, and the role of Asian americans as "spoilers" in the dynamics of minorities.

[Amie Ninh]

Every Asian American should read this - This is an incredibly strong academic analysis of Asian American racial positionality in an anti-Black world. I always thought CJK’s theory of racial triangulation from many years ago was highly incomplete without a solid analysis of anti-Blackness as the pillar of how America’s racial order is structured. I appreciate that this has ample examples throughout history of how Asian Americans are yes, not white, but particularly not Black and how that advantages Asians in America. For Asians who actually care about justice and equity and seek to dismantle all systems of oppression, this is a pretty important analysis to have.

[Anna]

she is so right theorizing through white supremacy is not enough - also anti blackness, feels like the missing piece of the puzzle
this made something click in my brain but feel like the title should be east asian americans in anti black world, i dont think she talked about southeast/south asians at all lol

[emily]

i didn’t learn anything and it focused on east asians

[Michael Ly]

The text consists of a lot of academic jargon, which makes it difficult to read. Nonetheless, the author makes crucial points about structural anti-Blackness that are lacking in the Asian American political activism discourse, so this is an important read for anyone in the political activism space. If the text were easier to read and wasn't filled with jargon, I would rate this a 4-star because I do think it's an important read! There is an emphasis on legal court cases to demonstrate her point; most of which are useful to know, but some were redundant.

[M.Rivers]

Kim’s work and scholarship are thoughtful and clarifying! She thinks critically about the nuanced nature of America’s racial hierarchy, and the way it has historically been coded in legal documentation and political discourse. Her theory frames my reality!

[Jack Watson]

Really really great book about the space between white supremacy and anti-blackness where Asian Americans operate in

[Sheng Guo]

Shockingly absent from AA discourse. MUST read