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发帖数: 6053 | 1 【 以下文字转载自 Parenting 讨论区 】
发信人: hansba (hans), 信区: Parenting
标 题: When the Best & Brightest Speaks frankly & publicly for YOUR interest
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Mon Mar 30 10:45:31 2015, 美东)
The wise words presented below are from Alice Huang. She has donated
$240,000 to SELF. She is a retire professor from Harvard, a retired
Dean for Sciene at New York University, and member of the Division of
Biology at California
Institute of Technology. She is a Board member of 80-20 PAC for many
years, as well as that of many non-profits like Rockefellew
Foundation, Johns Hopkins Univ., Univ. of Massachusetts, Keystone
Center and Public Agenda. She was the President & Chairperson of
AAAS, American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is
the world's largest general scientific society. Her spouse is Dr.
David Baltimore, a Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine. Alice
pilots her own airplane. :-)
She is definitely one of our best and brightest, because unlike
many other "successful" AsAms, she remains an integral part of our
community, and she
has the courage and substance to speak out & fight for our equal
opportunity.
Why I support 80-20 and why you should, too!
By Alice S. Huang
"After living in this country for more than 90% of my life, I am
still asked questions like, where are you from? and receive comments
on how good my English is! Caucasian minority immigrants in the U.S.,
once they lose their accents, can pass as White Americans; but we
Asian American immigrants will not be able to easily blend into this
country's majority population. Despite our educational attainments and
earnings, both of which are higher than the average American's, we
stand out and can easily become targets of racial harassment or
discrimination. To avoid this we need to whole-heartedly participate
and contribute in every aspect of American society to the extent that
we become indispensable and gain enough influence and power in the
economic, military, and political realms to protect ourselves.
This is because racial bias, and worse prejudice, is alive and well in
the United States. On top of that the populace is prone to hysteria
and fear of those who appear to be different. U.S. history is full of
examples of racial laws passed by Congress to prevent Blacks, Chinese,
or Mexicans from exercising their full civil rights. The internment of
Japanese during the Second World War and their loss of homes and
property stand out as examples of what can happen due to mass
hysteria. Despite the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1968 and
declaration of the unconstitutionality of the Anti-Miscegenation laws
in 1967, these rights are not always fully enforced. More recently,
after 9/11, besides the continued debates in the U.S. about limiting
immigration, there were even questions concerning the rights of
naturalized citizens and whether they could be jailed or deported
without trial.
As Asian Americans most of us are still focused on our individual
families and remain comfortable in the protective social niches that
are isolated from mainstream America. Look around us. We cannot ignore
that: (1) our children, who volunteered to join the armed forces to
fight for the U.S., are often harassed to the extent that they have
resorted to suicide as the only way to escape their tormentors; (2)
our children's racial profile rather than their capabilities
determines their entrance into the college of their choice; (3) we are
too slowly entering the power structure of professions compared with
those of us who fully qualify due to our training and capabilities;
and (4) increasingly there is open resentment of recent wealthy
Chinese immigrants who purchase desirable real estate or have the poor
taste to build "McMansions".
Although we all hope that our and our progeny's contributions will be
gradually recognized and rewarded, we cannot totally ignore the
possibility of a sudden reversal of fortune for Asian Americans. Such
a reversal could easily happen if the relationship between the
governments of the United States and any one of the Asian countries
increase in animosity or distrust leading to open warfare. As a group
we should accept that self-promotion is an acceptable behavior in
successful democracies. That is where 80-20 becomes so important.
Unlike other Asian American associations and societies, it is not
focused on just educational and cultural exchange. It promotes Asian
Americans through political action as its primary goal and secondarily
to prevent the stereotyping and denigration of Asian Americans through
tasteless venues such as entertainment and in a variety of other
circumstances.
Why is 80-20 trying so hard to raise financial support? Only with a
strong and sustained financial base will we be able to attract a
professional staff dedicated to educate and involve Asian Americans of
all ages in the democratic political process and provide the tools for
self-interested activism. We need to forge a strong coalition with
other Asian American organizations so that by strength in numbers we
can increase our political influence. Staff is needed to engage in
wide surveillance of activities that prevent the advancement of Asian
Americans, make these activities known, and solicit and coordinate
appropriate action to counter these activities. This is the right
time for 80-20 to succeed, and if does not, it will be because we are
still too provincial to see the opportunity we have to provide future
security for ourselves and our children.
For all the above reasons, I have directed my main philanthropic
efforts recently to 80-20, hoping that a strong financial base in its
educational arm will bring together more like-minded Asian Americans
who are fully aware of racial history and the unpredictable nature of
human society. Gradually, through political and civic education, my
hope is that 80-20 as a political action committee will be able to
gain strength and influence to fight for justice and fairness for ALL
Asian Americans and at the same time educate a cadre of Asian American
leaders who will dedicate themselves to being selfless public servants
and exemplars of what we can offer to this country.
Why does 80-20 need to raise money? Beside what have been mentioned
above.
it also needs to forge a strong and lasting coalition with other
Asian American organizations. Join us and help us to accomplish all
this by donating as generously as you can." (The End)
Click HERE TO DONATE to SELF.
S.B. Woo, a volunteer
President, 80-20 Asian Am. National Educational Foundation, Inc.
www.80-20EF.org
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