Third World Liberation Front strike poster, 1969, UC Berkeley. This powerful image stressed unity during the strike, the reason many felt the battle for Ethnic Studies was won.
Poster by Malaquias Montoya.

The Advent and Origins of the Asian American Movement in the San Francisco Bay Area: A Personal Perspective

By Floyd Huen

The formation of the Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA) ... in 1967-68 brought this budding Asian American self and political consciousness to a different level. It consciously considered the formation of a "yellow caucus" within the nascent Peace and Freedom Party; supported the Black Panther Party; and saw the war in Vietnam as a racist, imperialist war by the U.S. government.

The Third World Strike [the quarter-long campus strike demanding ethnic studies] represented the convergence of this identity movement with the educational mission of the University [of California at Berkeley], and the common status of all minorities in the U.S. affected by racist attitudes and racist curriculums in history, sociology, and political science.

Through it all, for all of the involved groups -- be it AAPA, the African American Students Union, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Atzlan (M.E.Ch.A.), or the Native American Students Association -- our communities were always at the forefront of our thinking. Always, we would ask "What is in it for our communities?"

[01 Transforming Ourselves]     [02 Not Without Struggle]     [03 Serve the People]
[04 Listening to the Small Voice]     [05 The Big Picture]     [06 Revolution]
[Author Bios]     [Site Credits]     [Home]

Copyright © 2002 AAMP.