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Children in San Francisco’s ethnically mixed Fillmore district say the Pledge of Allegiance in this historical photo.
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Afro-Asian Conference Encourages Race Dialogue
In an effort to explore the current and historical relationship between African Americans and Asian Americans in San Francisco, the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good held a panel discussion in McLaren Center Oct. 23 featuring San Francisco activists.
Called the Common Hope Project, the panel was a follow-up to a spring art and film showcase that encouraged discussion about the two groups’ history in America.
“The solidarity between blacks and Asian Americans has been ongoing for almost two centuries,” said Yuri Kochiyama, a panelist who as a young girl was held in a WWII internment camp and went on to become a champion of civil rights and a close associate of Malcolm X. She outlined the influence Asian and African American leaders had on each other, such as W.E.B. DuBois’ visit to China to meet communist leader Mao Tse-Tsung.
The panelists also included Bishop Wilbur Hamilton, a veteran Fillmore district leader; Steve Nakajo, founder and director of a Japanese senior center and an Asian American scholar; Shirley Wysinger, a 30-year activist in the redevelopment of San Francisco’s Western Addition district; and Dan Gonzalez, a Filipino American activist. Discussion ranged from the commonality of class to the politics of urban renewal during the often turbulent Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.
“People look at the (riots of) L.A. ’92 as the paradigm when it was actually a recent chapter in Afro-Asian relations,” said David Kim, assistant professor of philosophy and a co-organizer of Common Hope. Afro-Asian solidarity, during the 19th century and after, was more the norm, he said. “If we were to refine our focus to the economic issues that pit one group against each other, we could have some hope in transforming these situations.”
Both the panel discussion and art exhibit were co-organized by Pamela Balls Organista, associate professor of psychology, and funded by a grant from the USF Jesuit Foundation. Sponsors of both events included the Ethnic Studies minor program, the Yuchengco Philippine Studies program, Asian American Studies, and the Standing Committee on African Studies.
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