Identity First

A friend of mine sent me to a blog called iamkoreanamerican.com. She's half Korean American, but tends to associate with the Chinese American community. I'm not at all Korean American, but she said that the profile for the day reminded her of me. I clicked through, and bam! another Asian American artist and community organizer's picture was smiling at me.

Still with me? Where am I going with this? Identity!

The site asked people to submit a picture and a short description of how they consider themselves Korean American. Everyday, they post a new profile. That's it. Nice and simple.

Identity, being comfortable with yourself, being and individual and being part of a community/communities is an important aspect of Asian American Studies and organizing. We should remember, however, that its only the beginning. I'm not hating on iamkoreanamerican.com by any means, just making an observation. Many people get involved in Asian American activism because they are looking for their own identity, and protecting their own community. Forging connections between otherwise unlike people is wicked important.