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This probing account shines a new light on the problem of anti-Asian violence and inspires us to build lasting solidarity.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, racist demagoguery fomented a campaign of terror against Asian Americans. But these attacks were part of a much longer pattern that made anti-Asian racism integral to the outbreak of white supremacist, misogynist, and colonial violence across 175 years of U.S. history. Written in the radical spirit of Howard Zinn, American Peril represents the culmination of thirty-five years of study and activism by award-winning scholar Scott Kurashige.
From the lynching of Asian immigrants during the exclusion era to the ongoing slaughter of Asian civilians by the U.S. military, the book connects domestic and global events that have been erased from the official record. Going beyond victimhood, Kurashige traces the rise of Asian American community protest and activism in response to the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin and other overlooked tragedies. While many have worked to legislate and prosecute hate crimes, Kurashige argues that hope lies in grassroots activism for multiracial solidarity.
“Every element of our work should be linked to calls for action, for what we all can do to help remember and resist our worst, commemorate and fight for our best, and push this nation a bit closer to our ideals . . . American Peril is a pitch-perfect example of such public scholarship, and I ended it deeply inspired for my own continued part in the fight.”
“Kurashige’s work is powerful and well written and deserving of attention well beyond an academic audience. Don’t hesitate: read the book!”
“Shocks readers into remembrance of one of the most horrific incidents of racism against Asians in recent history. . . . Scott Kurashige’s American Peril . . . is a book that cries out to us, not only to be read, but to be studied in every college class where racism is dissected and solutions to it are sought.”
Author’s Note
Introduction
Part I How America Erased the Violent History of Anti-Asian Raciscm (1850s–1970s)
1 • The Violence of Exclusion
2 • The Violence of Empire
3 • From Mass Incarceration to Mass Murder
4 • How Asian Women Become Targets of Violence
5 • The Violence Beyond Vietnam
Part II The Murder of Vincen Chin Remade Asian American Identity and Politics (1980s–Present)
6 • Martyr in the Motor City
7 • White Grievance and the Rise of the Counterrevolution
8 • Naming and Confronting Hate Crimes
9 • When the Police Cause More Harm
10 • Building Community in the Face of Violence
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index