Racial Triangulation, Interest-convergence, and the Double-consciousness of Asian Americans

• Jurisdiction: United States,Federal
• Citation: Vol. 37 No. 4
• Publication year: 2021
• topic: Civil Rights,Immigration Law

Racial Triangulation, Interest-Convergence, and the Double-Consciousness of Asian Americans

Vinay Harpalani
University of New Mexico - School of Law, harpalani@law.unm.edu

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RACIAL TRIANGULATION, INTEREST-CONVERGENCE, AND THE DOUBLE-CONSCIOUSNESS OF ASIAN AMERICANS

Vinay Harpalani^*

Abstract

This Essay integrates Professor Claire Jean Kim's racial triangulation framework, Professor Derrick Bell's interest-convergence theory, and W.E.B. Du Bois's notion of double-consciousness, all to examine the racial positioning of Asian Americans and the dilemmas we face as a result. To do so, this Essay considers the history of Asian immigration to the United States, the model minority and perpetual foreigner stereotypes, Asian Americans' positioning in the affirmative action debate, COVID-19-related hate and bias incidents, and Andrew Yang's 2020 Democratic presidential candidacy. The Essay examines how racial stereotypes of Asian Americans have emerged through historical cycles of valorization and ostracism, as analyzed through the racial triangulation framework. It analyzes how the political interests of the U.S. government converged with those of educated professionals in Asian countries, leading to changes in immigration policy and the emergence of the model minority stereotype. The Essay considers various ways that Asian Americans have been simultaneously valorized as model minorities and ostracized as perpetual foreigners. It highlights the affirmative action debate, where Asian Americans have been cast as high-achieving victims of race-conscious university

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admissions policies and pitted against other groups of people of color, culminating with the current Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President of Harvard College lawsuit. Finally, the Essay focuses on Andrew Yang's presidential bid—particularly how his navigation of racial stereotypes reflected a double-consciousness that parallels the dilemmas faced by many Black Americans. The Essay concludes by arguing that to build coalitions and work toward racial justice, Asian Americans, Black Americans, and other people of color need to recognize our own double-consciousness and also see how it relates to the double-consciousness experienced by others.

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CONTENTS

Introduction..............................................................................1364

I. Racial Triangulation, Interest-Convergence, and Double-Consciousness........................................................1368

II. Model Minority and Perpetual Foreigner.....................1371

III. Valorization and Victimhood...........................................1377

IV. Affirmative Action and "Negative Action"...................1383

V. Andrew Yang, "Kung Flu," and "White-People Pleaser".....Conclusion.................................................................................1399

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Introduction

Twenty-one years into the twenty-first century, America continues to grapple with what the renowned Black scholar W.E.B. Du Bois called the "problem of the twentieth century . . . the problem of the color line."¹ Although his 1903 classic The Souls of Black Folk focused on the plight of African Americans, Du Bois recognized that racial inequality and injustice in America involved many groups. He noted that the "problem of the color line" was "the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the seas."² And among different groups of people of color, Asian Americans find ourselves in an unusual position—one that is privileged in some ways and precarious in others.

A number of happenings during this past year brought to light the positioning of Asian Americans within the U.S. racial landscape. Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President of Harvard College (SFFA v. Harvard),³ a lawsuit with Asian American plaintiffs challenging affirmative action, began to garner significant attention. This suit, sponsored by the anti-affirmative action group SFFA, pits Asian Americans against Black, Latina/o, and Native American applicants and employs the model minority stereotype of Asian Americans as high achievers to cast the group as victims of affirmative action. Second, Andrew Yang's bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination made him the most visible Asian American political candidate in U.S. history.⁴ Through his campaign,

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Yang brought together different racial characterizations of Asian Americans in both positive and negative ways. And third, the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in hate and bias crimes against Asian Americans.⁵ These crimes are rooted in the notion that Asian Americans are not "real Americans" but rather perpetual, menacing foreigners.⁶

These events bring to light different aspects of the racial positioning of Asian Americans and the dilemmas faced by the group based on this positioning. This Essay examines these events and their historical underpinnings to elucidate Asian Americans' place in the broader U.S. racial landscape and structure. It highlights the racial stereotypes and ideologies that come into play through this process and the dilemmas that Asian Americans face as a result. It illustrates these phenomena through historical and political analyses of issues such as immigration and affirmative action, along with recent happenings such as Andrew Yang's bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and anti-Asian American hate and bias crimes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To do so, the Essay takes an interdisciplinary lens, drawing upon three insights from different times and different academic traditions. Two decades ago, political scientist and Asian American Studies scholar claire Jean Kim devised the racial triangulation framework to examine the simultaneous valorization and ostracism of Asian Americans as part of the broader rubric of U.S. racial dynamics.⁷ Two decades before that, legal scholar and critical race theorist

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Derrick Bell posited the notion of interest-convergence to analyze how advances toward racial equality really benefited elite white Americans and the U.S. government more than they benefited Black Americans and other people of color.⁸ And back at the turn of the twentieth century, in The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois—who is now a central figure in sociology, history, and African American studies—not only articulated the "problem of the color line" but also eloquently laid out the "peculiar sensation" of "double-consciousness": the "sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others."⁹

Each of these ideas has been influential in its own right, but only Professor Kim's framework has been consistently applied to Asian Americans.¹⁰ This Essay aims to illustrate the synergy that can exist between Asian American studies, African American studies, and critical race theory—a synergy that can illuminate the experiences of all groups. By integrating the scholarly work of Professors Kim, Bell, and Du Bois, this Essay sheds further light on how Asian Americans fit into America's racial structure and ideology,¹¹ and on the path toward attaining racial equality and justice for all groups.

Part I gives a basic overview of racial triangulation, interest-convergence, and double-consciousness. These are theoretical tools to analyze how racial groups are positioned in relation to each other, how this process leads to the creation of racial ideologies, and how people of color experience dissonance when navigating the racial terrain that results. Part II gives a historical view of Asian American immigration and racial stereotypes. Applying

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Professor Kim's racial triangulation framework, it considers how U.S. immigration policy and reactions to it created a racial ideology that casts Asian Americans as both model minorities who are high achievers and perpetual foreigners who can never truly be American. This Part also applies Professor Bell's notion of interest-convergence to U.S. immigration policy after World War II, underscoring how this policy brought about the model minority stereotype of Asian Americans. Part III illustrates how the model minority stereotype led to another round of racial triangulation on college campuses, where Asian Americans were valorized as high achievers and also ostracized as foreigners. This Part considers campus xenophobia and anti-immigration sentiments in the 1980s, along with growing emphasis on diversity at elite universities and Asian Americans' concerns about discrimination in admissions—noting how conservative opponents of affirmative action framed the narrative around these phenomena to cast Asian Americans as victims of affirmative action.

Part IV continues this analysis and focuses on affirmative action and university admissions—arguably the most salient policy area where Asian Americans have been positioned against other people of color. It traces the role that Asian Americans have played in major lawsuits involving race-conscious admissions, up to the current SFFA case. Part V examines how the model minority and perpetual foreigner stereotypes intersected in 2020 through Andrew Yang's presidential campaign and COVID-19-related hate crimes against Asian Americans. This Part also applies Du Bois's notion of double-consciousness to the dilemmas that Asian Americans and other people of color face when negotiating our own identities and when trying to advance in America while confronting stereotypes and other manifestations of racism. The Essay concludes by arguing that the "peculiar sensation" of double-consciousness itself is a common ground that can unify people of color in the quest for racial justice.

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I. Racial Triangulation, Interest-Convergence, and Double-Consciousness

The three insights that this Essay draws upon all illuminate different aspects of America's racial landscape. The focus here is on Asian Americans, but these insights raise important issues...