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ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Is Seattle a Haven for Asian Americans?
he Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area is only 11th largest in the size of its Asian American population (285,000, or about 11.4% of the area's 2.5 million), but it claims one of the oldest and richest slices of Asian American history. Its Chinatown was home to America's first Asian-owned manufacturing business, the Wa Chong Co. The company produced, among other things, a very fine grade of opium, some of which was probably exported to China with the U.S. government's blessings.
Best city for AA?
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Since its birth in 1910 Seattle's atmospheric International District was settled by generations of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino and Vietnamese immigrants. In the late 70s the aging District began enjoying a rebirth into its modern incarnation thanks to Asian American activism in seeking to preserve it as a historical and cultural site. More recently an influx of trendy young AA professionals, entrepreneurs and artists has helped transform it into a vibrant part of downtown Seattle's cultural and night life. The District hosts the Northwest Asian American Theater Company and the Wing Luke Asian American Museum, named after a Chinese American elected to the Seattle City Council in 1965.
On the far end of the Seattle area's cultural spectrum is lush, ultra-modern Bellevue, one of the nation's most affluent communities. Asians make up 20.3% of the students of the Bellevue School District, thrice the 7.3% concentration in the general population of Washington state. This points up the fact that Seattle hosts one of the nation's best established Asian populations. Unlike some urban areas dominated by one or two Asian nationalities, Seattle's AA population is highly diversified, comprising the nations 7th largest Japanese (31,000), the 8th largest Vietnamese (44,000), 9th largest Corean (38,000), and the 11th largest Chinese (58,000) and Filipino (53,000) communities.
The area's Asian Americans take pride in their high degree of acceptance and integration. The fact that the state's governor is a Chinese American named Gary Locke doesn't hurt, of course. Or that the city's major league baseball team is owned by Nintendo chairman Hiroshi Yamauchi and sparked by Ichiro. Even on the grassroots level, one sees signs of acceptance. The ratio of AM/WF couples is noticeably higher than in most other metro areas. A cop who was rude in issuing a jaywalking ticket to a group of Asian Americans last year was reprimanded by the police department. And the ticket was dismissed by the judge.
Is the Seattle area really a haven for Asian Americans? What are the best and worst aspects of AA life there?
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:56:40 PM)
"Where else in America (even in Vancouver for that matter) do you see equal number of AM/WF and AF/WM couples? In Seattle a high proportion of the WFs in the AM/WF couples are very attractive"
Hey, I'm down for white girls as much as anyone, but this just proves my point - Asians in Seattle are more Americanized. There are few immigrants there. Over time, the Asian cultural identity will disappear.
TSJ
Eric@KristinKreuk.net
Monday, April 08, 2002 at 00:24:05 (PDT)
Seattle is simply one of those places where you can forget that you're Asian and just be your own person. There are Asian organizations you can join and you can pick up Asian community publications at any public library or Barnes and Noble, if you're interested. But when I go to Costco (and admit it, most of us AAs spend more time there than Chinatown), I see a mix of white people, new Asian immigrants, Asians whose families have lived in the U.S. for many generations, latinos, African-Americans... you name it. No one tries to group you by what ethnicity you are, so you're free to group yourself as you choose.
By the way, there are a good number of HK snobs in Bellevue. They stand out by choice, socially, because they are so exclusive. On the bright side, because of them, there are quite a few really good Chinese restaurants in that area.
I lead a pretty busy and fulfilling life here with my family, friends and work. I really don't give a rip about what amusement parks are nearby or spend an obsessive amount of time wondering how others see me as a person of color. I think the key is really to get a life!
Jenny
Sunday, April 07, 2002 at 23:08:31 (PDT)
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