For many Asian Americans, Ferguson unrest set them on a path of resistance and reflection

Like a lot of people, Ellen Lo Hoffman was shocked and disturbed by the shooting death of Michael Brown, a Black teenager, at the hands of a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer a decade ago this month. It sparked a pivotal moment for the Chinese American progressive when a Black staff member questioned: “Are Asian Americans our allies?” “At that moment I felt caught. Brown’s death and the treatment of Black Lives Matter protesters in the days following led many Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders to an internal reckoning. “I saw some of the 20-something activists really trying to explain and interpret and translate into Chinese ‘Black Lives Matter.’” Orton said the conversations were almost like a precursor to 2020. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s directive in March to better disaggregate data among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders was also a significant win, Orton said, as was getting rid of outdated wording like “Far East.” “There’s still growing pains that we are going through,” Orton said, adding that young people want to see change now, while older Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who’ve been doing the work for a long time move at a different pace.