The Sleeping Giant in American Politics
September 30, 2008
Major Study Examines Why Asian America Is Virtually Unheard
By DEANNA LEE
EDITOR’S NOTE—A duPont-Columbia Award winner with eight Emmys, Deanna Lee is a veteran international journalist. A former Nightline and ABC World News producer, Ms. Lee is the Asia Society’s communications veep.
Look at Asian Americans today, says Paul Ong, “and what you’re seeing is the awakening of the new sleeping giant in politics. The question is, how fast are we going to become a meaningful force?”
Ong is the principal investigator of “The State of Asian America: Trajectory of Civic and Political Engagement,” just released by the LEAP Asian Pacific American Public Policy Institute. Ten investigations and analyses by a multidisciplinary team of Asian American scholars and community leaders delve into what, for many Asian Americans, is a central question and frustration: why our voices “are virtually unheard in the ongoing civic and political discussions.”
