Historical Significance

During the civil rights movement, members of the Asian American community sought civil rights and modeled their tactics on those used by African Americans. In 1968, the Asian American Movement (AAM) began on college campuses around the nation in an effort to establish Asian American studies programs. This was part of a larger effort to establish programs of study that accurately portrayed the histories of people of color. This Asian American student movement also supported the Black, Brown, and Red Power movements; unionization of Mexican and Filipino farm workers; and the anti-Vietnam War movement. In 1969, some Asian American youth formed a radical group in New York called I WOR KUEN in honor of the anti-imperialist Chinese boxers. Two years later, I WOR KUEN merged with the Black Panther-sponsored San Francisco Red Guard and drafted their twelve-point program based on the Black Panthers.