Int'l Womens Day: Grace Lee Boggs

Civil rights advocate Grace Lee Boggs

One of the problems of having so many new immigrants in the Asian American  community - and we have recently surpassed Latinos as the fastest growing immigration rate - is that the new immigrants, through no fault of their own, have no knowledge of the American history that preceded their arrival especially in the area of civil rights.

This weekend marked the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when demonstrators tried to cross the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama and were pushed back by baton-wielding police.

Today, March 8,  is also International Womens Day.

I like what NBC News has done with the webpage they created honoring Asian American women's and their role in advancing civil rights - not only for Asian Americans, but for all Americans. Everyone should know that the advantages Asian Americans enjoy today is heavily indebted to the Civil Rights Movement, which is largely, and understandably, perceived as an African American story.

Mainstream media is quick to point out the misperception of a rocky relationship between Blacks and Asians, often using the model minority stereotype of AAPI to demean other minorities. That's why it is important to know the role of Grace Lee Boggs, the Third World Strike and just why was Martin Luther King wearing a Hawaiian lei when he marched across the bridge?

"Grace Lee Boggs [is] one of the great freedom fighters in the history of this nation… a revolutionary in spirit, heart, and mind," said black author and activist Cornel West.

The NBC page also highlights the heroines of the Asian American community that deserve to be remembered in US history books. our appreciation and respect. Some have passed away but many are still fighting the good fight.