Michigan Asian Americans work to address barriers

A new report on Asian Americans points to a variety of barriers they’re experiencing in Michigan.

Theresa Tran is President of Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote Michigan, which commissioned the report.

She says, “we are the fastest growing racial group in the state of Michigan, according to the 2010 census.  And because of that, this is a prime opportunity for us to introduce ourselves to legislators to let them know we’re a growing voting BLOC and that they have to listen to us.”

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Credit APIAVOTEMI.ORG

Research from the Asian American Needs Assessment Report.

One of the issues they hope to address is stereotypes.  For example, Tran says many people assume all Asian Americans are highly educated...” If you look at other communities like the HMong community, the Vietnamese community, the Bangladeshi community…communities that came here more recently, or came here as refugees.  They don’t necessarily come from well-educated, wealthy backgrounds.”

Trans says unemployment, racial profiling and bullying are three areas they’re hoping to address with public officials and school leaders.

A link to their report is available here.

- Chris Zollars, Michigan Radio Newsroom