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"Lucid and compelling, Park's book is essential reading for those who want to understand the limits of American civil rights discourse—and post-September 11, that should be all of us."
—Angela Harris, Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley

Since the late nineteenth century, federal and state rules governing immigration and naturalization have placed persons of Asian ancestry outside the boundaries of formal membership. A review of leading cases in American constitutional law regarding Asians would suggest that initially, Asian immigrants tended to evade exclusionary laws through deliberate misrepresentations of their identities or through extralegal means. Eventually, many of these immigrants and their descendants came to accept prevailing legal norms governing their citizenship in the United States. In many cases, this involved embracing notions of white supremacy.

John S. W. Park argues that American rules governing citizenship and belonging remain fundamentally unjust, even though they suggest the triumph of a "civil rights" vision, where all citizens share the same basic rights. By continuing to privilege members over non-members in ways that are politically popular, these rules mask injustices that violate principles of fairness. Importantly, Elusive Citizenship also suggests that politically and socially, full membership in American society remains closely linked with participation in exclusionary practices that isolate racial minorities in America.

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This digital document is an article from Trial, published by Association of Trial Lawyers of America on January 1, 2005. The length of the article is 739 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Elusive Citizenship: Immigration, Asian Americans, and the Paradox of Civil Rights.(Book Review)
Author: Frank H. Wu
Publication: Trial (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2005
Publisher: Association of Trial Lawyers of America
Volume: 41Issue: 1Page: 70(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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This is the first reference book presenting an overview of the century-long fight for true racial equality in America. This remarkable encyclopedia covers a wide array of events, legislation, court decisions, cultural achievements, speeches, organizations, and personalities that have contributed to the cause of African-American civil rights--from the Albany, Georgia "sit-in" of 1961 to the racially motivated killing of Samuel Younge in 1966; from the unjustifiable "Jim Crow" laws of the 1870s to President Bush's veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1990; from the first black illustrated newspaper, the Indianapolis Freeman, to the literary figures of the Harlem Renaissance. Outlined are the non-violent protests led by Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as the radical confrontationalism of Malcolm X. The peaceful 1964 March on Washington contrasts sharply with the Detroit race riots of 1967--but all the events covered in this volume are objectively and comprehensively summarized. The constant struggles against racism, segregation, and lack of opportunity are chronicled in more than 800 useful and readable entries. Written by over 100 authors, the entries also provide ready access to relevant literature in the field. The encyclopedia also contains a chronology, a general bibliography, and a subject index. It includes almost 100 illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

excellent source of obscure information on civil rights
This book is particularly helpful when researching obscure topics related to African-American civil rights, such as court cases and individuals and organizations which do not get as much "air time" as their more famous counterparts.In that sense, the book is a must for all African-American history collections. ... Read more

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The historical relationship between American urbanization, industrialization and the emergence of the civil rights movement is examined in this thesis in order to establish why the African-American Civil Rights Movement occurred. The book discusses many factors that were fundamental to causing the rise of the civil rights movement. It begins with a brief introduction to the African-American's political, economic and social conditions since the American Civil War and goes on to consider the effects of the two Great Black Migrations in which millions of black Americans moved to the big industrial cities and began to learn how to make effective use of their voting rights to protect their own interests. Finally the book examines the effect of the Second World War and also the role of the Supreme Court. ... Read more