The Asian American Movement

4. Speaking Out: The Asian American Alternative Press

4 Speaking Out: The Asian American Alternative Press Usually only sensational newssuch as gang violence, Chinatown sweatshops, or the massive influx of immigrants and refugees-arouse~ curiosity or attracts the attention of the predominately white media establishment. -Editorial, East/West From the beginning, Asian American activists were attracted to the printed word and appreciated its power to move people emotionally and politically. Those with a heightened ethnic consciousness saw newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and journals as means of reaching out to others and voicing longsuppressed personal feelings. Those working in campus and community groups saw periodicals as a means of gaining visibility, disseminating information about their own activities, and publicizing their perspective on national and international issues. Those belonging to Marxist-Leninist organizations saw the press as a political instrument that could preach revolution-that is, a radical restructuring of values and institutions. Underlying these various attitudes was the well-founded belief that, historically , the mainstream press had spoken for the European American majority, while Asian Americans, as well as other people of color, had been largely ignored. When the latter did make the news, the information about them was often disparaging, or they were depicted in a demeaning manner. Equally disCopyrighted Material 101 102 : Chapter 4 quieting was the tack taken by the traditional Asian ethnic press, which touted the achievements and promoted the preservation of a particular ethnic group's heritage, while overlooking common interests and experiences and ignoring pressing social issues and concerns. 1 Even worse, some Asian ethnic newspapers in America were used by certain Asian governments to spread political propaganda and report on the loyalty of individuals and organizations in the immigrant communities." Both the mainstream and Asian ethnic presses often stifled unpopular ideas and refused access to people working for social and political change. Consequently , there was a cry for an alternative press that would present the Asian American community with a diversity of perspectives, stimulate people to ponder contemporary social issues, and mobilize them for specific social actions. A plethora of publications emerged to meet these needs, but most were ephemeral and practically all have been ignored in works dealing with the "dissident" or "alternative" press of America3 Three of the most influential Asian American periodicals were Gidra . Bridge magazine. and Amerasia Journal. All of them trace their origins to the Asian American Movement, were influenced by it, and made contributions to it. Founded by students, they were read by the first generation to perceive themselves as Asian Americans. They relied on volunteers (though Amerasia soon professionalized its staff) and reflected an ethnic- regional character. Even though their distribution was limited, copies managed to find their way to readers living in isolated communities. Often they were the main communication link between Asian American activists working on common causes in different parts of the United States, unifying the Movement and Asian Americans, thereby enhancing existing community organizing efforts. Gidra, the first radical Asian American newspaper, was a raffish-looking tabloid published monthly in Los Angeles from 1969 to 1974. Because of its limited resources, it was mainly a local paper that provided some coverage of California and the rest of the West Coast. Originally conceived simply as a "forum for discussions of issues confronting individuals of Asian ancestry in contemporary America," 4 it provided reports on events in the Asian American community and essays on a variety of timely subjects. It was soon followed by others, like Rodan, a San Francisco clone. Across the continent was Bridge, a New York Chinatown-based bimonthly magazine that started in 1971. changed to a quarterly in 1976, and lasted till 1985-a long time for a Movement pubCopyrighted Material Speaking Out : 103 lication. Initially aimed at overseas Chinese , it broadened its focus to Asian Americans. In his obituary for Bridge, Bill J. Gee noted that its "forty-two issues .. . represent a running account of Asian American history up to this very day, an invaluable source of information to future historians of these times." 5 Since Gidra and Bridge were explicitly aimed at a popular audience, they had more in common with each other than they did with Amerasia, which is still being published by the Asian American Studies Center at the University of California , Los Angeles. It is the only field publication of Asian American Studies and is one of those rare professional journals that consciously eschews academia and tries to publish well-researched, quality scholarship...