By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
“Too Asian. Not Asian enough. Too American. Not American enough.”
It’s a familiar conundrum for most immigrants, and one that is receiving a new take lately. Why be one or the other? Why not be 100% of both?
Norman Chen, CEO of The Asian American Foundation. Courtesy of TAAF and Chen.
A public service announcement (PSA), which launched July 22, asks this question. It’s part of a campaign called “Asian+American,” initiated by The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). The PSA, which centers heavily on that “plus” sign, was created with the help of notables such as actor Sandra Oh, who does the narration, director Sean Wang (Dìdi, Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó), and photographer Jingyu Lin. Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) helped with the branding. As part of the campaign, TAAF is asking Asian Americans and allies to join the conversation by answering the question, “What is your Asian+American story?” and to share on social media.
As part of their preparation and research for the PSA, W+K polled its Asian American employees on their experiences in the U.S., TAAF CEO Norman Chen told us. The results? “They said our community has for very long had to suppress our culture…to try to assimilate and fit in,” Chen revealed. Assimilation has been seen as survival. Instead comes the proposition that what we should be doing is reclaiming and being proud of our Asian American heritage, Chen said.
In a news release for the PSA, Kevin Kaminishi, associate creative director at W+K New York, explained how the campaign aims to literally and figuratively “turn a negative into a positive.” Instead of the dash (minus sign, if you will) between the two words “Asian” and “American,” we now have a plus sign. In this way, the campaign emphasizes that people of Asian heritage are both. They are not too little or not enough of anything. They can readily claim either and all. In the PSA, we see Asians in what could be considered un-stereotypical roles—riding a horse and wearing a cowboy hat, skateboarding, on a motorcycle. A young South Asian girl attends her school with conflict all over her face—finally claiming her full identity by the end of the video.
Courtesy: TAAF and W+K
Chen told the Northwest Asian Weekly stories of Asian Americans being ridiculed, for example, on the food they brought to the school cafeteria. How they would feel self-conscious and try so hard to fit in. Yet interest in Asian food and culture is on the rise. Correspondingly, there is an increase in pride amongst Asians and Asian Americans and an increase in a willingness to show and share their cultures. At the same time, though, TAAF’s 2025 STAATUS Index, a survey to gauge attitudes towards and from Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, indicates that the population feels less comfortable than before.
Courtesy: TAAF and W+K
According to TAAF’s press release and the Index results, which were gathered over five years, Asian Americans are the least likely of any racial or ethnic group to say they fully belong in the United States. It’s even worse for the youngsters, with only 20% feeling accepted for their racial identity. This is what leads to people changing their names. Staying home. Not participating in a full life. It is both a casualty of societal divisions and the cause of interior division.
“When people exclude other people, when they treat people as ‘other,’” said Chen. That leads to feelings of ‘us versus them,’ that leads to blame, scapegoating, and, ultimately, racism and violence,”
TAAF has partnered with Right to Be in order to address some of the fallout of this racism and violence. The partnership fosters safety and belonging with Right to Be’s intervention training (how to safely intervene in occasions of anti-Asian hate or harassment). Together, TAAF and Right to Be will launch a national Train-the-Trainer program to equip local leaders to deliver these workshops in their own communities, with a goal of reaching up to 10,000 people in the first year, explained TAAF’s PSA press release. As TAAF, W+K, Right to Be, and many others acknowledge, it’s time to change the narrative, change the experience, and something as deceptively simple as a “plus” sign, is a significant step in the right direction.
Courtesy: TAAF and W+K
The vision and the goal, said Chen, for TAAF and the campaign at large, is for more people to feel accepted in this country. Accepted by others and also accepted by themselves. To feel comfortable pursuing “non-Asian” activities. And equally comfortable pursuing “Asian” ones. “Asian Americans can embrace multiple cultures,” insisted Chen. “Asian Americans can love Asian food, but also love skateboarding or basketball.” The Asian+American campaign provides a counterpoint to exclusion and stereotyping. It also can be preventative of racism now and in the future by demonstrating that no person fits into a pigeonhole. No person is an “other.” We all have shared interests, desires, dreams. “Being American means the whole package,” said Chen.
As the PSA states, the complexity of the Asian American identity is not a drawback – it’s a superpower. “We’re not caught between two worlds. We’re creating a new one.”
Kai can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com.