Second Try

From Kelly Isom

Is Obama the first Asian American president? Writer Jeff Yang defends this position, arguing that because of a series of personal experiences Obama underwent and his ethnic background, his ties to the Asian American community confer on him a type of honorary API status. Critics chastise Yang for his reductionist view and tenuous connections relating Obama to the Asian American community; and, while I agree with some of the critics’ claims, I find Yang’s article and its provocative title not something to be taken literally, but rather food for thought. As Yang concludes in his article, “The important thing to note is that this isn't a case of ‘either/or,’ but ‘and.’” Obama’s inaugural ceremony reflects this exact sentiment, demonstrating that what defines Americanism is not limited to traditional binary categories of black and white or citizen and immigrant but rather a combination of all such ideas and their shades of grey.

At the inaugural ceremony, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Anthony McGill, and Gabriela Montero performed John Williams’ “Air and Simple Gifts,” incorporating the iconic American melody popularized by Aaron Copeland “Appalachian Spring,” which as Charlotte Higgins noted in the UK Guardian, “[is] a melody so American as to be almost a cliché.” What is interesting about the song “Appalachian Spring” is its representation of Americanism, as NPR reports, “Aaron Copland’s ‘Appalachian Spring’ captures the essence of an ideal America, one of open fields and endless possibilities.” This American dream has been propagated throughout US history, with ideals such as rugged individualism and examples of ordinary men reaching incredible success like J.D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and for today’s audience, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, both college drop outs. Obama encapsulates the “self-made man” image as well, coming from a single parent, working class home, while openly admitting his faults along the way to success, which included drug use of pot and cocaine. The cohort of musicians chosen to perform exemplify this ideal of unlimited social mobility with transnationals like Perlman and Ma, an African American such as McGill, and even non-US citizens like Montero. The projection of this eclectic group embodies the true melting pot quality that is not only characteristic to the US in general, but also specifically in this case to President Obama, whose own racial identity is a mixture of black and white.

Jeff Yang’s title serves as an attention grabber, with the body of the article loosely connecting Obama to the Asian American community. Obama’s experiences are not uniquely particular to the API community, but rather to almost any immigrant in the US, which if taken literally, can include all people present (with the exception of Native Americans). From grade school on, we learn of the plight of the Pilgrims, then the colonial experience and Revolutionary War as well as slavery and the Civil War; but, always in the background is the story of immigrants in constant flux from Europe and Asia (the former more so than the latter). Obama’s experience of social ostracism and feelings of awkwardness are nothing new and nothing to be condescendingly relegated to the Asian American community, rather his experiences encompass what any newcomer feels in a world not their own – differences. Mina Yang conveys how such perceived differences affect Asian Americans in their pursuit of classical music, “Asian Americans acknowledged that their race affects how others view them…the myth…[they are] the work machine without imagination or soul” (14-15). In the classical music world, a supposed purely Western product spread through imperialism, this genre preaches to be colorblind. Yet, as Mina Yang details in her argument, the situation is more complex, with Asian and Asian Americans utilizing this markedly stamped bourgeoisie tool for social mobility, only to find they possess the mechanics of the art form and not the heart, as assertion often made by Western critics towards Asian and Asian American individuals. Yet this claim is unfounded, according to Yang and would better serve the world if, “By acknowledging rather than denying the significance of race…perhaps [classical] music can finally shed its heavy burden of universality and become once again a relevant and dynamic practice, responsive to the rapidly changing conditions of an ever more connected world” (23). The classical music performed at the inaugural ceremony attempted just that, a collaboration between cultures and people who share as many commonalities as they do differences.

Jeff Yang uses his title to grab readers, but I feel his message is lost along the way. Sure, the body of his article is a bit weak, but his conclusion is strong. Too often the race question is boiled down to our compartmentalizing tendencies for binary divisions, an effort to make sense in a chaotic world. Yet the media often neglects to report that Obama is as much Caucasian as he is African American. Why must one ethnicity dominate over another? Is it due to his skin color, a readily identifiable feature? Unfortunately, I believe so. The same applies to Tiger Woods, who shares not only African American roots, but Asian roots as well, a lost aspect of his identity over which his mother has expressed concern and irritation. Why must it be “either/or” – why can’t it be “and”? I believe this is Jeff Yang’s true question, still without a satisfactory answer.