Abstract
Structural oppression continues to be one of the most pressing problems in U.S. society, and college students have always played a major role in addressing systemic inequities. Yet, much remains to be learned about the experiences of students advocating social justice in higher education, and there is a paucity of research on Asian American students involved in such efforts. This study sought to understand how Asian American undergraduates understand the role of solidarity in social justice work. The authors analyzed interviews with Asian American students engaged in social justice activism and advocacy in the Midwest. Findings show that participants recognized interconnected realities among oppressed communities, centered solidarity in social justice work because of this recognition, and utilized intersectional approaches to integrate solidarity into social justice activism and advocacy. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Highlights
Oppression refers to the ideologies and structures that dehumanize historically oppressed communities [1], and it continues to be one of the most pressing problems inU.S society
Asian American college students continue to engage in social justice activism and advocacy in many forms [27,49,52,55,56,57,58]
American college students who engage in social justice activism and advocacy in the Midwest region of the U.S The study included Asian American undergraduates who report being engaged in social justice efforts
Summary
Oppression refers to the ideologies and structures that dehumanize historically oppressed communities [1], and it continues to be one of the most pressing problems in. Structural oppression perpetuates pervasive inequities in access to opportunity [7] In response to these realities, a wide range of social justice movements, such as #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo, have emerged across the U.S and its college campuses in recent years [8,9]. College students have always played a major role in challenging systemic social inequities [9]. Given this reality, it is important for institutional leaders and college educators to better comprehend the experiences of students advocating social justice and how they might better support such efforts. We define social justice as efforts to disrupt and challenge existing intersecting structures of oppression to create transformative change [10,11]. We discuss the implications of this analysis for future research and practice
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