WE ARE MORE is an art series that celebrates the resilience and range of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. We are a community of more than 20 nations, speaking as many languages, and slated to become America’s largest immigrant group by 2055. While Asian Americans have historically been concentrated in states like New York, California, Hawaii, and Texas, you can find us in every nook and cranny across this vast and beautiful country. In states like Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona, the Asian American population has grown rapidly in the last decade.
But despite our improbable rise, we are subject to a growing wave of bias, harassment, and violence. The COVID-19 pandemic, thought to have originated in Wuhan, China, painted a target on the back of millions. In March, a man in Georgia drove to three separate Asian-owned businesses and killed six Asian American women. In April, a man entered a FedEx facility in Indianapolis that predominantly employed Sikh Americans and killed 4 Sikh workers.
This kind of xenophobia and hate is sadly not new. During the Gold Rush, Chinese laborers were blamed for spreading disease and taking jobs away from white men. After Pearl Harbor, the Secretary of the Navy blamed Japanese Americans for aiding in the bombing. After the attacks of September 11th, South Asians, especially those of Sikh or Islamic faiths, were blamed for the acts of terrorism. As Hua Hsu wrote in the New Yorker: “It is possible that being scapegoated might constitute one of the community’s few shared experiences.”
While hailing from lands that contain 60% of the world’s population and are four times larger than the United States, Asian Americans are still frequently slotted into narrow archetypes. We’re the quiet kid. The nail lady. The doctor or engineer. The grocery store owner. The sultry seductress. The martial artist. The Tiger mom.
With over 20 million of us, we might indeed be all those things. But we are also more. We are the varsity athlete. The fabulous diva. The VP of Sales. The sci-fi novelist. The class clown. The candidate for mayor.
Asian Americans have not been given space to express the full range of their feelings and identities. For many years, we’ve had minimal representation in media, and our faces were used as props, villains, or the butt of jokes. And because we have not told our stories, it’s easy to make up assumptions about us and blame us for what’s wrong in our society.
We are demanding to be heard. And asking the questions we dared not say before. When will we be welcome, not just included? When will others love us as much as they love our food? We are sharing our dreams out loud, in hopes that they may come to be. Someday our pain will be seen. Someday our history will be taught. Some day we too will be American. As immigrants, we came to this country to make a better life for ourselves. Now we must fight for our shared future, as part of a larger community.
We Are More seeks to break down tired worn out cliches and stereotypes of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and forge in its stead a brilliant, multidimensional identity that encompasses the resilience and range of our people. Featuring dynamic visuals, bold typography, and human stories, this art series will make you rethink how you see America’s fastest growing racial minority, for good.
WE ARE MORE is on view in Times Square in partnership with Times Square Arts, beginning May 2021, with subsequent installations appearing in Boston and other cities around the United States.