Jan. 22nd was supposed to be a day of mass celebration for the Lunar New Year in Asian-American communities across California. The holiday is one of the most important celebrations in East Asian cultures, and is widely celebrated by Asian Americans here in the United States. In Asian cultures, Lunar New Year is more than just a new calendar year. People travel thousands of miles to be with their family and families. Enormous feasts and lavish banquets lasting for days are had. Numerous presents are exchanged. There are massive community festivities with festive music, acrobatic lion dances, and thundering dragon dances. It is also a time of almost-religious rebirth and self-reflection – people seek to renew treasured relationships in their lives, forgive the past year’s debts and place their lives on a new and better course. This year will be the Year of the Rabbit, which is seen as an auspicious year, full of rapid progress and good fortune.
Progress has indeed come. This year marks the first time in California’s history that Lunar New Year is celebrated as a state holiday; Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill in 2022 declaring the day as such, seeking to “acknowledge the diversity and cultural significance Asian Americans bring to California”.
Yet unfortunately, the holiday was overshadowed by the horrific violence that took place in Monterey Park, California, a majority Asian American suburb of Los Angeles. A gunman stormed into a dance studio where a Lunar New Year’s Eve celebration was taking place, killing 11 people and wounding dozens.
In the immediate aftermath, many Asian-Americans wondered whether or not the attack was yet another hate crime against their community. While preliminary investigations into the incident now say a domestic dispute was most likely the primary motivator for the crime, it does not hide the sad truth that Asian-Americans have now been the victims of three high profile mass shootings in the last year-and-a-half: the Atlanta Spa Shooting in 2021 which killed eight people, the Geneva Presbyterian Church shooting in 2022 which killed one person and wounded five, and now the Monterey Park shooting. All of this comes on top of an increase in anti-Asian American hate crimes nationwide. According to the nonprofit organization Stop AAPI Hate, 11,000 anti-Asian hate incidents occurred nationwide between March 19, 2020 and March 31st, 2022.
Despite the horrible events of the day, however, Lunar New Year celebrations across America still continued, as an outpouring of support for the Asian-American community came from all corners of America. President Joe Biden issued an order for all U.S. flags on federal property to be flown at half staff from Sunday, Jan. 22 to Thursday, Jan. 26 in honor of the victims of the tragedy and in solidarity with the Monterey Park community.
Amid such immense tragedy, there is hope. With the Year of the Rabbit now here, the United States and the Asian-American community is springing forward towards a brighter future. The outpouring of support and subsequent demands for action on gun-control from both Asian community leaders and politicians alike mark a new turning point in the story of Asian-Americans. Once marginalized by laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Acts, immigration quotas, or policies such as Japanese internment during WWII, Asian Americans are now being recognized as an integral part of America’s sociopolitical fabric and are undergoing a political awakening.
Designating Lunar New Year a state holiday was only the beginning. Congresswoman Grace Meng (D NY-6), along with 57 Democratic cosponsors, has just brought forth legislation on the House floor (H.R. 430) to make Lunar New Year a federal holiday. Additionally, a congressional panel is mulling over plans for the potential creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture that would be part of the Smithsonian Institution; the panel will announce its decision sometime later this year. Asian-Americans, especially millennials and Gen-Zers, are also becoming increasingly vocal and politically active in grassroots politics, as evidenced by the numerous Stop-AAPI hate protests in 2021 and 2022 led by Asian-Americans in cities across the country.
Asian-Americans are also increasingly becoming an important part of the American electorate. In Georgia’s recent midterm elections, the AAPI community saw the largest increase in voter turnout of any community, recording a 34.9% jump in turnout from 2018 levels. In New York City, Asian-Americans were critical swing voters in several New York State Assembly races. In New Jersey, where Asian-American voters make up nearly 11% of the population, this past election cycle saw a record number of Asian-Americans run for public office.
Given all these trends from the last year, it appears the Year of the Rabbit is set to be a monumental year for Asian-Americans in politics. In the aftermath of the Monterey Park shootings, AAPI community leaders in California are helping to lead a new charge for federal gun control. State legislative elections are coming up in New Jersey and Virginia, another state with a significant Asian-American population, and Asian-Americans are expected to be a key part of the electorate that will help decide key races. Lastly, the Supreme Court’s decision later this year on the twin affirmative action cases of Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. UNC will certainly galvanize Asian Americans in politics as well.
The Asian-American community in America is no stranger to tragedy and hardship. Many of our ancestors came to America seeking refuge from war, famine, and communism, with the hope of building a better life for future generations through the American Dream. Today, the results of this hope are springing to life, as millennial and Gen-Z Asian Americans come of age and enter American society. Though there may be hardships and tragedies that befall us and old prejudices to overcome, like a rabbit, we will boldly spring ahead into the future, and help do our part to craft a new, more beautiful and prosperous future for America.
