Grace Lee Boggs
Grace Lee Boggs is a Chinese-American social activist, author, philosopher and feminist. Boggs started her activism career when she joined a movement for tenants’ rights and the Workers party. Boggs advocated for both women’s rights and people of color through these associations and her involvement with the 1941 March on Washington. Throughout her life, she has embraced the philosophy that social change can occur in small groups concentrated in one area. She and her husband, James Boggs, founded Detroit Summer in 1992. This was a community effort of bringing people from a diverse range of backgrounds to help rebuild Detroit, which needed renovation after the end of the industrial era. Although Boggs passed away in 2015, her social justice work continues to inspire Asian Americans around the country.
Kalpana Chawla
Kalpana Chawla is the first Indian American to go to space. She served as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator on the space shuttle Columbia. Although she had died on space shuttle Columbia’s 23rd mission in 2013, Chawla was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. She is regarded as a hero in both the United States and India.
Helen Zia
Helen Zia is a Chinese American journalist and activist for LGTBQ+, Asian American and womens’ rights. She was one of the first women to graduate from Princeton in 1973, from where she went on to organize rallies against Asian hate crimes. Most notably, she led the movement after the murder of Chinese American Vincent Chin — who was mistaken for Japanese during a time of extreme anti-Japanese viewpoints—and inspired the Asian American community to speak out against injustice. She later penned multiple articles in famous newspapers such as The Washington Post, New York Times, and is also the author of books exploring the Asian American narrative.
May Chen
May Chen is a labor organizer and advocate for immigrant reform. After graduating college, she worked as an Asian and Asian-American studies professor at California State University. In 1982, she and garment workers in the New York Chinatown Strike rallied for better working conditions and higher wages. After the strike, she joined the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union and an immigration project to help union members acquire US Citizenship. She also worked on various other organizations, including the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, which she founded.
Patsy Mink
Patsy Mink was a Japanese American attorney and politician from Hawaii. Although she experienced multiple sexist and racist challenges, she became the first woman of color and first Asian-American elected to Congress. As a representative for Hawaii, she introduced the Early Childhood Act in the 1960s and was also the first person to oppose a Supreme Court nominee for previous sexist and racist comments. She also advocated for much more legislation involving minority groups such as women, immigrants, and children. Mink’s revolutionary steps have opened doors for many other aspiring women, especially Asian American and women of color, and her legacy continues to impact our lives today.
Article by Maya Bhattiprolu of Winston Churchill High School
Graphic Courtesy of Medium.com