State Rep. Theresa Mah | November 9, 2022

A long history of structural racial inequality blocked Asian Americans from political participation. With Tuesday’s wins, we’ll be able to advocate for our communities so that it will not be possible to make policies “about us without us.”

The drought of Asian Americans in elected office in most states besides California and Hawaii is not because our population is a small percentage, or that there is any truth to the misconception that Asian Americans are somehow “not politically inclined,” or unwilling to get involved or “rock the boat.”

The actual explanation is inextricably tied to structural racial inequality that has shaped how our social, cultural, political and economic institutions have developed.