The Midwest
The Asian American experiences in smaller Midwest towns often seem like a minor footnote or an afterthought, whereas their counterparts on the coasts are well documented and discussed. What are lives like for Asian Americans in the Midwest? How do these experiences differ from those on the coast? Does living in smaller and more culturally homogeneous communities bring distinct challenges or advantages to the Asian population? What does it mean and take to be an Asian American in the Midwest?
Jane Murakami – “Growing up and being as American as I am, that when someone reacts to me as a person of color… it’s mind blowing… I walked into a bar, and… I felt like Moses, the seas just parted. … Everybody’s just, you know, staring and watching me go past.”
Jane Murakami Transcription
I was working for Job Service North Dakota… at the time… when 9/11 happened. And… I, I was in Fargo, which is in the far east and I was supposed to go to Bismarck which is further west. And… I said, “You know, I’m not real comfortable going to Bismarck right now”. And they said “Why?” And I said “Eh… I’m a little too dark to be out in western North Dakota at this time.” And, and the people that I worked with were like “Well what do you mean?” I mean, because they didn’t see me as being a person of color, you know. I think that, that growing up and being as American as I am that when somebody reacts to me as a person of color it, it’s, I mean it’s mind blowing. I was at a, at, at, I think it was an Eagles Club or something. A friend and I were sort of playing and… it was during Winter Fest in Valley City which is you know, the whole state of North Dakota comes and watches the rodeo and things like that. But it was… and I walked into the bar, and, I mean I felt like Moses, the seas just parted. And, and everybody’s just, you know, staring and watching me go past. And everybody’s like WOW. And that, that was very surprising ‘cause that was like 40 minutes away from Fargo so I didn’t realize, you know, how insulated that city was. You know, in Fargo, you see many different colors at any times, but in Valley City it was still, I was still a novelty.
Caroline Ticarro Parker “Growing up in the Midwest is very different than growing up on the West Coast. We lived in California and Oregon… and I remember my husband saying ‘I can’t believe I’m the minority.’ Welcome to my world.”
Caroline Ticarro-Parker Transcription
Well, I think growing up in Minnesota means that you have to accept the fact that no matter how old or where you go someone will stare at you. That you will still be WOW the only Asian in the room. I remember when my husband and I… were first engaged and we went, and he lives in, in an even, he grew up even, in an even smaller town in Minnesota. And we were in a pizza restaurant and no one would serve us. Everyone around us would be served and no one would come up to us and serve us… because they just didn’t know how to talk to “the, the Asian” in the room. And my husband, who again is not Asian, would be like “I don’t get it, why don’t you ask her what she wants? She’s right there.” And my kids, you know, they know that they’re the “token Asians,” they were just complaining this school year they had a career fair, which should be a great opportunity for kids to see what’s out there, they came home from that and said “So everyone that spoke today was white, male. Are they the only ones that get jobs?” So, not only did they recognize that there’s no diversity in ethnicity, but there’s no diversity in gender. And that’s just how the high school, kinda, brought together all the interesting jobs. I think in Minnesota you just have to be, I mean and I know there is a huge adoption population here in Minnesota… and I think we all are always surprised that we’re not adopted. There’s also a huge refugee population in Minnesota because Minnesota has a great social service network for refugees. And there are pockets in… especially in the Twin Cities where the population stays intact, the Hmong, the Somalians, the Vietnamese at one point. But yeah, I think that growing up in the Midwest is very different than growing up in the West Coast. We lived in California and Oregon for a brief time and I remember my husband saying “I can’t believe I’m the minority.” Welcome to my world. So, you just grow a tougher skin.
Toui Mohlke – “When we lived on the East Coast… there were a lot of Asian people, we had a lot of friends. We spent every weekend with other Lao people, and when we got here and there was… almost no one… and that was a big shock.”
Toui Mohlke Transcription
There wasn’t much of an Asian population in Minnesota at that time. When we lived on the East Coast there, you know, there were a lot of Asian people, we had a lot of friends. We spent every weekend, you know, with other Lao people, and we got here and there was, you know, almost no one, so that was a big shock. And, so we decided that we were going… stay here even though the winters were horrible and ended up liking it. And my parents have since moved back to the East Coast, but, you know, I… I think if I just went and lived on the West Coast for a while. I would… I mean there are so many Asian-Americans on the West Coast I, I think it would be kind of cool to blend in. Just, just try other parts of the US. I don’t, I don’t know if it will happen, because of, you know, money and work and, and all of that. But, hopefully someday. And then just, you know, we’ve mainly, we’re, we’re staying in Northfield mainly for our kids right now. ‘Cause they, they don’t want to move, they have great friends here, they’re having a… successful experience in, you know, school, and, so I, I want to stay here for them. But it, it’s, it’s just a little more isolated and, and small town than, than I want to have for a very long time.
Ameeta Sony – “I assume that’s one thing that struck me is that people here are very friendly. They have the time, a little bit more time, I guess, than people in California rushing to get to different places and stuff like that.
Ameeta Sony Transcription
Actually when I first came to the US I ended up in the West Coast. And I spent maybe, it was my first time here, I mean the US, so I spent maybe about two months in the West Coast of California area. And I noticed there are a lot of Asians there. So you’re not the minority necessarily, because there could be a community where there are a lot of Asians. Whereas when you come here, it’s different, you stand out. And I also find that in Asia people just go, life is busy there too, so people go about their busi.