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30 <br />ASIAN AMERICAN Focus Group Themes <br /> <br /> <br />Characteristics of Racism <br />• If you were raised in a predominantly white environment where there were few or no POC and are used to white <br />dominance, your view on experiences here is different than if you came from San Francisco or Seattle. <br />• It’s really white here. <br />• My experience in Eugene is not a white experience. I learned to be safe, going toward fairness and justice, and found <br />my place with other POC. <br />• Been here for 25 years. “There are times when you feel you don’t belong. South Eugene feels safer, more <br />progressive, more inclusive.” <br />• My third week here, I was told to go back to China. <br />• Came from Hawaii to the mainland in the hopes of being “white” but you can’t try to be white, so I was forced to <br />think about my identity—found my way to Asian American groups. <br />• People in Eugene are interested in Asian American cultures, but not the people. <br />• “It is more safe to be invisible. I am grateful that we have this focus group.” <br />• There is an attitude in Eugene among whites that we don’t need to talk about racism; they see themselves as beyond <br />that, post-racial. <br />• Will not walk downtown alone. Am subject to catcalls with racist undertones. <br />• In this town, it is seen as a negative if a person doesn’t speak English as a first language. <br />• Racism is important to us. We want a safe place. No one will back us up but ourselves. <br />• The white ally part has not developed for us. <br /> <br /> <br />Intersectionality <br /> <br /> <br />Institutional Expressions of Racism <br /> <br />City of Eugene <br />• The City does not really support the Asian American community. <br />• It does not provide financial support for events at the level it provides for NAACP/African Americans. <br />• The City supports events but does not support Asian American people. <br />• Need to get City electeds to come to Asian American cultural events where they can build their awareness and begin <br />to gain some cultural competency. <br />• Asian Americans are a resource to the City when it needs their help, but when Asian Americans need help, the City <br />does not respond. Community word of mouth is most important in Asian Americans deciding to come to Eugene, <br />not the information put out by the City about itself. <br />• We challenge the Human Rights Commission to make something happen in this city. <br />• It is tiring and taxing to have to help our own community; the City and County need to play more of a role and to <br />work with Asian Americans as allies. <br />• Asian Americans need space for young people to learn Taiko – a cultural space. <br />• We need to present the City with a plan for what we want in a cultural center, costs, timetables, and what is needed <br />from the City to make this plan happen, but the Asian American population is very small and lacks the critical mass <br />of professionals that could create this plan. <br /> <br />Across the Community <br /> <br />Police <br />• After the tazing of the students, Chief Kerns was to set up an advisory group of Asian Americans, but it doesn’t <br />meet. <br />• My sister was here, a Filipina, someone in “police gear” was trying to flirt with her – exotification of Asian women. <br /> <br />Businesses <br />• There are few places to get food that truly reflect our culture. “Not a single dim sum place.” <br />• Asian American businesses and churches do their own thing, don’t get involved with the larger community. <br /> <br />September 12, 2018, Work Session - Item 1