Kim’s theory of racial triangulation is wrong

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines triangulation as "finding a position or location by means of bearings from two fixed points a known distance apart., 3 ' Those who subscribe to the theory of the racial triangulation of Asian Americans argue that Asian Americans are racially triangulated against Blacks and Whites because they occupy a position on the racial field with reference to the two other (Black and White) points. 32 "Racialization by association with [B]lackness and [W]hiteness endures .... Asian Americans have stood on unstable ground between '[B]lack' and '[W]hite,' falling under the honorary [W]hite category in anti-affirmative action arguments, but considered constructive [B]lacks for the purposes of school segregation or antimiscegenation laws. 33 The theory of the racial triangulation of Asian Americans is best understood by exploring the ideas behind racial triangulation. According to Claire Kim, racial triangulation of Asian Americans occurs through the processes of "relative valorization" and "civic ostracism" 34 The process of "relative valorization" is characterized by a dominant group assigning values to and constructing the identity of one subordinate group in relation to another subordinate group. The relationship between the subordinate groups is based on racial and cultural differences, and by constructing the identity of the subordinate groups in a way that furthers its own interests, the dominant group is able to be superior to both subordinate groups. Where Whites are the dominant group, they use relative valorization to dominate both Asian Americans and 30, Kim, supra note 6, at 106. 31. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/ triangulation (last visited Oct. 11,2007). 32. Kim, supra note 6, at 107. 33. Kim, supra note 2, at 2395. 34. Kim, supra note 6, at 107. [VOL. 13:309 Education and Labor Relations Blacks, but especially to dominate the latter.5 For example, in the 1800s White lawmakers constructed Chinese immigrants as "alien, despotic, and backward"3 " (although they were still "lauded as superior to Blacks on cultural-racial grounds") 37 while simultaneously constructing Blacks as "infantile, imitative, and cultureless.,38 These racial constructions allowed Whites to oppress and to assert their domination over both groups. In "civic ostracism," the dominant group (Whites) constructs one subordinate group (Asian Americans) as perpetual foreigners incapable of assimilating with Whites on racial and cultural grounds in order to ostracize that group.39 Asian immigrants were characterized as both unfit for and uninterested in the American way of life, and "were also constructed as immutably foreign and ostracized from the body politic on these grounds." 40 Civic ostracism also aids in the furtherance of White hegemony. Claire Kim argues that the two processes of relative valorization and civic ostracism work together to wedge Asian Americans in between Whites and Blacks and thus racially triangulates them. "Triangulated between Black and White, Asian Americans have been granted provisional acceptance for specific purposes, but they have never been embraced as true Americans."" 35. Id. 36. Id. at 109. 37. Id. at 110. 38. Id. 39. Id. at 107. 40. Id. at 112. 41. Id. at 129. FALL 2007] Michigan Journal of Race & Law FIGURE I RACIAL TRIANGULATION [VOL. 13:309 VAhits -*. B ac ks FOREICNER INSIDER FIELD OF RACIAL POSITIONS = Civic Ostracism -- = Relative Valorization Graph taken from Kim, supra note 6, at 108. As demonstrated on the graph, the two processes of relative valorization and civic ostracism are linked to and affect each other. "Functionally, the two ... processes of relative valorization and civic ostracism work in a complementary fashion to maintain Asian Americans in a triangulated position vis-i-vis Whites and Blacks. 42 A change in either process would fundamentally shift the position of Asian Americans within the racial playing field.43 Claire Kim notes, "the field of racial positions (and racial triangulation specifically) reinforces White dominance in various ways and... White opinionmakers sometimes deploy it quite strategically in defense of their own group's interest. 4 4 I agree with Kim that the jockeying for racial positions on the battle field serves to maintain and further White hegemony and that the dominant group takes steps to fuel tensions between minority groups to further the majority group's own interests. However, because the theory of racial triangulation posits that the position of Asian Americans is defined only with respect to and in relation to the position of Whites and Blacks, I do not agree that the status of Asian Americans and Blacks on today's multi-dimensional and multi-axial battle field can fully be explained by the racial triangulation of Asian Americans against Blacks and Whites. Asian Americans and Blacks have always been racialized relative to each other and have been characterized as polar opposites in various categories. In the realm of education and intellect, Asian Americans are stereotyped and classified as a superior race while Blacks are classified as the inferior race. In the realm of labor relations, Asian Americans are stereotyped as the most diligent and hard-working race, while Blacks are stereotyped as a lazy race that lacks discipline. Therefore, Kim's triangulation theory which establishes Blacks andWhites as the two bookends on a spectrum and then positions Asian Americans between these two groups fails to adequately define the relationship among the three groups. Part II will discuss how, in reality, the racialization of Asian Americans and Blacks in the areas of education and labor relations actually results in these two groups occupying positions as the polarized ends on a multi-axial spectrum. Whites occupy a position in the middle, and the positioning of Asian Americans and Blacks as the two bookends serves to strengthen the "Whiteness" in between which expands to consume any gaps along the racial battlefield.