Until 1965, most APAs were not afforded the same civil rights protections as other Americans. Indeed the most flagrant violation of the civil rights of APAs occurred during World War II when thousands of Japanese Americans, many of whom were U.S. citizens, were forcibly rooted from their homes and placed in internment camps. During the past thirty years, much progress has been made in ensuring that APAs, as well as all minority groups are afforded their civil rights. Affirmative action, bilingual education and bilingual voting ballots are all programs that have helped enable the APA community to fully participate in the political process of the United States, as well as to make strides in their own lives. However, in the past few years, assaults on these programs have threatened to ignore the problem.
More progress is needed.
One of the most significant wrongs that needs to be remedied is the case of the Wards Cove Cannery workers, where 2000 APA and native Alaskan workers were denied the protections of the 1991 Civil Rights Act. Today, these cannery workers are the only ones in the United States not protected by the 1991 Civil Rights Act passed by the Congress and signed by the President. This deliberate act of excluding a group of people is a black mark for this country's civil rights laws. Although affirmative action has played a part in the tremendous success for APAs in higher education, much more needs to be done at the work place. Although immigrants recognize the need to learn English in order to succeed in the United States, many still need assistance in order to be full participants in the social, economic and political arenas of American society.