What does it mean to be Asian in a country where everything seems Black and white?

Growing up, author and scholar Julia Lee says she spent much of her formative years angry about never being seen, ashamed that she felt powerless as a Korean woman, and suffering from generational trauma passed down from her immigrant parents.

On Under the Radar with Callie Crossley, Lee said understanding her place in a racial hierarchy constructed around Black and white has been a complicated journey.

"It's just that in our society and in our culture, being white means you get to be treated as human, and that is all I and so many people of color want," she said. "Unfortunately, when we look around, the only people who get to be treated as full human beings are white. And so it's not whiteness we want, we just want to be treated with humanity and humaneness."

Lee explores this journey in her new memoir, "Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in Black and White America."

Author and scholar Julia Lee discusses growing up neither Black nor white in America 23:41 Share

Under the Radar Podcast

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Author and scholar Julia Lee discusses growing up neither Black nor white in America