Paul Bock discusses his experiences as an Asian American participant in Jesse Jackson's 1991 "March to Rebuild America" in Connecticut.

Authors

Phoebe Ten Yin Ho Bock
Paul Bock

Document Type

Audio Recording (audio)

Episode Number

60

Broadcast Date

8-28-1991

Keywords

Asian American activism, Rainbow Coalition march, Connecticut social justice, racial solidarity, model minority myth, Asian American civic engagement

Abstract

Paul Bock reflects on his experiences as the only other Asian American to complete the entire route of Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition "Connecticut Marches to Rebuild America," which took place from August 11-17, 1991, traveling from Bridgeport to Hartford. Bock carried a large sign reading "Rainbow Yes Yellow Is Beautiful to Break the Silence Asian Americans in Connecticut" throughout the 60-mile march on his bicycle. He discusses themes of Asian American pride, racial solidarity, and cross-cultural community building while sharing personal anecdotes from the march, including interactions with African American, white, and Hispanic fellow marchers. Bock addresses the challenges of Asian American visibility in social justice movements, critiques the "model minority" stereotype, and advocates for greater Asian American civic engagement and activism. He emphasizes the importance of Asian Americans asserting racial pride, breaking silence on social issues, and actively participating in the struggle for equality alongside other communities of color.

Rights

This episode is shared with permission from the copyright holder under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). You may share, copy, and adapt this material for non-commercial purposes with proper attribution to the original creator. The University of Connecticut has permission to preserve and provide access to this content.

Recommended Citation

Bock, Phoebe Ten Yin Ho and Bock, Paul, "Paul Bock discusses his experiences as an Asian American participant in Jesse Jackson's 1991 "March to Rebuild America" in Connecticut." (1991). Asian American Forum: Breaking the Silence. 1.
https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/aaf_breaking_the_silence/1