The Asian Political Alliance of Detroit

9/17/07

APA was founded in Detroit in 1969 and consisted of six members with a modest program. APA intended "to engage our fellow Asian Americans in a political dialogue by which we can raise our consciousness together." They showed films about China, conducted political workshops and study groups, carried out anti-draft work and most noticeably organized against the war.

As their goal suggested, they reached out to larger Asian American Movement groups where larger populations existed across the country and attracted much notice. However, they didn't always agree with what they found.

They attended the anti-war March in Washington D.C. in 1971. During this march, the lead coalition from New York decided to organize the Asian Americans as a separate contingent from the main March. APA later circulated a document that calling for dialogue about the process of such major decisions because they excluded other areas.

Among its most prominent members was Grace Lee Boggs who is still active today in the Boggs Center in Detroit. APA did not continue through 1971. However, in organizing in Detroit with its small Asian American population, it demonstrated the urge of young Asian Americans to organize wherever they were.

We will be posting pieces from APA's pamphlet "Asians and the War."