Eric Liu on Assimilation: Identity Beyond Whiteness

The Stigma of Assimilation in America

Assimilation has been one of the most hotly debated questions in the United States ever since immigrants became a dominant part of the American population. The question that arose was: to assimilate or not to assimilate? Most immigrants — especially second-generation immigrants — were given lessons in the evils of assimilation and were asked to stamp their individuality on the American social fabric by staying true to their roots. Chinese, Italian, Indian, and nearly every other minority community learned that assimilation was somehow akin to being a traitor. To assimilate, it was argued, would mean the loss of one's own culture, heritage, and identity, and that loss would ultimately threaten the survival of an entire ethnic group.

Eric Liu, however, feels differently. As a second-generation Chinese-American, he argues that assimilation is considered evil simply because it has been treated as synonymous with white power. Those who tried to assimilate were seen as poor souls who wanted to be white — to behave like white people and to become part of a white power structure. Liu challenges this view at its foundation.

Liu's central argument is that assimilation would not carry such a curse if we could separate it from the idea of "being white." America is such a vast conglomerate of so many identities that it can no longer be called a white country, and assimilation does not mean one is trying to be white. It only means one is trying to be American — and America is no longer white.

Eric Liu's Thesis: Separating Assimilation from Whiteness

What does it truly mean to be an immigrant who has assimilated well? The answer might reveal far more than we expect. We often connect assimilation with someone forgetting their roots and adopting white behavior. But deep down, assimilation has little to do with being white and a great deal to do with being American. And America is not white alone. The American way of life is not a white way of life; it is profoundly shaped by a variety of cultures, values, and beliefs. Eric Liu has become an American — but not necessarily a white one. As a society, we need to understand that being American is no longer synonymous with being white:

"In every assimilation, there is a mutiny against history — but there is also a destiny, which is to redefine history. What it means to be American — in spirit, in blood — is something far more borrowed and commingled than anything previous generations ever knew. Alongside the pain of migration, then, and the possibility, there is this truth: America is white no longer, and it will never be white again."

Consider the demographic reality: the Hispanic population alone is so large that Spanish has become the second most spoken language in the United States, right after English. Who can claim that with such a dominant Spanish-speaking population, American society has not been shaped by Spanish culture and values? By the same logic, someone who chooses to assimilate could just as easily be said to be becoming more Spanish. The choices immigrants make after arriving in the United States are their own.

Class, Culture, and the Myth of 'Acting White'

After obtaining a higher education, some people may not feel closely connected to less-educated relatives — but is that assimilation, or is it simply a matter of finding common ground with people who share similar intellectual and professional backgrounds? The same dynamic is at work in Liu's life. He catalogs the ways others might label him "white":

"Here are some of the ways you could say I am 'white': / I listen to National Public Radio. / I wear khaki Dockers. / I own brown suede bucks. / I eat gourmet greens. / I have few close friends 'of color.' / I married a white woman. / I am a child of the suburbs."

Many people would consider Liu "white" because of his friend group, his media choices, or his leisure activities. Liu argues this conclusion is wrong. It is a mistake to connect these preferences with whiteness or with any aspiration to become white. Instead, we must recognize that these are the things people of a certain educational and economic background tend to enjoy — regardless of their skin color. The tragedy is simply that most people with less education and less economic power happen to be people of color. As Liu puts it: "When I imagine myself among white people who influence the currents of our culture, it is not for their whiteness but for their influence… It is cruel enough that the least privileged Americans today have colored skin, the most privileged fair. It is crueler still that by our very language we should help convert this fact into rule. The time has come to describe assimilation as something other than the White Way of Being."

Conclusion: Redefining Assimilation

Assimilation is wrongly portrayed and poorly defined, which makes the very word sound evil. The process of assimilation does not make anyone any less connected to their own culture and heritage than they choose to be. As Liu writes: "The time has also come, I think, to conceive of assimilation as more than a series of losses — and to recognize that what is lost is not necessarily sacred. I have, as I say, allowed my Chinese ethnicity to become diluted. And I often resolve to do more to preserve, to conserve, my inheritance. But have my acts of neglect thus far, my many omissions…"