Superman Had Nothing on Keith Aoki
UCLA Asian Pacific American Law Journal, 2012
9 Pages Posted: 6 Mar 2012 Last revised: 24 Apr 2012
Date Written: 2012
Abstract
In this tribute to the late Keith Aoki, Professor of Law at U.C. Davis, I point out that at the heart of much of Keith Aoki’s humanity and scholarship is a call for us to be on guard against institutional, public, and private strategies operating to disadvantage people of color and other subordinated groups. Much of his life and body of work inspires us to stand up to racism and subordination of those who are disadvantaged. In that context, I discuss recent attacks on Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities, and underscore our responsibility to speak the truth about these injustices, as Keith would have us do. In the process, I use a few cartoons as an homage to Keith, who often used his drawings to make salient points. Just as racial profiling by government action has seemingly sanctioned vigilante racism or, worse still, perpetration of hate crimes, Keith’s leadership and creative advocacy has deputized all of us to stand up to profiling, bigotry, racial hatred, and the wrong-headed souls who would challenge a broad and inclusive vision of America.
Keywords: Keith Aoki, racism, racial profiling, hate crime
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation