Louder than the Lies

Asian American Identity, Solidarity, and Self-Love

By: Ellie Yang Camp

Narrated by: Carmilla Jo

A primer on racism that offers an intersectional, anti-racist, coalition-building view of Asian American identity.

What does it mean to be Asian American? How does our racialization in the United States shape our lives and our worldviews? With candor and care, Ellie Yang Camp, a Taiwanese American educator, offers a set of ideas and frameworks to guide us toward a more nuanced understanding of these questions. Drawing on her experiences and observations from history, conversations with Asian American peers, and lessons derived from other people of color, Camp unpacks the confusing dynamics that underlie anti-Asian stigmas and stereotypes in the US. From the model minority myth to yellowface to anti-Blackness among Asian communities, Camp presses into hard questions and moments of discomfort, naming fears so that we might dispel them.

Key stories of resistance reveal the importance of solidarity, both among the diverse people under the Asian American umbrella and with all who are exploited by white supremacy. Acknowledging that racism is a system thrust upon us to control us, Camp fuels our boldness to challenge tropes, dismantle prejudices, and embrace self-determination as an act of radical liberation.

©2024 Ellie Yang Camp (P)2024 Dreamscape Media

Colorblindness is real

I am not Asian, and not the target audience. As a white male, many concept’s from this book were not easy to confront and it’s easy to get defensive. I am someone who is married to a 2nd generation Asian with a very young daughter. I appreciate the perspective and the questions this book prompts. It’s easy to fall into the trap of colorblindness.