Getting Together: Asian American New Communist Media as Resistance

This project focuses on the I Wor Kuen (IWK) a Marxist-Leninist group that arose in Manhattan’s Chinatown in 1969. The group was driven by second-generation Chinese Americans often in high school or college, and took inspiration from the Black Panther Party and Young Lords, working closely with them to form interracial coalitions. The group was also part of anti-Vietnam war protests, advocated for community health, and played a major role in addressing Manhattan’s housing crisis. This project will also look closely at the creation of their bilingual newspaper, Getting Together, which was produced by IWK in both English and Chinese, covering stories of both Chinese Americans and other underrepresented groups. The project will examine what drove the need for New Communist groups and media, as well as how Getting Together increased language access and fostered cross-racial solidarity. As someone who enjoys podcasting and working on my school’s newspaper The Clinton Post, and experiences language barriers within my own family, I know that questions of accessibility and language access are especially important and still relevant today.