Helen Zia’s Life Journey and Exploration of Asian Identity

By Angela Anand, AAUC President, SAWN President, former President of NFIA

Helen Zia, the civil rights icon and award-winning author, in conversation with KaYing Yang, a member of President Biden’s disbanded AANHPI commission, enlightened the attendees at the AAUC Summit 2025. The annual event was held in the nation’s capital on September 16-17, 2025.

Helen and KaYing delved into Helen’s life experiences and what motivated her to stand for equality and social justice. Helen started by exploring the theme of loneliness, identity, and the complexities of life of an Asian family. She was born in Newark, New Jersey, in the 1950s to first-generation immigrants from Shanghai. She learned about her heritage from her parents and others. Her adolescent years in New Jersey, a multi-racial and bi-cultural environment and youth in different educational institutions molded her personality. She grew up with a very small number of Asians who were engaged in service industries for their livelihood. He parents wanted her to speak English only and quickly assimilate into the prominent culture.

The audience listened to the dialogue unfolding with a bit of humor as Helen shared memories of events that unfolded during 1960 and 1970, the era when the Vietnam War spurred a lot of youth to get involved in protests. She was asked by a friend and classmate to choose whether she was Black or White as Asian identity was pretty much invisible. Helen said that her generation witnessed the rise of the feminist movement and the dissatisfaction experienced by youth due to America’s involvement in Vietnam War, which was the genesis of her and others’ engagement in the civil rights movement.

Zia’s role in the national Asian American civil rights movement began after the racially motivated killing of 27-year-old Vincent Chin in Detroit in 1982. After a judge sentenced Chin’s attackers to probation, Zia helped organize a coalition of Asian Americans to stand up for social justice and equality. Her stance for human rights, LGBTQ, and women’s rights, and the peace movement is well documented, and she has been acclaimed for national recognition.

Helen was a bright student. Her educational background includes Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, where she was a founding member of its Asian American Students Association and a member of its first graduating class of women.

Helen‘s sharing of her life experiences with the Summit attendees made everyone realize the times when the lifestyle of an Asian American was one of isolation and struggle for survival. She emphasized the fact that now Asian Americans are not a model minority but the fastest-growing population in the nation. Her message during this talk was loud and clear: to get engaged and speak up on issues that impact you and your community’s well-being.