Helen Zia
Encyclopedia
Helen Zia is an American
journalist and scholar who has covered Asian American
communities and social and political movements for decades.
to first generation immigrants from Shanghai
. She entered Princeton University
in the early 1970s and was a member of its first graduating class of women. As a student, Zia was among the founders of the Asian American Students Association. She was also a vocal anti-war
activist, voicing her Opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, and a firm believer in feminism
.
She entered medical school in 1974, but quit in 1976. She moved to Detroit, Michigan
. She went to work as a construction laborer, an autoworker and a community organizer, after which she discovered her life’s work as a journalist
and writer.
She is the author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People, a finalist for the prestigious Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize. President of the United States
Bill Clinton
quoted from Asian American Dreams at two separate speeches in the White House Rose Garden
.
She is also co-author, with Wen Ho Lee
, of My Country Versus Me, which reveals what happened to the Los Alamos
scientist who was falsely accused of being a spy for the People's Republic of China
in the “worst case since the Rosenbergs.”
Zia is former Executive Editor of Ms. Magazine
. Her articles, essays and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, books and anthologies. She was named one of the most influential Asian American
s of the decade by A. Magazine
.
Zia has received numerous journalism awards for her ground-breaking stories; her investigation of date rape
at the University of Michigan
led to campus demonstrations and an overhaul of its policies, while her research on women who join neo-Nazi
and white supremacist
organizations provoked new thinking on the relationship between race and gender violence in hate crime
s.
Zia has been outspoken on issues ranging from civil rights
and peace to women's rights
and countering hate violence and homophobia
. In 1997, she testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on the racial impact of the news media. She traveled to Beijing
in 1995 to the United Nations
Fourth World Congress on Women as part of a journalists of color delegation. She has appeared in numerous news programs and films; her work on the 1980s Asian American
landmark civil rights case of anti-Asian violence is documented in the Academy Award nominated film, “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” and she was profiled in Bill Moyers
' PBS documentary, “Becoming American: The Chinese Experience.”
Zia received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the Law School of the City University of New York
for bringing important matters of law and civil rights into public view.
Zia remained closeted
during much of her early career. She came out nationally on a live C-SPAN
broadcast in the early 90s. She currently resides in the Bay Area
with her wife, Lia Shigemura. The pair were married in San Francisco in 2004, and again in 2008.
On January 15, 2010, Zia testified for the plaintiffs at the trial (Perry v. Schwarzenegger
) on the constitutionality of California Proposition 8 (2008)
-- which banned same-sex marriage in the state after the California Supreme Court approved it. The defense moved to exclude her testimony on grounds that her individual experience was irrelevant, but Judge Vaughn Walker denied the motion. Zia spoke at the trial of discovering she was a lesbian at age six, of being confronted by coworkers about her sexuality in the 1970s, and of feeling great joy upon getting married in 2004. She also evidenced how Proposition 8 had degraded her, and had led to her being the subject of gross insults. Lastly, she testified that she left her job at Ms. Magazine in New York to be with Shigemura in San Francisco.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist and scholar who has covered Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
communities and social and political movements for decades.
Life and career
Zia was born in New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
to first generation immigrants from Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. She entered Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in the early 1970s and was a member of its first graduating class of women. As a student, Zia was among the founders of the Asian American Students Association. She was also a vocal anti-war
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
activist, voicing her Opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, and a firm believer in feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
.
She entered medical school in 1974, but quit in 1976. She moved to Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. She went to work as a construction laborer, an autoworker and a community organizer, after which she discovered her life’s work as a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and writer.
She is the author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People, a finalist for the prestigious Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize. President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
quoted from Asian American Dreams at two separate speeches in the White House Rose Garden
White House Rose Garden
The White House Rose Garden is a garden bordering the Oval Office and the West Wing of the White House. The garden is approximately 125 feet long and 60 feet wide...
.
She is also co-author, with Wen Ho Lee
Wen Ho Lee
Dr. Wen Ho Lee is a Taiwan-born Taiwanese American scientist who worked for the University of California at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He created simulations of nuclear explosions for the purposes of scientific inquiry, as well as for improving the safety and reliability of the US nuclear...
, of My Country Versus Me, which reveals what happened to the Los Alamos
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
scientist who was falsely accused of being a spy for the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in the “worst case since the Rosenbergs.”
Zia is former Executive Editor of Ms. Magazine
Ms. magazine
Ms. is an American feminist magazine co-founded by American feminist and activist Gloria Steinem and founding editor Letty Cottin Pogrebin together with founding editors Patricia Carbine, Joanne Edgar, Nina Finkelstein, and Mary Peacock, that first appeared in 1971 as an insert in New York magazine...
. Her articles, essays and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, books and anthologies. She was named one of the most influential Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
s of the decade by A. Magazine
A Magazine
A Magazine was founded in 1989 by Jeff Yang, Amy Chu, Sandi Kim and Bill Yao to cover Asian American issues and culture, and grew out of a campus magazine Yang edited while an undergraduate at Harvard University....
.
Zia has received numerous journalism awards for her ground-breaking stories; her investigation of date rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
led to campus demonstrations and an overhaul of its policies, while her research on women who join neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
and white supremacist
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
organizations provoked new thinking on the relationship between race and gender violence in hate crime
Hate crime
In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or...
s.
Zia has been outspoken on issues ranging from civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
and peace to women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
and countering hate violence and homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
. In 1997, she testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on the racial impact of the news media. She traveled to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
in 1995 to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Fourth World Congress on Women as part of a journalists of color delegation. She has appeared in numerous news programs and films; her work on the 1980s Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
landmark civil rights case of anti-Asian violence is documented in the Academy Award nominated film, “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” and she was profiled in Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers is an American journalist and public commentator. He served as White House Press Secretary in the United States President Lyndon B. Johnson Administration from 1965 to 1967. He worked as a news commentator on television for ten years. Moyers has had an extensive involvement with public...
' PBS documentary, “Becoming American: The Chinese Experience.”
Zia received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the Law School of the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
for bringing important matters of law and civil rights into public view.
Zia remained closeted
The Closet
The Closet may refer to:* The Closet , Chinese film* The Closet , French film* The closet, referring to undisclosed homosexuality- See also :* Closet* Closet * In the closet...
during much of her early career. She came out nationally on a live C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
broadcast in the early 90s. She currently resides in the Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
with her wife, Lia Shigemura. The pair were married in San Francisco in 2004, and again in 2008.
On January 15, 2010, Zia testified for the plaintiffs at the trial (Perry v. Schwarzenegger
Perry v. Schwarzenegger
Perry v. Schwarzenegger is a federal lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California challenging the federal constitutionality of Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot initiative that amended the California Constitution to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples,...
) on the constitutionality of California Proposition 8 (2008)
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
-- which banned same-sex marriage in the state after the California Supreme Court approved it. The defense moved to exclude her testimony on grounds that her individual experience was irrelevant, but Judge Vaughn Walker denied the motion. Zia spoke at the trial of discovering she was a lesbian at age six, of being confronted by coworkers about her sexuality in the 1970s, and of feeling great joy upon getting married in 2004. She also evidenced how Proposition 8 had degraded her, and had led to her being the subject of gross insults. Lastly, she testified that she left her job at Ms. Magazine in New York to be with Shigemura in San Francisco.
External links
- Helen Zia at SpeakOutNow.org