Kenji Yoshino Lecture

           Kenji Yoshino presented a compelling and fascinating lecture on Monday, November 4^th.  Yoshino made the vital distinction between assimilation and inclusion.  He asserted that assimilation is be the effect of discrimination, not a symptom of its elimination from society.  He eloquently argued against the discriminatory culture that America still has today.

            Yoshino sees the American culture as divided between two groups.  First, there is the white majority and those who assimilate.  Second, there are the minorities and those who do not assimilate.  He argued that inclusion is “conditioned upon assimilation to the mainstream”, continuing that “the line [of discrimination] has not been erased, it has been moved”.  Discrimination today is much more subtle than it was during the days of legal segregation and slavery, however it still is unfortunately prevalent in our world.

            He emphasized the idea of “covering”. Yoshino believes that all people “cover” in some area of life.  Individuals put on facades of half-truths and identities that we project to the world, all the while hiding some “secret self” from those around us.  Covering is motivated by “covering demands”.  Family, friends, and communities and place these “covering demands” upon individuals.  Society expects a certain type of behavior from different classes or categories of people, which causes people to cover some aspects of their identities, and to magnify other aspects.

            Yoshino differentiated between “Good” and “bad” assimilation.  He argued that if an individual is impacted negatively by a demand to cover, then one should seek the source of the covering demand.  Oftentimes, an individual can be the source of his/her own covering demand, as people are highly self-critical. 

            In conclusion, Yoshino said that, “we hold many identities precious in our society, and the law will never protect them all.”  However, it is our job, as perpetuators of society to eliminate covering demands, to the best of our abilities, and to protect any identity that another individual may hold precious.