LEWISBURG — Natalie Masuoka, associate professor of political science and Asian American studies, UCLA, shared her expertise on the role that Asian Americans play in U.S. politics during a Bucknell University lecture on Thursday.

Speaking before a crowd of more than 75 students and local residents at the forum on the Bucknell campus, Masuoka’s lecture — “The Construction of Asian Americans as a Racialized Minority Group” — focused racial and ethnic politics through the years.

Masuoka said discrimination of Asian Americans didn’t begin during the coronavirus pandemic, when the former president renamed COVID the “Chinese virus” in his very public tweets and statements in the media. She said race has always been used as a tool in one way or another by politicians in the U.S.

The speaker transitioned into a historical analysis of the Asian American experience in the U.S., from the early 1900s on the west coast and the demonization of the Chinese immigrants who were portrayed in the media in the most deplorable ways.

This continued in subsequent years, such as during World War II, when Asian Americans were relocated into internment camps following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

“My first memory of talking about discrimination was in 1988, when my grandmother received a note from President George Bush. An apology for her internment,” Masuoka said. “When she read the letter to us, she was so emotional.”

At the end, Masouka brought the lecture back to one of the key issues of the day — the major influx of immigrants and who should be admitted. She said there are now quotas, where certain immigrants are considered desirable: professionals, college-educated people, nurses and scientists, to name a few examples.

On how Asian Americans will vote in the 2024 election, Masouka said, “Well, we’ll just have to see.”