Racial pluralism can serve as the basis on which ethnic diversity and the concept of an American unity can come together. Pluralism can take into consideration the present revival of ethnic identity in all ethnic communities including the Asian American. It can also deal with the issue of American identity in the midst of burgeoning ethnic sensitivity. Asian American history is characterized by attempts to exclude Asians from full participation in the society (immigration exclusion acts, miscegenation laws), acts of violence (such as the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans in concentration camps), and the ongoing influences of the larger society. By creating a new ethnic identity within the American context, Asians, like other ethnic groups, have gained a sense of self affirmation and a strong community identity. However Asians must not let the new ethnicity exclude them from the unifying factors of American life and experience. Through racial pluralism, Asian Americans can achieve three major goals: (1) a basis on which they can deal with the whole of society from their own experiences and insights; (2) a means of creating a just society; and (3) power to build an inclusive society in which the educational, economic and political opportunities are open to all. (Author/WI)