Emma Gee

Emma Gee (1939 – April 15, 2023) was an American activist, scholar and writer, best known for helping to coin the term "Asian American" and co-founding the Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA) with her husband, Yuji Ichioka.

After establishing the first-ever AAPA chapter in Berkeley, California, Gee was influential in guiding the organization through social advocacy, notably by supporting the Third World Liberation Strikes of 1968 and helping to extend AAPA beyond the San Francisco Bay Area. Gee is widely credited with collaborating with fellow AAPA activists, including Vicci Wong, Lilian Fabros, and Penny Nakatsu, to ensure that women activists held leadership roles as part of the organization's broader goal of inclusivity.

Gee later entered academia as a lecturer at UC Berkeley and UCLA, where she taught some of the first Asian American studies courses at both institutions, including the first-ever course focused on Asian women. She is also known for her writing efforts, notably editing and contributing to Asian Women (1971) and Counterpoint: Perspectives on Asian America (1976), the latter in collaboration with the Pacific Asian American Women Writers West (PAAWWW).