Over the past century and a half we Asian Americans have suffered more than our fair share of injustices at the hands of racists, ignoramouses, demagogues, alarmists, opportunists and just plain ornery and misguided people.

Fortunately, we've also produced our share of crusaders, those people born with true fire in their bellies for a good fight.

You can't really compare the effort to free Los Alamos nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee with, say, trying to win sympathy and understanding for gays. But both strike a chord in all who have felt the sting of being misunderstood, falsely labeled and deprised of our most basic civil rights.

Which Asian American crusader inspires you most?