Asian American History

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• SOURCE: CNN
  10/18/2021
  

  St. Malo, Louisiana, Site of Earliest Filipino-American Settlement, Threatened by Climate Change

  More than a century ago, long before the Civil War, St. Malo was the first permanent Filipino settlement in the United States. Preserving the settlement's history is now a race against time. 

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• SOURCE: Public Books
  10/7/2021
  

  History Answers the Inexplicable: Interview with Madeline Hsu

  by Shirley Lung

  "Asian Pacific Americans is a census category. It does not reflect the lived experiences, in fact, of many ethnic Asian persons living in the United States....But it is politically a necessity, in part because of the racial projects at work. These killings were racially motivated."

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• SOURCE: San Diego Union-Tribune
  9/19/2021
  

  Local Professor Building History of San Diego's Japanese Americans

  San Diego City College professor Susan Hasegawa describes a public history project detailing the story of San Diego's Japanese Americans before and after internment, and a librarian who supported interned children with books and messages of support.

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  9/15/2021
  

  Looking for the Gold Rush Town of Chinese Camp

  "Sucheng Chan, a retired historian and the author of more than 15 books on Asian American history, notes that this region, called the Southern Mines, was home to almost half of the Chinese in California in 1860," but that history is poorly preserved for visitors today.

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• SOURCE: The New Yorker
  8/23/2021
  

  America Once was Eager for Chinese Immigration. Mae Ngai's Book Explains What Happened

  The first wave of the California Gold Rush was "a nettlesome experiment in multiracial democracy that had little precedent in the country's history," but resulted in the development of institutionalized anti-Asian nativism as a political force.

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• SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
  8/11/2021
  

  Two Scholars Discuss Black-Asian Solidarity in America

  "It’s complicated. But I think it’s a narrative that’s mediated by white mainstream media that deliberately pits us against each other."

• 
• SOURCE: Last Week Tonight
  6/7/2021
  

  Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Asian Americans (Feat. Mae Ngai)

  John Oliver discusses the large and diverse group of people who fall under the term “Asian American”, the history of the model minority stereotype, and why our conversations on the subject need to be better-informed. Feat. historian Mae Ngai. 

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• SOURCE: Hawaii Public Radio
  6/7/2021
  

  USPS Unveils Stamp Honoring Japanese American WWII Veterans

  “A picture is worth a thousand words,” said Lynn Heirakuji, president of the Nisei Veterans Legacy and co-chair of the Stamp Our Story Hawaii Organizing Committee.

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• SOURCE: The Conversation
  5/27/2021
  

  Japanese American Soldiers in World War II Fought the Axis Abroad and Racial Prejudice at Home

  by Susan H. Kamei

  The USPS has just released a stamp commemorating the service of the Japanese-American 100th/442nd combat unit in Europe during World War II. It's equally important to remember the way that veterans of that unit fought remaining racial prejudice after the war. 

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• SOURCE: Texas Standard
  5/19/2021
  

  Five Things Missing From Asian American History In Texas Schools

  KERA spoke to educators including historian Madeline Hsu about what Texas students are missing out on when it comes to Asian American history. They said the lack of diversity, notable figures and modern-day connection are some of the key issues.

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• SOURCE: National Geographic
  5/10/2021
  

  The Bloody History of Anti-Asian Violence in the West

  by Kevin Waite

  An 1871 massacre of Chinese residents in Los Angeles was the pinnacle of anti-Asian violence in the late 19th century west. 

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• SOURCE: History.com
  5/10/2021
  

  The First Asian American Settlement Was Established by Filipino Fishermen

  The first Asian American settlement in what is now the United States was by Filipino sailors and indentured servants who escaped from Spanish ships in the Gulf of Mexico and established settlements in Louisiana. 

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• SOURCE: TIME
  4/30/2021
  

  11 Moments From Asian American History That You Should Know

  Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month has begun. Historians Emily Lawsin, Andrew Leong, Jason Chang, Jane Hong, Charlotte Brooks, Vivek Bald, Chris Suh, Meredith Oda, Dawn Bohulano Mabalon, Helen Zia and Richard S. Kim discuss episodes all Americans should know about. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  4/22/2021
  

  Hank Azaria Apologized for Playing Apu on ‘The Simpsons.’ I Accept

  An Indian American actress reflects on the impact of 30 years of the character of Apu on the wildly popular show, arguing it enshrined a performance akin to minstrelsy as the dominant view of South Asians in American culture. 

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• 4/25/2021
  

  “Not Your Fetish”: Protesting Racism and Misogyny Against Asian American Women

  by Hao Zou

  The Atlanta massage parlor killings reflect a century and a half of history in which racist and misogynistic stereotypes of Asian women have been normalized in American culture. Protests are demanding change.

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• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  4/21/2021
  

  Racism Has Always Been Part of the Asian American Experience

  by Mae Ngai

  Anti-Asian racism draws from different historical origins than Jim Crow, but their histories are part of the same conflict: whether White Americans are entitled to rule over other people, domestically or globally. 

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• 4/18/2021
  

  Sadly, Hatred is Very Much American

  by Ralph E. Shaffer

  "Lieutenant Cable, and Oscar Hammerstein, had it wrong in "South Pacific."  Americans don't have to be "carefully taught " to hate. Historically, it's been inherent, one generation after another. The only change has been the target."

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• 4/18/2021
  

  What Do John Dewey's Century-Old Thoughts on Anti-Asian Bigotry Teach Us?

  by Charles F. Howlett

  A century ago, the American philosopher and educator took a sabattical to China and concluded that, if encouraged to learn about other cultures, White Americans could be brought to acceptance of Asian Americans and other immigrants as equal participants in democracy. COVID-inspired bigotry shows this dream remains unrealized.

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• SOURCE: TIME
  4/7/2021
  

  How a New Kung Fu TV Series Is Reclaiming Much More Than Just the Martial Arts

  The reboot of the 1970s series reflects a history of activism by Asian Americans for greater representation and control of their image in popular culture. 

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• SOURCE: Chronicle of Higher Education
  4/5/2021
  

  Without Asian American Studies, We Can’t Understand American Racism

  by Min Hyoung Song

  The establishment of Asian American Studies and ethnic studies programs has been essential to putting Asian American scholars (and scholars of Asian Americans) in position to engage the mass media around events like the Atlanta shootings. As those programs are under fire, it's time to recognize their value.