by Catherine Chang
President of CAPASUS, 2021-2022

Asian Americans are Americans. Constituting 5.6% of the American population in 2019, Asian Americans work hard, study hard, and live hard to contribute to the United States and to be recognized. The stereotypes and misconceptions about Asian Americans, which are abundant in American society since the 19^th century, continue to divide people living on this free land. The American Dream that all Asian Americans hold up is the guarantee of the unalienable rights of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” revealed in the Declaration of Independence. To realize this dream, it is a must for all Americans, including Asian Americans, to know the life experiences of Asian Americans and the roots of anti-Asian violence in American history.

Therefore, we collect some information below for your information. We appreciate very much the contribution and assistance of our CAPASUS members to put together this list: They are Jimmy Chao, Esther Chiu, Mac Liu, Oliver Tu, and Ray Wang (in the alphabetical order of the last names). The first few parts – websites, articles, videos, and articles – are brief. If you are interested in learning more, welcome to move on to the section of books in the 2^nd half of this document. While there are much more articles, links, videos, and books out there, we hope this list will help you to build the foundation.

As William Wordsworth said, “To begin, begin.”

Websites of Museums and History

1. Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (https://smithsonianapa.org/)
2. National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (https://www.ncapaonline.org/dayofaction/)
3. Media Action Network for Asian Americans (https://manaa.org/)
4. Bystander Resources (https://www.ihollaback.org/bystander-resources/)
5. “Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882.” History Channel, Sep 13, 2019 [Aug 24, 2018] (https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/chinese-exclusion-act-1882)
6. “The Immigration Act of 1924 (The Johnson-Reed Act).” Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute, United States Department of State (https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/immigration-act)
7. “Japanese Internment Camps.” History Channel, February 21, 2020 [October 29, 2009] (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation)
8. The Chinese American Museum (https://camla.org/)
9. Chinese American Museum of Chicago (https://ccamuseum.org/)

Other Organizations

1. Asian Americans Advancing Justice (https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/)
2. Asian Mental Health Collective (https://www.asianmhc.org/)
3. Stop AAPI Hate (https://stopaapihate.org/)
4. Stand Against Hatred (https://www.standagainsthatred.org/)
5. National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (https://www.naapimha.org/)

The AAPI Community Fund (https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-aapi-community-fund)

Videos

1. “Asian Americans. Episode 1: Breaking Ground.” PBS. https://youtu.be/SkIjSx2Ax0U
2. “Asian Americans. Episode 2: Question of Loyalty.” PBS. https://youtu.be/BBk9gbKsT6I
3. “Asian Americans. Episode 3: Good Americans.” PBS. https://youtu.e/2n7xgho1glo
4. “Asian Americans. Episode 4: Generation Rising.” PBS. https://youtu.be/ykXkit5hvJ8
5. “Asian Americans. Episode 5: Breaking Through.” PBS. https://youtu.be/BloTRK7sPk8
6. “Rise in Anti-Asian Violence with actors Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu – Race in America.” Washington Post March 3, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT1mDgDjJ5g
7. “Historian Erika Lee & Activist Helen Zia on Rise in Anti-Asian Violence,” Washington Post March 8, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoQdpA6VMdw
8. “Asian American/Pacific Islander Affairs Advisory Committee Meeting.” SC Commission for Minority Affairs. March 25, 2021. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmxQa9PCG_Y&list=PLm8uu2booPIENdA26lfHlK3xSFthktPX3)
9. “The Chinese Exclusion Act.” A Special Presentation of American Experience. Directed by Ric Burns and Li-Shin Yu. PBS, 2017. 160 minutes. (available in DVD for sale)
10. “Income and Education Levels Divide Asian American Community.” CBS News. March 23, 2021. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFiu2iSZJ9w)

Articles

Race vs. Ethnicity: Are Asians a race or ethnicity? In general, race and ethnicity are two different concepts. However, both are social constructs as their meanings are reshaped all the time.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/race-ethnicity?loggedin=true

Hate Crimes against Asian Americans
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7790522/

Voices from the AAPI Groups in South Carolina
“‘Enough Is Enough’: Fighting Racism against the Asian Community in South Carolina.” News 19, March 26, 2021. (https://www.wltx.com/article/news/local/combatting-asian-hate-midlands/101-0eaf524d-2f43-4e2b-a13e-af2ff7696e68)

If you want more detailed and academic books on Chinese Americans and Asian Americans in general, here they are.

Books

Cassel, Susie Lan ed. The Chinese in America: A History from Gold Mountain to the New Millennium. Walnut Creek: Altamira Press, 2002.

Hsu, Madeline Y. The Good Immigrants: How the Yellow Peril Became the Model Minority. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015.

Kurashige, Lon ed. Pacific America: Histories of Transoceanic Crossings. University of Hawaii Press, 2017.

Kwong, Peter, and Dušanka Miščević. Chinese American: The Untold Story of America’s Oldest New Community. New York: The New Press, 2005.

Ling, Huping. Surviving on the Gold Mountain: A History of Chinese American Women and Their Lives. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998.

Liu, Haiming. The Transnational History of a Chinese Family: Immigrant Letters, Family Business, and Reverse Migration. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2005.

Loewen, James W. The Mississippi Chinese between Black and White. Second Edition. Long Grove: Waveland Press, Inc., 1988 [1971].

Ma, Laurence J. C. and Carolyn Cartier eds. The Chinese Diaspora: Space, Place, Mobility, and Identity. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2003.

Masuoka, Natalie, and Jane Junn. The Politics of Belonging: Race, Public Opinion, and Immigration. University of Chicago Press, 2013.

McKeown, Adam M. Melancholy Order: Asian Migration and the Globalization of Borders. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008.

Pan, Lynn. Sons of the Yellow Emperor: A History of the Chinese Diaspora. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1990.

Tchen, John Kuo Wei, and Dylan Yeats eds. Yellow Peril! An Archive of Anti-Asian Fear. London: Verso, 2014.

Wong, Janelle S., S. Karthick Ramakrishman, Taeku Lee, and Jane Junn. Asian American Political Participation: Emerging Constituents and their Political Identifies. Russell Sage Foundation, 2011.

Yung, Judy. Unbound Voices: A Documentary History of Chinese Women in San Francisco. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.

[Many more books, book chapters, and journal articles about transnational migration, including labor migration and marriage migration, are not listed here.]