top of page

ASIAN AMERICAN RESOURCES

Growing up, I learned very little about Asian and Asian American history and issues, and as a result I had internalized Orientalist propaganda that Asians didn't experience oppression and other lies that the Model Minority Myth taught me. Without access to Asian American Studies classes, I turned to journalism and the internet to help be unlearn and relearn what it means to be Asian and Asian American. Here is a working list of resources that have helped me on my journey.

People have asked me where I find my resources. Click here for a general list of blogs and publications I follow that help me continuously learn about Asian American issues and history. 

Complexities of the Asian-American Identity

Bhagat Singh Thind’s Case Shows the Link Between Whiteness and Citizenship by Vandana Pawa

The term ‘Asian American’ was meant to create a collective identity. What does that mean in 2018? by Sonia Rao

The Other Asian by Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed 

Filipino Americans: Blending Cultures, Redefining Race by Code Switch

I, too, am racialized. by Lydia X.Z. Brown

The Indo-Caribbean Experience: Now and Then by Elizabeth Jaikar

Moments in Asian American History​

The Making of Asian America: A History by Erika Lee

Filipinos helped shape America of today by Gabriel Garcia

Manila Village, How Filipino Arrived in North America in 1571

35 Years After Vincent Chin's Murder, How Has America Changed? by Asia Society

Who Is Vincent Chin? The History and Relevance of a 1982 Killing by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

Why you’ve never heard of the six Chinese men who survived the Titanic by Amy B Wang

The Story Of The Chinese Family That First Fought To Desegregate Southern Schools by Rebecca Klein

How Filipino Migrants Gave the Grape Strike Its Radical Politics by David Bacon

Yuri Kochiyama (1921-2014) by Kazuyo Tsuchiya

Grace Lee Boggs, Activist And American Revolutionary, Turns 100 by Kat Chow

75 years since the Zoot Suit Riots by By Andrea Rodés

Why customers at this LA Tiki bar toast its original owner every Wednesday night by Poala Mardo

Ringleader Of Human Smuggling Ring Dies, Leaving A Complex Legacy by Kat Chow

An Introduction to South Asian American History 

When Rioters Drove South Asians Out of Bellingham by Preeti Aroon

Japanese-American No-No Boys Explained by Nadra Kareem Nittle 

The Forgotten Story Of Classic Hollywood's First Asian-American Star by Anna Helen Peterson

A Humble Cambodian Refugee Became America's 'Donut King' And This Is His Life by Constantine Spyrou

Sikh Farmers in California by Sikh Pioneers

150 Years Ago, Chinese Railroad Workers Staged the Era's Largest Labor Strike by Chris Fuch

50 Years Later, Former UC Berkeley Students Celebrate the Asian-American Movement They Began by Sara Hossaini

How Japanese-Americans Changed California Agriculture by Al Jazeera

The Forgotten Asian Refugees Fed Into The U.S. Prison System by Kimberly Yam

Model Minority Myth

Are All Asians Rich? Ft. Lily Du by Decoded (MTV)

Asians Now Have The Largest Income Gap In America by Jessica Prois

History Is Repeating Itself for Asian Americans by Khoi B

Asian-American Prison Program Teaches About, Honors Inmates’ Cultural Struggles by Kimberly Yam

The Bamboo Glass Ceiling by Tiffany Diane Tso

5 Ways We Erase Southeast Asian Folks From The Conversation On Mental Health by Alicia Soller

Asian Americans are falling through the cracks in data representation and social services by Victoria Tran

Data on Undocumented Asian Americans by AAPI Data

The Dream Shattered: Vietnamese Gangs in America by Patrick Du Phuoc Long and Laura Ricard

Orientalism

Orientalism Is Alive And Well In American Cinema by Alison Willmore

The Rules of the Asian Body in America by Matthew Salesses

'The violence is always there': life as a Sikh in Trump's America by Andrew Gumbel

Accept Me, But Deport My Neighbor by Khoi B 

The Dotbusters that Attacked South Asians in Jersey City

If We Called Ourselves Yellow by Kat Chow

Identifying the Systemic Racial Issue behind the Qipao Incident: Whiteness as a Gatekeeper to Ethnic Culture by Sean Dao

4 Signs You’re Culturally Appropriating Buddhism – And Why It’s Important Not to by Kim Tran

Nationalism & Violence

How The Chinese Massacre Of 1871 Became One Of The Largest Lynchings In U.S. History by Gisely Ruiz

Queerness

3 Reasons Queer Asians Can’t Discard Their Families – And Why They Don’t Have to by xoài phạm

Claiming 6 Personal Rights as a Vietnamese, Gender Non-Conforming Femme by xoài phạm

English Isn't Enough: The Bakla, Two-Spirits, and Hijra by Major Julian

Anna May Wong: One step from greatness

Poet Alok Vaid-Menon: 'I Am Part Of Something Greater Than Myself'

This Is My Unbelievable But Totally True Transgender Ghost Story by By Andy Marra

Adoption

As An International Adoptee, I Know The Dark Side Of Adoption by Mary San Agustin,

Being ‘Transracial’ Is Real—But It’s Not What Racist White People Claim It Is by Lydia X.Z. Brown 

Adoptee deported by U.S. to sue South Korea, adoption agency by AP

This Is My Unbelievable But Totally True Transgender Ghost Story by By Andy Marra

Black-Asian Relations

Black-Asian animosity is an American tradition by Ann-Derrick Gaillot

Nail Salon Brawls & Boycotts: Unpacking The Black-Asian Conflict In America by Tiffany Diane Tso 

Let's Be Real: Asian And Black Artists Aren't "Celebrating" Each Other Through Hip-Hop by Andrew R. Chow

For Peter Liang by Franny Choi

The Secret History of South Asian & African American Solidarity on NBC Asian America

When You Become the Oppressive “Ally”: Asians, Anti-Blackness, and Accountability by xoài phạm

Crazy Rich Asians, AAVE, and My Asian-American Identity by Alice Meichi Li

Their Struggles, Our Gains: How Black Activists Paved the Way for South Asian Americans by Viren Shinde

Media

For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I'll tweet every day about an Asian American book that you should read, in no particular order. By Viet Thanh Nguyen

Music of the Asian Diaspora, a Spotify Playlist by me

Contemporary Asian American Progressions

A Snapshot Of How Asian-Americans Are Changing The South by Angela Chen

Hmong-American redefined patriotism before my eyes by W. Kamau Bell

How South Asian Americans Are Building a New American Dream by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee

bottom of page