Who are Asian and Pacific Islander Americans?
They are Americans with ancestral roots in Asia and the Pacific Islands. Asian-Pacific Americans include: Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, Japanese Americans, Korean Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Asian-Indian Americans, Laotian Americans, Cambodian Americans, Hmong Americans, Thai Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pakistani, Samoan, Guamanian and many other ethnic groups. Although many of these groups share some roots, each has its own distinct culture and heritage.
About 10 million U.S. citizens are Asian-Pacific Americans - making up almost 4% of the U.S. population.
The Asian-Pacific Americans story is one of great courage. In the 1800s, Asian-Pacific immigrants faced widespread prejudice and government restrictions while living and working in the U.S. For much of the 1900s, Asian-Pacific Americans continued their struggle to gain acceptance as U.S. citizens. Today, Asian-Pacific Americans are recognized for their many contributions to American culture. But, they continue to face discrimination and new challenges.
To understand the Asian-Pacific American experience is to appreciate one of the U.S.'s greatest strengths - its diversity. Asian-Pacific Americans are a diverse community. They share certain values. But, they also differ in many ways with diverse languages, religions and philosophy, culture and society, history and politics.
Asian-Pacific peoples have lived in North America for centuries. Many experts have believed the first North Americans came from Asia. Thousands of years ago, people from Siberia may have crossed a strip of land that once connected Asia and Alaska. Spanish explorers forced many Filipinos to sail with them to North America.
In 1848, the main Asian-Pacific immigration began. Key events from 1848-1869 include: Searching for "Gum Saan" - Gold Mountain (1848-1850s); building the first transcontinental railroad (1862-1869); working the sugar plantations (1868).
There was the struggle against injustice. Some key events from 1870 to World War II include: Anti-Chinese violence erupted (1870s); large-scale immigration of Japanese (1885) and Koreans (1903) began; the Chinese Exclusion Act passed (1882); the U.S. took over the Philippines, Hawaii and Samoa (1898-1900); Japanese on West Coast were forced into detention camps (1942).
Asian-Pacific American influence grows. Asian-Pacific Americans volunteers during WWII. Thousands of Asian-Pacific Americans volunteered as soldiers, sailors and factory workers. Many eared high military honors, including the Japanese-American 442nd Regiment and the Filipino-American First Reconnaissance Battalion.
1943, The Maagnuson Act repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Executive Order 9066 was legal.
1952, The McCarran-Walter Act repealed the National Origins Act of 1924, but Asian-Pacific immigration was still limited.
1956, Dalip Singh Saund, born in India, became the first Asian-Pacific American elected to national office as a U.S. Representative from California.
1965, Congress passed the Immigration Act, opening up large-scale Asian-Pacific immigration for the first time.
1979, "Asian and Pacific Americans Heritage Week" (now month) gained first official recognition.
1988, "Redress Bill" passed, apologizing to Japanese Americans for Wrongful treatment during WW II and promising payments to each detention camp survivor. In 21st century, Asian-Pacific Americans fought the myth of the "model minority".
Source-Scripto Publications | 
