Asian Americans

In an era of U.S. expansion, new immigrants arrive from China, India, Japan, the Philippines and beyond. Eventually barred by anti-Asian laws, they become America’s first “undocumented immigrants.” Yet they build railroads, take their fight for equality to the U.S. Supreme Court, and dazzle on the silver screen.

An American-born generation straddles their country of birth and their familial homelands in Asia. Family loyalties are tested during World War II, when Japanese Americans are imprisoned in detention camps, and brothers find themselves on opposite sides of the battle lines. For Koreans and other Asian Americans, joining the U.S. war effort also means the fight for independence in Asia.

During the Cold War years, Asian Americans are simultaneously heralded as a Model Minority, and suspected as the perpetual foreigner. It is also a time of bold ambition, as Asian Americans aspire for the first time to national political office, and an emerging culture-quake rises to the surface.

During a time of war and social tumult, a young generation fights for equality in the fields, on campuses and in the culture, and claim a new identity: Asian Americans. The aftermath of the Vietnam War brings new immigrants and refugees who expand the definition of Asian America.

At the turn of the millennium, Asian Americans have become the fastest growing population in the U.S. It is a time of tremendous change, as the country tackles urgent debates over immigration, race and economic disparity. Asian Americans, newly empowered by growing numbers and rising influence, must navigate their role in the American future.