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Are You Aware? Face Value
This is part IV in our Awareness Wednesday series on the Asian American Experience. Read the other posts in the series here. As we anxiously awaited the birth of our daughter, I found myself, as countless parents before me, wondering about my baby and her future. What would she look like? What would her personality be like? What traits would she gain from us and our families? However, I also spent time thinking about how my baby girl would see and be seen in the world — how would she self-identify in terms of race, and how would others define and perceive her because of her appearance. In 1941, another first-time mother was…
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Are You Aware? The Model Minority Myth
This is part II in our Awareness Wednesday series on the Asian American experience. Read the other posts in the series here. I tried to step lightly across the hot sand in a graceful manner but failed as grains of sand made room for the weight of each step as I balanced three pairs of sandals and an extra pair of goggles that my daughters and husband didn’t need. We were vacationing in Kauai for the first time, and, as is normal, they all ran pell-mell into the surf leaving all their belongings behind. As I gathered their accouterments to the chair where I had staked out our spot on the beach, I…
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Are You Aware? A Brief Review of Asian American History
This is part I in our Awareness Wednesday series on the Asian American Experience. Read the other posts in the series here. Asian culture and peoples have always been the “East” to the European “West.” During the Roman Empire, trade routes and networks were established early on between these two regions and cultures. The fascination and desire to trade with the East and its otherworldly foods, animals, and the like is what compelled many, including Christopher Columbus, to embark on a voyage in search of Asia. Early migrations The first Asians to set foot in the Americas were mostly from China, Japan, and the Philippines, arriving in New Spain (Alta California and parts…
