You can’t tell the story of America without talking about Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) immigrants. Their stories, culture and legacies are woven into the very fabric of this country. Sadly, over the last several years, anti-Asian hate crimes have spiked sharply. And while I have no claim to any AAPI heritage, there is still a profound, though heartbreaking, solidarity among those of us from marginalized communities who have experienced hate.
The term “AAPI” encompasses more than 23 million Americans and includes roughly 50 ethnic groups with roots in more than 40 countries. Today, I’m taking a look at just a few of these AAPI communities, how they arrived and what their contributions have meant to America as a whole. Discover the rich legacies these AAPI communities have left for future generations.
1. Get Up Close to Native Hawaiian History
Native Hawaiians have called the Hawaii Islands home for nearly 2000 years. Somewhere around 400 C.E., Polynesians from the Marquesa Islands — 2,300 miles away — landed on the big island’s shores. Over the years they spread out across the smaller islands. They were the sole inhabitants until the Tahitians arrived sometime around 1000 C.E. These early settlers are a marvel when you consider the sheer size of the waters they traversed.
The Polynesian Triangle is a region of the Pacific Ocean marked by three island chains: Hawaii, Easter Island and New Zealand. It encompasses nearly 70 million square miles — an area larger than all of the land masses of earth combined. Early Polynesians traveled thousands of miles 1,000 years before Columbus conned Isabella & Ferdinand into letting him sail the Atlantic.
No written record remains from this time. But anthropologists and archeologists describe these early tribes as being populated by highly skilled farmers and fishermen, who occasionally battled one another for territory (Y’know, as you do when the territory in question is as breathtakingly beautiful as Hawaii’s.) With them they brought pigs, dogs, chickens and plants (like bananas and taro) to cultivate.
Sadly, nothing lasts forever. In 1778, Captain James Cook landed on Kauai. He promptly renamed Hawaii “The Sandwich Islands” to honor the Earl of Sandwich, a man whose major claims to fame consisted of being born into nobility, and placing a slab of meat between two slices of bread. By the late 1890’s Hawaii had been completely colonized by the Europeans and Americans.
Those wanting to get up close to Native Hawaiian culture should head out to Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. Located on the Big Island, the park protects priceless archaeological sites such as heiau (temples), fishponds and house sites. Visitors can get an up close look at how these early tribes survived on the rugged Kona coast, and how their legacy lives on in today’s modern AAPI communities.
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2. Discover the Japanese-American Legacy in Boyle Heights
The Boyle Heights of today is a predominately Latinx neighborhood, but long before that, it was a booming Japanese-American community. After the 1906 earthquake, Japanese immigrants settled in Los Angeles, in an area that would become known as Little Tokyo. As the decades passed, the Japanese-American community grew, expanding eastward into Boyle Heights.
In 1942, Executive Order No. 9066 was issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This order legalized the internment of Japanese Americans between 1942 and 1946. More than 120,000 American citizens — including 17,000 children under the age of 10 — were torn from their homes and forced into prison camps throughout the western United States. After their release at the end of WWII, many returnees discovered that the violence and discrimination they faced during the war years hadn’t disappeared. Boyle Heights was one of the few communities where housing and employment for Japanese Americans could still be found.
And while the neighborhood has transformed in modern day, vestiges of its former heyday remain. In Evergreen Cemetery, you’ll find a monument to the 442nd Infantry Regiment — the single most decorated unit in U.S. Military history. This unit was made up almost entirely of second-generation Japanese Americans, all of whom had friends, family and/or loved ones imprisoned in the American camps. Despite what America was doing to those they love, they still chose to defend this country. The plaque on their memorial in Evergreen Cemetery reads:
This memorial is reverently placed here by the Japanese American Community, under the auspices of the Southern California Burial and Memorial Committee, in memory of American soldiers of Japanese ancestry who fought, suffered, and died in World War II that Liberty, Justice, and Equal Opportunity in the Pursuit of Happiness might come to all democratic and peace-loving people everywhere regardless of race, creed, color or national origin.
Dedicated May 30, 1949
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3. Explore the Korean American Community Outside D.C.
Did you know that the third-largest population of Korean Americans lives in Northern Virginia? According to the 2010 U.S. Census, more than 41,000 ethnic Koreans live in Fairfax County — that’s 60% of all Korean and Korean Americans in Virginia. The greater D.C. area itself — Montgomery, Fairfax and Prince George counties — is home to more than 100,000 Korean Americans.
In 1883, the first Koreans to arrive in the area were diplomats, envoys from the Chosun Kingdom. Korea was emerging from hundreds of years of isolation and looking to gain leverage with China. But it was not until the 1960’s, after U.S. immigration laws changed, that Korean immigration saw a major up-tick. At this time, most of the Koreans arriving were students set to attend the area’s world-class universities and colleges.
Taking advantage of excellent school districts, safe neighborhoods and a close commute to D.C., many graduates settled in D.C.-area neighborhoods and started families. Korean businesses — including one of my favorites, H Mart — sprang up to cater to the changing communities. Annandale, Virginia, among others, stands apart as a top destination for some of the country’s most-incredible Korean food.
From traditional-style bakeries and food halls to Korean BBQ joints and modern fusion restaurants, there’s no end to the savory (or sweet) dining options that await hungry visitors.
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4. What You Didn’t Know About Filipinos in the Gulf Will Blow Your Mind
Today, there are more than four million Filipino Americans living in the United States. But one community in particular — just outside New Orleans — shares a history that likely predates the Founding Fathers. Shrouded in a mystery almost as murky as the watery swampland on which it was founded, St. Malo is the country’s oldest-known Asian-American settlement.
By some accounts, St. Malo was founded as early as 1763 by Filipino deserters and escaped slaves from the Spanish Galleon trade. If accurate, that puts Filipinos in America well before Hamilton started rapping about the birth of American democracy. One of the earliest AAPI communities by far, St. Malo’s oldest-known documentation comes from an 1883 article in a “Harper’s Weekly” article by Lafcadio Hearn.
Hearn wrote of a community of more than 150 fishermen — Manila Men, to the locals. They lived in bahay kubo-style structures made from wood and palmetto fronds. These stilted houses, and their location along the shores of Lake Borgne, provided easy access to the rich fishing and shrimping grounds of Louisiana’s Gulf Coast.
These “Manila Men” revolutionized the early shrimping industry. They innovated preserving the shrimp by drying it, a practice likely brought over from the Philippines. This proved an effective way to store shellfish long before the advent of refrigeration.
Sadly, the hurricane of 1915 leveled the tiny village and no trace of its original structures remain. And were it not for the efforts of the Philippine-Louisiana Historical Society (PLHS), the location of this site might have been lost forever. In 2012, the PLHS began lobbying the state to recognize their Filipino heritage with a historical marker. The PLHS eventually won approval and in 2019 a commemorative plaque was installed in St. Bernard Parish. It reads:
St. Malo was the first permanent Filipino settlement in the United States. In the first half of the 19th century, Filipino sailors established a village on the southern shore of Lake Borgne on a site previously settled by Native Americans and Maroons. By the mid 19th century, St. Malo was the largest fishing village on the lake and a symbol of the growing Filipino presence in Louisiana.
Dedicated November 9th, 2019
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5. Chinese Americans Are the Reason California Thrived
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in Northern California is a rich and fertile stretch of land. California is responsible for producing a third of America’s vegetables, and two-thirds of this country’s fruits and nuts. So, if you’re enjoying an almond milk latte, or snacking on a bowl of grapes while you read this, you have Chinese immigrants to thank for it.
But let’s start at the beginning.
The first major waves of Chinese immigration began around 1849. The California Gold Rush coincided with war, famine and widespread poverty in southeastern China, and there was opportunity on America’s shores. San Francisco — a primary point of entry for America to this day — grew almost over night. It was a sleepy little port town of 800 in March 1848. But by 1850, it had exploded into a bustling city of 25,000.
Unfortunately, Chinese immigrants quickly discovered that a majority of Americans didn’t welcome their arrival. Seen as little more than cheap labor for mining camps, the Chinese were often the victims of violent attacks and a legal system that offered little to no protection. Many workers left the mining camps and started their own restaurants or laundry businesses — two of the only professions they were allowed to undertake. Others found work on the Transcontinental Railroad. But they were often given the most dangerous jobs (and paid far less than their white counterparts). More than 1,000 Chinese workers died.
When the railroad was completed in 1869, thousands of Chinese laborers were hired to work on the extensive Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta project, building the basic levee system still in use today. Primarily from the Pearl River Delta region in southeastern China, they had extensive knowledge of how to develop farmland in river valleys. And it is because of them that more than 500,000 acres of marsh and swamp is now one of California’s most valuable resources.
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6. Take a Closer Look at the Bangladeshi Communities in New York
One incredible fact that I learned while writing this is, in New York, many Indian restaurants are actually run by Bangladeshis. Where is Bangladesh? Bangladesh is a tiny county sandwiched between India to the west, Myanmar (Burma) to the east, and Bhutan to the north.
In New York City, the Bangladeshi population is more than 70,000. Of that number, more than 65% live in Queens. In fact, the intersection at Homelawn Street and Hillside Avenue has been affectionately (and officially) dubbed “Little Bangladesh.”
Walk down Hillside Avenue and you’ll find a street brimming with Bangladeshi culture. On Feb. 21st’s International Mother Language Day, you’ll find the streets packed with people honoring the Bangla language movement. Visit during Boishakhi Mela in the spring (the Bengali New Year) and experience theater, music and dance like you’ve never seen before.
Dip into any of the restaurants along Hillside Ave and check out the Bangladeshi cuisine. What’s it like? Well, for starters, it shares many of the same flavors found in Indian cuisines — deeply fragrant herbs and spices, rich oils, savory meats and vegetables like eggplants, onions and potatoes. But above all, Bangladeshi cooking is known for its use of seafood and fish in curries. Fused into many traditional dishes, you’re likely to find catfish, tilapia, rohu, and hilsa (the national fish of Bangladesh) on the menu.
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7. Discover a Thriving Thai Community in the Nevada Desert
Las Vegas is home to one of the country’s larger Thai American communities outside of Los Angeles. Yet despite their presence — and the widespread availability of Thai restaurants throughout the United States — Thai immigrants are one of America’s most underrepresented groups.
The first major waves of Thai immigrants arrived in America in the late 60’s and early 70’s. American G.I.’s stationed abroad during the Vietnam War discovered cities like Bangkok during their R&R. Many young soldiers fell in love and married women from these overseas cities. Unfortunately, legal entry to the United States was still something of a hurdle for “War Brides” and their dependents.
The Immigration Act of 1924 and its racist “National Origins Formula” cut off most immigration from Asia. Strict quotas were set for specific countries, like the Philippines. This was just one of many pieces of racially constructed legislation designed to preserve “American values” (whiteness) while banning “undesirable elements” (anyone who wasn’t white).
This legislation was chipped away at with the “War Brides Act” of 1945, which allowed exemptions. Later, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 eliminated the National Origins quota system. Upon retuning stateside, these G.I.’s and their new wives settled in towns and communities on or near military bases. And Las Vegas is home to several such bases.
Today, Las Vegas is home to more than 5,000 Thai Americans — and some of America’s best Thai food. So the next time you’re feeling lucky in Vegas, no mater which restaurant you take a gamble on, it’s a sure bet it’ll be delicious.
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Helping AAPI Communities Near You
Today, many AAPI communities are centers for cultural pride and expression, but ethnic neighborhoods have had a historically troubling past. Racial bias and systemic issues often forced immigrants into their own ethnic enclaves. Factors such as local ordinances and racial housing covenants forced Asian immigrants (and other people of color) into their own overcrowded neighborhoods, forming Chinatowns, Little Saigons and more across the country.
While there is no denying the ugly practices that created these spaces in the first place, today, modern AAPI communities continue to serve as touch points for those looking for the food, cultural events and people who connect them to their heritage. Perhaps most importantly, they provide a sense of belonging for people who are told in myriad ways — through macro and microaggressions — that they will always be foreigners, no matter how many generations their family has been here.
Standing in solidarity with our AAPI neighbors begins with learning the histories and stories of these rich cultures. By knowing the struggles and triumphs these communities have faced, you’ll have a deeper understanding of present-day barriers. Offering support to your AAPI coworkers, classmates and friends can manifest as small gestures as well. Take the time to learn how to pronounce their names. Our identities are wrapped up in what we call ourselves, so show your colleagues respect by getting their names right.
Lastly, being an active ally means standing up to hate. Reporting anti-Asian hate crimes or learning how to intervene as an effective bystander are just two things you can do. For more information on how you can help AAPI communities near you, check out these resources:
Note: My sources for this article are cited throughout, but I owe a special thanks to David Chang and Lisa Ling‘s documentary series’ on Netflix and HBO Max, respectively. They introduced me to several of the communities detailed above and were the inspiration for this piece.
Nora Allen is a native Northern Californian living in Chicago, IL with her two dogs and some mild anxiety. She studied philosophy and studio art in college and, despite her family’s worst fears, she still managed to find a job after all. When not sitting behind her computer screen for work, she can be found behind her phone screen looking at pictures of food and other peoples’ dogs. Nora’s like a hobbit in that she’s short and enjoys a good second breakfast, but that’s pretty much where the comparison ends. Finally, she is the author of three abandoned blogs and one children’s play called “The Bunny Capers” that may or may not still be included in ACME Theatre Company’s regular summer curriculum.
