Project: Who killed Vincent Chin?

Here's our project "Who killed Vincent Chin?" on a virtual MP3-player. Have fun listening and remember everything you know about copyright:-) It's our's!

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Chinese Exclusion

Here is a video Marius found on youtube about the Chinese Exclusion Act

Help for your WANTED! poster

Here is a link to a picture in .jpg format that you can use for your WANTED poster (homework Monday, June 11th)

FOLLOW UP: Virginia Tech Massacre

Here is a link to Gil Asakawa's thoughts on how it feels to be Asian American in relation to the massacre ...

Videos on internment

On this website you can have a look at various short video excerpts about internment, including some eyewitness accounts.

Virginia Tech Massacre

Here is the video Cho Seung-Hui sent to NBC the day he committed his crime...

Korean Americans - a radio documentary

Speaker

We're now connected to Prof. Park, specialist for Korean American history. Hello, Prof. Park.

Prof. Park

Good evening.

Speaker

Prof. Park, could you tell us a little about when Korean American immigration started and why?

Prof. Park

The first Koreans left their country in 1903 for the United States. The main reason why they did this was the fact that Korea was a colony of Japan and the United States promised democracy, peace and a decent way of earning one's life. However, as colonial subjects of the Japan, Koreans were legally Japanese nationals. So when, in 1908, the Gentlemen's Agreement was signed to stop labor immigration of the Japanese, Koreans were excluded, too. And even when Korea was no longer a colony of Japan, the 1924 Quota Act applied. It wasn't until the 1965 Immigration Act that Korean immigration resumed.

Speaker

Where exactly did Koreans come from and what were their destinations in the United States?

Prof. Park

It is safe to say that Koreans from all over Korea were eager to leave their country at the turn of the 20th century. In the beginning, they mostly went to Hawai'i. This was followed by an immigration wave to the mainland, mostly to California, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona and Alaska. More recent migration patterns show that a lot of Koreans seem to have moved to the Old South recently.

Speaker

You mentioned that Korean immigrants hoped for a decent job in the United States. What were their main fields of occupation?

Prof. Park

Most early immigrants worked in agriculture or in mines. There was also a great number of Koreans who helped build the railroad. Others worked in salmon fisheries in Alaska. Recent immigrants, i.e. immigrants since 1965, are either university students who don't intend to become permanent residents or they are self-employed. Businesses include hotels, laundries, grocery stores, and gas stations. A lot of these businesses are located in urban ghettoes, like in Los Angeles' Koreatown. Despite this, however, most Korean Americans live in the suburbs.

Speaker

Speaking of Koreatown ... that's where, in 1992, the Los Angeles race riots took place because a Korean shopowner shot an African American girl, right?

Prof. Park

You're both right and wrong. One of the reasons of the race riots - or Sai-I-Gu (4/29) in Korean - was that a Korean shopowner shot an African American girl and didn't serve any time in jail for that. However, the outcome of the Rodney King trial was another factor that is not to be forgotten. And finally, the situation in Koreatown is a direct result of a long history of legal racism.

Speaker

Could you name the most important instances of legal racism leading to the race riots?

Prof. Park

Well, already the 1790 Naturalization Act discriminated against Koreans and other non-white people because it limited citizenship to "free white people." Then, in 1901, it became illegal for Asians to marry whites. In 1906, the school segregation crisis in San Francisco excluded all Asian children from being educated together with white children. The 1907/08 Gentlemen's Agreement put a ban on labor immigration of the Japanese and Koreans because Koreans were Japanese nationals at that time. Moreover, Koreans couldn't own land due to the 1913 Alien Land Law, prohibiting non-citizens to own land. Finally, the 1924 Quota Act stopped immigration from Asia altogether. And we don't even have to speak of the fact that Koreans have been called "gooks" for a long time.

Speaker

Prof. Park, if you had to summarize the most important things everyone should know about Korean Americans, what would you say?

Prof. Park

Well, I'd start with the fact that there are about 2 Million Korean Americans living in the US right now and that most of the recent immigrants are college-educated professionals. It is equally notable that most Korean Americans are Protestants and that their religious belief has always been very important to them. The first generation of Korean Americans assembled in the churches to help free their country from Japanese colonial rule. However, the second generation turned away from the fight for Korea's independence and towards dealing with living in the US. This generation gap is very common for Asian Americans in general. Other important things include the celebration of several states of a Korean American Day on January 13th, as well as the fact that since the end of the Korean War about 150.000 Korean orphans have been adopted by American families. And last but not least, the biggest contribution of Korean Americans is the invention of the nectarine by Kim Hyung-soon.

Speaker

Apart from Kim Hyung-soon, who would you consider to be notable Korean Americans today?`

Prof. Park

There are several actresses probably most Americans know from their favorite TV-Shows. Among them are Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy), Yunjin Kim (Lost) and the half Korean, half African American hip hop artist / actress Amerie. If you love "The Simpsons" you should also know that Korean American writer Daniel Chun is the a co-producer of this show. In terms of official positions, it should not be forgotten that Jay Kim was the first Korean American to be elected to US Congress, and that Danny Chun is a justice at NY State Supreme Court. In terms of contemporary literature, a lot of people probably know Lela Lee's "Angry Little Girls" comic strips.

Speaker

Prof. Park, our listeners and I thank you for having taken the time to tell us more about Korean American History and Culture. Thanks a lot for having taken the time for this interview.

Prof. Park

It was my pleasure. Good night.

Stereotypes

This is the proof that stereotypes don't necessarily have to be bad. As long as you're aware of the fact that this video exploits stereotypes I'd say you're fine:-)

Note the stereotypical Japanese tourists displayed in the video. Can you spot them?

Lustige Videos – Gratis Fun Video – Deine funny Videos bei Clipfish

It was Yuji Ichioka who coined the term "Asian American"

Yuji Ichioka (1936-2002)

Internationally renowned historian and Asian American Studies pioneer Yuji Ichioka died on Sunday, September 1, 2002, in Los Angeles. He was born on June 23, 1936 in San Francisco. During part of his childhood, Ichioka and his family were forcibly removed and incarcerated in the USA Topaz concentration camp during World War II. Prof. Ichioka dedicated much of his life to social justice and scholarly research in the U.S., Japan, and Latin America. He is survived by his wife, Emma Gee.

The term "Asian American"

Prof. Ichioka created the term "Asian American" in the late 60s. While at U.C. Berkeley, where he organized the Asian American Political Alliance in 1968, he was an activist for Civil Rights and against the Vietnam War. Prof. Ichioka was a key founder of the ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES CENTER at UCLA, where he taught its first Asian American Studies class in 1969. For nearly thirty-three years, Prof. Ichioka was a Senior Researcher at the Center and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of History. He was a dedicated instructor who mentored both undergraduate and graduate students, many of whom went on to become leading researchers and university professors.

"The Issei: the World of the First Generation Japanese Immigrants, 1885-1924"

Subject to everything from obstacles imposed by their native government to legal attacks here, the Issei and Nisei receive a fair hearing in this detailed historyone of the best books on the subject. Ichioka tells of the complexities of the labor market, labor organizing (especially of miners), and the ever-increasing laws against American citizenship, land ownership, and even land leasing. Legal actions, particularly in California, culminated in a string of anti-Japanese court decisions and the 1924 Immigration Act. The author has skillfully used Japanese and American primary sources, thoroughly documenting his carefully constructed narrative. A welcome addition, the book belongs in every U.S. and East Asian history collection. Kenneth W. Berger, Duke Univ. Library, Durham, N.C.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Prof. Ichioka - Japanese American activist

Prof. Ichioka was not a "scholar in the ivory tower," but throughout his life was active with social justice issues. San Francisco civil rights attorney Don Tamaki states: "In a modern day 'Alien Land Law' dispute in which the San Francisco YWCA claimed sole title to an historic building erected in the 1920's in S.F. Japantown (Soko Bukai v. the Y.W.C.A of S.F., Sup. Ct. Case No. 269330), Prof. Ichioka uncovered a crucial 80-year-old diary proving that the property was actually held in trust by the YWCA for the benefit of the Japanese American Community, and that the SF YWCA merely held 'paper title' in order to circumvent racist laws barring Issei (immigrant Japanese Americans) from owning real property. Even during difficult times, Yuji selflessly continued to work on this case, volunteering his expert historical analysis. Horace Mann once told graduating students: 'Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.' Yuji's indomitable spirit answered this calling."

Source: http://www.aasc.ucla.edu/yi/default.htm

Asian Americans - one of the fastest-growing minority groups in the US

About half of the approx. 600.000 legal immigrants who make their way to American shores annually are Asian. This is why Asian Americans are one of the fastest-growing minority groups in the US.

The term Asian American refers to any person of Asian descent, foreign born or native, living in the United States. In general, Asian Americans identify themselves strongly with their country of origin and will most often refer to themselves rather as Chinese American, Japanese American, Hmong American, etc.

Diversity is the keyword when talking about Asian Americans. Each group has its own history, language, and culture that they have added to the American mosaic.

Ever since their arrival in the United States, every group of Asian Americans has had to endure various instances of "common" and institutionalized racism. This is why, in the 1980s and as a consequence of the murder of Vincent Chin, the Asian American identity was created as an umbrella term under which all kinds of persons of Asian descent could fight together against racism. Vincent Chin was a Chinese American mistaken for a Japanese American. He was killed because an American autoworker blamed the Japanese for the decline of the American auto industry,