Category Archives: History

Remembering Asian American Veterans: Florence Finch gets a Coast Guard vessel named after her

You may not have heard of WWII veteran Florence Finch, but her actions during WWII has inspired the US Coast Guard to name a ship after her, which was recently launched.  Florence was born in the Philippines to an American … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The “Other” Chinatown

In contrast to the broken down, struggling Chinatown of Los Angeles, the original and oldest Chinatown in the US located in San Francisco is a hustling and bustling center of activity in the Bay Area. Established in the early 1850s … Continue reading

Posted in Discrimination, History, Local, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Why Stockton for Asian Americans?

Stockton – a mid sized city in California’s Central Valley known for being one of the poorest, most dangerous cities on the West Coast. Whenever the name is mentioned, there is a negative connotation associated with it; being one of … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Current Events, Discrimination, History | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Men who Fed America: A StoryCorps Animation about Larry Itliong

We have talked previously about Johnny Itliong’s StoryCorp recording about his father, the labor leader Larry Itliong, but I thought that the best way to mark the start of Filipino American History Month would be to share this new StoryCorps … Continue reading

Posted in Family, History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Where’s Chinatown?

Chinatown, Los Angeles. Walking through there, it’s obvious that the neighborhood is struggling. With broken sidewalks, empty and abandoned stores, widespread vandalism, and a lack of commercial activity, it’s no wonder that hardly anyone walks through these streets. Though there … Continue reading

Posted in Community, Discrimination, History, Local, Southern California, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Historic Japanese American Farm to become Silicon Valley Housing

Five days a week, I drove past the patch of land owned by the Sakauye family and worked by the Tsukuda family when going to work at my tech job. When I was doing that commute along Montague Expressway in … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Community, Current Events, History, Real Estate, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The History of Chinese Immigrant Workers and Labor Unions in America

Introduction The history of Chinese immigrant laborers began with the California Gold Rush, where thousands of hopeful workers migrated to the US in hopes of attaining wealth and being able to send some of that wealth back home to their … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Discrimination, History, Labor | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

ESPN’s 30 for 30: ‘American Son’ – Tennis Great Michael Chang – Premieres July 29 7 ET

Before there was Jeremy Lin, there was Taiwanese American tennis great Michael Chang. Probably most 8Asians readers don’t remember or even know the name, but he is a tennis and Asian American legend as upcoming ESPN documentary notes: ““American Son” … Continue reading

Posted in History, Sports | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Exploitasian: The Story of Chinese Workers in Gold-Rush America

China’s rise to economic dominance in the late 1900s largely came from its massive population and the cheap labor that it provided to foreign corporations, with “companies like Nike, Apple and Walmart relying on Chinese workers to manufacture their products”. … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Discrimination, History, Labor, Paper, Politics, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

US Memorial Day: Remembering John Tomney, a Chinese American Soldier killed at Gettysburg

During an era when Asian Americans continue to be questioned for their loyalty and are still considered perpetual foreigners, it is worthwhile on US Memorial Day to note Asian Americans who fought and died for their country.  One such Asian … Continue reading

Posted in History | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Molded Minority

In the discussions of racism and its impact in the United States, people often commonly refer to the racial relationships between White and Black Americans. In history textbooks, we study in depth the discriminatory practices and laws perpetrated by Whites … Continue reading

Posted in Current Events, Discrimination, Education, History, Legal, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Kanaye Nagasawa and the other Asian Americans who built California Wine Country

Asian Americans are generally not associated with California Wine Country, but they were key players in getting it established.  Chinese laborers built and worked in Sonoma’s oldest winery, Buena Vista Winery, as well as planting millions of grapevines between 1856 … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Discrimination, History, Labor, Local, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment