Honoring Asian American Identities

There are many Asian American histories, perspectives, and experiences. Over twenty million Asian Americans trace their ancestral origins to over 50 recognized and unrecognized nations in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Asian Americans differ in their immigration status, generational status, religions, home languages, and gender. Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the U.S. and the most economically divided racial group in the U.S. -- with wide disparities in income, poverty, unemployment, and educational attainment rates. Asian Americans live within the binary of Blackness and whiteness, are stereotyped as model minorities and perpetual foreigners, and hold lived experiences and mindsets that have been shaped through histories of emigration, immigration, colonization, assimilation, circumstance, resistance, solidarity, and love. 

It is critical that all educators, non-Asian American and Asian American, build cultural competence toward honoring the diversity of the Asian American diaspora, and disrupting the marginalization and erasure of Asian American identities and experiences from dominant narratives. Resources in this collection center a few of the Asian American identities that remain largely hidden from mainstream narratives. As you review the texts and resources, reflect on what you already know, what is unfamiliar and new, and what more you can learn about.

[A note that the majority of resources in this collection link outside WeTeachNYC and cannot be downloaded. A downloadable map of resource links and descriptions can be accessed by clicking the 'Download All' button on the top left corner of this page.]

Consider this resource to support professional learning on racism and civic education.

 

Included Resources

This document contains a map of all resource links included in the Honoring Asian American Histories collection to facilitate navigation of these resources. The majority of resources in this collection link outside WeTeachNYC and cannot be downloaded.

There are many Asian American histories, perspectives, and experiences. Over twenty million Asian Americans trace their ancestral origins to over 50 recognized and unrecognized nations in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Asian Americans differ in their immigration status, generational status, religions, home languages, and gender. Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the U.S. and the most economically divided racial group in the U.S. -- with wide disparities in income, poverty, unemployment, and educational attainment rates. Asian Americans live within the binary of Blackness and whiteness, are stereotyped as model minorities and perpetual foreigners, and hold lived experiences and mindsets that have been shaped through histories of emigration, immigration, colonization, assimilation, circumstance, resistance, solidarity, and love.

It is critical that all educators, non-Asian American and Asian American, build cultural competence toward honoring the diversity of the Asian American diaspora, and disrupting the marginalization and erasure of Asian American identities and experiences from dominant narratives. Resources in this collection center a few of the Asian American identities that remain largely hidden from mainstream narratives. As you review the texts and resources, reflect on what you already know, what is unfamiliar and new, and what more you can learn about.