Asian American young people often feel invisible in history and that they do not belong in their country. Many students and adults think that history is boring and not important.
The authors of these books vehemently disagree. They strongly believe that history tells us who we are, what our communities have contributed to the United States, and why we believe in values such as democracy, equality, and freedom. Remember, Asian American* history is American history. It is about all of us.
Here are five reasons why history is essential to our lives as Americans.
- History identifies who we are as a community, a collective.

A Japanese American World War II Story, by George Takei, illustrated by Michelle Lee. Crown Books for Young Readers, 2024
This powerful text is in picture book format and written in captivating verse. The poetic language and complex metaphors are for older readers. Joanna Ho presents the dreams and hopes of many Asian Americans who through courageous acts of rebellion stood up for themselves and their communities. Asian Americans are about strength. They faced many challenges head-on and pushed forward toward social change and self-empowerment. One verse describes the journey of many Asian Americans, “We have always risen, spoken out, stepped into power, shaped our space.”
The section at the end of the book presents resources about Asian American history. This includes guiding questions, numerous historical starting points that students and teachers can research, and the names of many Asian Americans who are important role models for all Americans.
The drawings by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya are superb showing a diversity of Asian Americans and cultural aspects of their lives.
3. History teaches us about past societal and institutional oppression and how to create a better future.

The Harvard University historian, Erika Lee, and children’s book author, Christina Soontornvat, wrote Made in Asian America: A History for Young People. The book discusses the history of many Asian Americans who made a difference in our nation. Many of the chapters give a story about a person who exemplifies the theme of the chapter. For example, Mary Paik Lee stood up against racism even as a high school student in California. She told her history teacher that if he was to continue using racial slurs and telling students untrue things about Korean Americans, she would tell her friends about his gambling. He stopped. Though few people know of the courage of young Mary Paik Lee, she spoke out against racism. Another example in the text is the murder of Vincent Chin in. Detroit, Michigan. Vincent was an All-American young man who was beaten to death by an auto worker, Ronald Ebens, and his stepson. Ebens lost his job in an auto factory and blamed Vincent because he was Asian. Many people had lost their jobs due to more efficient Japanese cars. The book also covers issues of immigration, the model minority, and activists like Grace Lee Boggs.
This text is written for high school-age readers. One of the most important strengths of the book is in the inclusion of many photographs of the people highlighted and events pictured like the burning of Koreatown businesses during the 1992 violence in Los Angeles.
4. Through history we can see life through the eyes of people from specific communities and develop a sense of empathy

This book is easy to read and an excellent resource. The author tells the history of Chinese Americans from their viewpoints. Students rarely have the opportunity to read the perspectives of Chinese Americans on Chinese American history.
The book carefully explains the extensive racism that Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans have faced and dealt with since their early arrival to the United States in 1834. Blackburn carefully describes the difficult experiences that the Chinese faced. This also included legislation that was passed directly towards Chinese immigrants like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 in which Chinese workers could not immigrate to the United States. This law was later extended for another 10 years in the Geary Act of 1892. Other issues that this book covers are exclusion, discrimination, the model minority myth, divide and conquer, and racial hierarchy.
Blackburn also presents little-known events like the Los Angeles Chinatown Massacre in 1837 after two Whites were killed in a conflict between two Chinese associations. This led to the murders of 10 percent of the Chinese population by a White mob. Chinese Americans were not seen as members of the United States. As the author carefully describes even today Asians are seen as perpetual foreigners.
Another strength of the book is how the author explains themes like divide and conquer. Blackburn uses the building of the transcontinental railroad as an example. Railroad owners paid Chinese workers less than their Irish and other White counterparts and tried to get them to go back to work threatening they would hire Chinese workers at lower wages. The owners of the railroads used Chinese immigrants against the White workers. In the end, Blackburn found that 80-90 percent of the railroad workers were Chinese, though no one from the Chinese community was invited to the celebration of the completion of the railway.
This text is written for upper elementary grade students and older. Teachers and students will learn a great deal about Chinese American history from this resource.
5. History is about the lives of individual people; and how they bravely faced challenges and taught us how to believe in our goals.

In the graphic biography of Ruth Asawa, readers learn about how her family like George Takei’s was taken away to Rohwer, Arkansas, a concentration camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. She was able to go to college in Milwaukee but could not get her teaching degree because the local community would not allow her to student teach and finish her degree because she was Japanese American. However, later Ruth was able to study at Black Mountain College in North Carolina with Josef Albers, Buckminster Fuller, and Merce Cunningham. She wanted to become an artist. That was her life-long goal. At Black Mountain College, Ruth was able to integrate knowledge of nature into her loop-wire sculptures and other artwork.
Though interracial marriages at the time were frowned upon, Ruth married Albert Lanier, a White architect. She was a pioneer not only in art but also in cross-cultural relationships. Ruth wanted a family and felt she could grow as an artist and as a mother. Ruth and Albert had six children who also believed in seeing art in nature and enhancing their creativity.
*This piece is about Asian American history. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander history is also needed in schools.
- The International Examiner (IE) first published the article.
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