Category Archives: History

An Astronaut, an Asian Parent’s Expectations, and a Space Ship Hatch Lock

“If you guys don’t give me a chance to repair my instrument, I’m not going back.” Asian Americans sometimes joke about Asian parents’ high expectations, but the expectations of an Asian father had lasting effects on space travel. In this … Continue reading

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Traveling Japan: Fort Goryokaku at Hakodate, Hokkaido

Although relatively less known in the States, Hokkaido is a common travel destination for people in Asia, so I’ve known quite a few family and friends who have visited this most northern part of Japan, and I’ve commonly seen pictures … Continue reading

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Publishing Your Way as a Change Maker: The First Chinese Festivals

I came across this Cornell webinar from an alumni email about a “Leadership Lunch and Learning” webinar series.  The topic was the following: “L Sam Zhang, author and illustrator of The First Chinese Festivals series of picture books, speaks on … Continue reading

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Pinoytown Rising: San Jose Public Library Exhibit through November 30

When Number Two Son and I were getting coffee in a cafe in San Jose Japantown, we noticed a small flyer on their community bulletin board that talked about Pinoytown Rising, an exhibit in San Jose’s Martin Luther King Library … Continue reading

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Asian Americans in Pop Music History: Norma Tanega

Most people have probably only encountered the work of Norma Tanega through her song “You’re Dead” which is used as the theme song for both the movie of “What we Do in the Shadows” and the ongoing TV series of … Continue reading

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Most Asian Americans say they don’t know Asian American History

I have run a number of Asian American history talks and events for an Employee Resource Group (ERG) in my company, and a common responses from my fellow employees is that they had no idea about much of the history … Continue reading

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Larry Itliong’s Son and Grandson talk about him on StoryCorps

While we often write about notable people, we rarely talk about their families, much less talk about them from the viewpoint of their families.  That is one reason that I found a particular StoryCorps story so interesting. We hear about … Continue reading

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WWII Soldier Remains identified 80 years later as Wing O. Hom

We have talked about Asian Americans who have died for their country during military service, and the identification of the remains of Wing O. Hom adds another to that list. Hom, from Boston, was killed in action in Italy during … Continue reading

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CAAMFest 2023: Review – Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story

I was supposed to review Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story (trailer here) during or around CAAMFest 2023, but I let the screener link expire and the screening during CAAMFest was on Mother’s Day. I finally reached out to the … Continue reading

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125th Anniversary of Wong Kim Ark Day [3/28/1898] – Celebration & Commemoration

Another blog post I am woefully late on (but did post the video on YouTube shortly afterwards). I had attended the 125th anniversary back on March 25th commemorating and celebrating the landmark Supreme Court decision of U.S. vs. Wong Kim … Continue reading

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US Memorial Day: Remembering Henry Chin of the Lost Battalion

During this time 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

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Fanny: The Best Rock and Roll Band you Probably Never heard of

“They were just colossal and wonderful, and nobody’s ever mentioned them. They’re as important as anybody else who’s ever been, ever; it just wasn’t their time.” – David Bowie in Rolling Stone My cousin told me about a ground breaking … Continue reading

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