October 22, 2012
Asian Pacific Americans, a paramount part of the history of the United States, will have their story told in the National Museum of the American People along with the stories of all of the other peoples that have come to this land and nation.
There are approximately 18 million Asian Pacific Americans and they constitute about six percent of the U.S. population.
The proposed museum, which would sit near the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, has support from 34 Asian Pacific American organizations representing a variety of groups including Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Sikh, South Asian, Taiwanese, Thai and Vietnamese Americans as well as many leading national organizations that represent all Asian Pacific Americans.
They are some of the more than 150 ethnic and minority organizations that are calling for creation of a bipartisan commission after the election to study establishment of the museum.
"The museum embodies the political and religious freedom sought by millions of Vietnamese refugees and serves as the spinning wheel that weaves the thread and colors of the Asian Pacific American heritage into the tapestry of American culture," said Lan LeBangasser,Chair of the Asian Pacific American Cultural Arts Foundation. "It is the 21st Century encyclopedia of life that our young generations can rely on to learn about their ancestors' struggles and triumphs."
"Asian Pacific Americans, and Americans who are still coming to this country from Asia and the Pacific Islands, have had a profound impact on every part of our society," said Gregory A. Cendana, Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance. "Asian Pacific American workers, business leaders, politicians, soldiers and artists can be proud of our heritage. It is of the highest importance that every American be informed of the huge contributions made by our community, and the National Museum of the American People would be the perfect way to make sure that happens."
The museum will tell the story of the making of the American People from the first migrations to this land thousands of years ago, extending through waves of migration and immigration to the present. It will challenge visitors to reflect upon that history. Yet nowhere is there a museum devoted to telling this full story about the making of the American People.
For all Asian Pacific American ethnic groups, as well as all the others, the museum will tell who they were, where they came from, why they left their original land, how they got here, when they arrived, where they first settled, who was already here, what they encountered, where they moved after they arrived, how they became Americans, what they contributed and how they transformed the nation.
"Chinese American people have played essential roles in building and defending this nation from its beginning to today," said Carolyn Hong Chan, National President of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance. "Their stories of tragedies and triumphs are colorful threads to be woven into the tapestry of America's history, which this museum will preserve to teach about our shared humanity."
"This museum will be an important addition to the history of the United States as it details the stories of our people and their journey to become a part of this great nation—stories that instill pride in and understanding within our communities that we are all a part of this nation," said Chong H. Choe, Board Chair of the Korean American Coalition – National.
"Taiwanese Americans are a late group to arrive in this great country and they work hard to contribute to this country as do all Americans," said Chung Shih, a spokesperson for the Taiwanese Association of America. "Our achievements will be passed down to generations through the National Museum of the American People. That history about the contributions of Taiwanese Americans will be told in the museum."
The coalition is not seeking federal funding to plan, build or operate the museum. A resolution in Congress calling for a presidential commission to study the museum has bipartisan support, including from Reps. Eni Faleomavaega, D-AS, Gregorio Sablan, D-NMI, and Robert Scott, D-VA, members of the Asian Pacific delegation in Congress. Other co-sponsors of this resolution include Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-VA, co-chair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus and Congressional Caucus on Korea, and Rep. Frank Wolf, R-VA, co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam.
"The story of the making of the American People would be presented in a dramatic, interactive documentary format," said Sam Eskenazi, director of the Coalition for the National Museum of the American People. "It would be developed and vetted by teams of eminent scholars, including Asian Pacific American scholars, and be told with force and clarity."
"The National Museum of the American People's permanent exhibition will leave an indelible impression of knowledge and understanding on visitors as they engage with and come to know the full story of the making of the American People and how the story of Asian Pacific Americans fits into that story," he said.
The story could be told in four chapters:
Chapter 1 - The First Peoples Come: Prehistoric period-1607; First peoples migration and settlement, early European explorers, and first European settlement. In the 1500s, Chinese and Filipino peoples who worked on Spanish ships arrived in present day California as Spain began its early colonial rule.
Chapter 2 - The Nation Takes Form: 1607-1820; the fate of American Indians, Western European settlement, the African slave trade, the establishment of the nation and the beginning of its expansion taking in new peoples. Asian immigration started late in this period in low numbers. Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Filipino immigrants came to Hawaii and parts of the West Coast as laborers. The majority of them worked on sugar plantations.
Chapter 3 - The Great In-Gathering: 1820-1924; a century of immigration. The ancestors of most Americans came during this time. A large number of Asian Americans came to the United States during this period. They mostly settled on the West Coast and came as laborers. A large portion of these immigrants were Chinese, who arrived for the gold rush, to help build railroads and to work in the agricultural and fishing industries.
During this period, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882, which restricted any further Chinese immigration. As a result, other Asian immigrants began to come in higher numbers. Japanese immigration spiked until 1907 when the Gentleman's Agreement between the U.S. and Japan ended the immigration of Japanese laborers. Koreans were the next population to spike as they took the place of Japanese and Chinese workers. They mainly worked in mines or farms along the West Coast. The Immigration Act of 1924 and the Asian Exclusion Act halted almost all Asian immigration for a number of years.
Chapter 4 - And Still They Come: 1924-present; the ongoing story of American immigration. In 1943 the Magnuson Act, or the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act of 1943, allowed Chinese immigrants to enter the country for the first time since 1882. Chinese immigration began to grow yet again.
Starting in 1942 and continuing for years afterward, 120,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly taken from their homes and placed in internment camps during World War II. Japanese Americans were kept away from their homes for up to four years.
After the passage of the Luce-Celler Act of 1946 which allowed immigrants originally from India, many Indians were encouraged to move to the U.S. through Indian communities in other countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada. Today, Indian Americans are one the fastest growing ethnic groups in the U.S.
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished the Immigration Act of 1924 and once again allowed Asian immigrants to enter the country. Again, most settled in the West. Korean immigration rose in the 1980s and 1990s. Vietnamese immigration began in significant numbers in 1975 when the Vietnam War ended. About 125,000 Vietnamese immigrated in that year alone. Following passage of the 1980 Refuge Act, the number of Vietnamese immigrants continued to rise. Taiwanese immigrants also came over in the 1960s and 1970s, but this immigration subsided in the 1980s.
Half of all Chinese Americans today live in either California or New York. The largest population of Japanese Americans can be found in California and Hawaii, with Washington and New York states containing large population numbers as well. A high percentage of Korean Americans also reside in California and New York.
Large populations of Filipino Americans live in California, Hawaii, New York, Illinois and Texas. The Taiwanese American population has a large concentration in California, where half of them live. New York and Texas contribute to almost all of the rest of their population. Today, Vietnamese Americans have a substantial concentration in California followed by Texas, Washington, Florida and Virginia.
Indian American communities have spread throughout the United States. New York City has the highest concentration of Indian Americans. Nearly 195,000 Indian Americans live there. The second largest population resides in Los Angeles with 120,000 Indian Americans. Other cities with large Indian American residents are Baltimore-Washington, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia and Detroit.
"The National Museum of the American People will be at the intersection of every American group's memory and the history of our nation," Eskenazi said. "The theme of the museum is embodied by our nation's original national motto: E Pluribus Unum, from many we are one."
He said that "both U.S. neighbors, Canada and Mexico, have major national museums in their capitals telling the story of their peoples and they're the most visited museums in those nations. Our museum would be a destination for every school group visiting Washington and it would foster learning nationwide."