|
|
| Home > Channels > Arts and Culture > Missing in History
|
|
|
Page 1: Missing in HistoryBy Edward Gunawan
Sunday, November 3rd, 2002
American history books fail to include the rich history of its Asian Pacific American community
The term, Asian Pacific American supposedly constitutes dozens of countries, languages, cultures and heritages. As traditionally under-represented community Asian Pacific Americans share and celebrate more culture and diversity than any other continent imaginable. We are more than just about full-filled karaoke sessions and film screenings.
Learning about the Asian-Pacific American community should be about remembering the shared experiences of the people; the challenges, the hardships and also the successes. To truly celebrate the culture, one must learn the history of the community, and there should never be an expiration date on or limits to learn history.
The place where diversity needs to be truly celebrated is in the classroom itself, where students can learn about other minority groups' experiences on a daily basis. Unlike other minority groups, the experiences of Asian Americans have not been widely discussed in history textbooks and lectures. In American history classes, we learn of the hardship and struggles of slaves, the brutal colonization of Native Americans, the settlement of Mexicans in the Southwest and even the waves of ethnic European immigration, such as Italians and Irish. Yet, history rarely touches upon the origin of Asian Americans in the United States.
Through exclusion such as these, America has been constructed largely as an all-white, Eurocentric nation, where other minority groups, especially Asian Americans, seem to magically appear out of nowhere; as if they do not belong. And that could be dangerous because that foreigner sentiment towards the Asian Pacific American community could carry over to the contemporary setting.
What frustrates most Asian Americans are instances when they are still asked, "Where are you from?" The fact is that many people still perceive Asian Americans as perpetually foreign, as not fully integrated into mainstream America. This outsider sentiment from the mainstream public towards the Asian-Pacific American community is pervasive and exists because of the emphasis lacking in American classroom on the community's history.
There are fifth- and sixth-generation Asian Americans who have been here as long as other European immigrant groups, yet their experiences are largely unknown to the general public. Although Asian immigrants arrived in the United States as early as the late-1700s, their history is largely unrecorded in textbooks. While the experiences of other white ethnic European immigrant groups are discussed in detail, their Asian counterparts who work as laborers mining and building railroads are typically ignored.
The history of Asian Americans should be general knowledge for all Americans. Asian American history is a part of the American history and one should not have to learn about the community's experiences only through taking a special course focusing exclusively on it. Asian Americans also deserve to have their voices heard, stories told and experiences shared like other minority groups; these experiences should be fully integrated into the history of America as seamlessly as others. |
Disclaimer: KC articles are pubished for the information and entertainment of members of KC. The material published is selected for its interest and the views expressed therein are not necessarily those of KC nor its staff. |
|
|
|
Page: [ 1 2
] |
|
|
| |
|
