THE ASIAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: A FREE READING GUIDE

Asian American identity is complicated! “20 million Asian Americans trace their roots to more than 20 countries in East and Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent”¹, with a broad range of immigration experiences, income levels, religions, languages, and cultures.

The resources below, ordered from short articles to lengthy readers and study guides, are all freely available from credible, well-respected sources. We recommend them as beginning points to explore and become conversant in the identity and needs of Asian America.

• Overlooked and Underserved: Debunking the Asian ‘Model Minority’ Myth in California Schools – A policy brief from The Education Trust – West, detailing alarming disparities in achievement that exist among subgroups of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students.
• “These groups of Asian-Americans rarely attend college, but California is trying to change that” – A PBS Newshour story about students from often-overlooked ethnic groups within Asian America (Hmong, Khmer, Laotian, Vietnamese). 
• Understanding Our Perceptions of Asian Americans – An overview essay on Asian Americans from Center for Global Education at Asia Society, including identity issues (perceptions and misperceptions), use of terminology, understanding demographics, and the extreme diversity contained within the term.
• I Am Asian American – the true diversity beneath the Asian American label. An excellent article/teaching tool from Teaching Tolerance guiding readers into the diversity of Asian American experience.
• Asian American Psychological Association Asian American Fact Sheets – Short, 2-page summaries on trauma and violence; bullying; suicide; and other psychological topics.
• Racial Microaggressions and the Asian American Experience – The definitive academic article outlining the various ways in which Asian Americans suffer from a “widespread prejudice and discrimination”.
• The Journey from Gold Mountain – a thorough guide compiled by the Japanese American Citizens League, one of the oldest Asian American community organizations in the country, providing readings and classroom activities that address the erased history of Asian America.
• Discrimination in America: Experiences and Views of Asian Americans – an extensive survey of how Asian Americans experience discrimination, from the “Discrimination in America” series from NPR and Harvard’s School of Public Health.

¹ Asian Americans: A Diverse and Growing Population, The Pew Research Group, 2017.