Asian American and Pacific Islander History Archives

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Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month) is an annual celebration that recognizes the historical and cultural contributions of individuals and groups of Asian and Pacific Islander descent to the United States.

Larry Itliong

Larry Itliong was a Filipino American labor leader who organized West Coast farm workers, starting in the 1930s. He became well-known in the 1960s for spearheading the Delano grape strike and teaming with labor leaders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta to demand farm workers’ rights. The five-year strike won better pay and benefits for agricultural […]

Hells Canyon Massacre

In late-May 1887, around 30 Chinese laborers were mining gold in an isolated part of northeast Oregon, when the entire group was gunned down by a white gang of horse thieves. Initially referred to as the “Hells Canyon Massacre” or “Snake River Massacre,” and more recently as the “Chinese Massacre at Deep Creek,” the event […]

The Rock Springs Massacre

What began as a labor dispute between white and Chinese coal miners on September 2, 1885 turned into a bloodbath known as the Rock Springs Massacre that left 28 Chinese miners dead and 15 others wounded. Following the violence, white miners set 79 homes ablaze, effectively wiping out the Chinatown neighborhood of Rock Springs in […]

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Did Polynesian Voyagers Reach the Americas Before Columbus?

The Polynesians were expert sailors—and research suggests they landed in the Americas centuries before Columbus.

How American Chinatowns Emerged Amid 19th-Century Racism

Facing economic threats and violence, early Chinese immigrants banded together and created communities to survive—and thrive.

General Douglas MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito of Japan, dated 1945.

How the US and Japan Went From Enemies to Allies After WWII

General Douglas MacArthur led a seven-year occupation that demilitarized, democratized and helped rebuild the Pacific nation.

When Chinese Americans Were Scapegoated for Bubonic Plague

As Honolulu and San Francisco faced outbreaks, the cities’ responses caused devastation to Asian communities.

3:27 minTV-PG

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Japanese-American Internment

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Government issued executive order 9066, which empowered the military to round up anyone of Japanese ancestry and place them in prison camps.

2:38 minTV-PG

History of San Francisco’s Chinatown

After the 1906 earthquake destroyed the city, plans to rebuild didn’t include a place for Chinese immigrants. Faced with the prospect of resettling to Oakland, Look Tin Eli employed white architects to create an even grander Chinatown.

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