Learn More About the AANHPI Community
School yourself.
As Mark Twain famously quipped, “The secret to getting ahead is getting started.” So when it comes to learning more about the AANHPI community, we’re choosing to start somewhere. Given the many cultures sharing the AANHPI umbrella, a comprehensive list of reads, watches and listens isn’t exactly realistic (even we don’t have that many verses). But curiosity and understanding is the goal—so we’ve curated a list of content we’ve leaned on to launch our own introductory level course.
A broader brush.
We give two enthusiastic verse thumbs-up to the L.A. Times podcast Asian Enough, which does a great job of speaking to a wide range of guests who better represent the vastness of the AANHPI community—and expand what it means to be Asian American. Of particular note: interviews with actress Lucy Liu and comedian and filmmaker Hari Kondabolu (of “The Problem with Apu” fame).
Forgotten history.
Historian and scholar Erika Lee’s The Making of Asian America: A History is an essential starting point to learn the stories and rich contributions that were likely missing in our school textbooks. The good news? It’s never too late for another read on history.
A better binge.
We can always count on PBS to make us smarter with sweeping documentary series and “Asian Americans” is no different. Created by Asian American filmmakers, its episodes span eras from the late 1800s, with the first wave of immigrants, to present day.
No small thing.
Author Cathy Park Hong writes powerful essays that range from memoir to social commentary in her book Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning. Using her own story as a lens to examine broader issues of race in America, Hong definitely makes a major impression. Writer and actress Greta Lee is adapting it into a show—so a read now will get you a page up on the on-screen story.
Cultural conjunction.
Not all learning has to be so deadpan, as proven by the one and only Schoolhouse Rock. In Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now—a beautiful and engaging book—authors Jeff Yang, Phil Yu and Phil Wang take us on a tour of Asian Americans' unique stamp on pop culture.
For more information.
Changemaking community Goldhouse created a book club to help AANHPI individuals get in better touch with their identity, but even if you are not a member of the AANHPI community, you, too, may find their book lists and virtual events with writers informative. Of course, it also can’t hurt to donate to this worthy organization.
