Asian American Experiences in California: Past, Present, Future

The Huntington lies at the heart of the San Gabriel Valley, and it holds ever-deepening collections relating to Asian diaspora in California and beyond. Attendees will explore how The Huntington’s collections can continue to activate and preserve this history to serve the community.

This one-day event will:

• Explore the histories of Asian diaspora in the United States
• Interrogate the roots of anti-Asian racism in light of recent violence and hate speech targeting people of Asian descent
• Examine post-1965 Asian American experiences during immigration reform and activist movements
• Imagine futures for Asian America and the paths to a more equitable future

Program

10–10:15 a.m. | Introduction and Welcome Remarks
Simon K.C. Li, Huntington Trustee

10:15 a.m.–noon | Panel 1: Historical Roots (pre-1965)
This panel will focus on the roots of Asian experience, and anti-Asian racism, in California, with presenters drawing extensively on The Huntington’s Pacific Rim collections. Topics might include race relations in 19th-century and early 20th-century California; the Chinese Exclusion Act and other restrictive immigration and citizenship laws; the Huntington family’s connection to railroad construction and Chinese laborers; Japanese American contributions to Southern California’s agricultural and floricultural industries; Los Angeles’ Chinatowns; and Japanese American experiences of internment during World War II.

Speakers:  
Gordon H. Chang, Stanford University, “Beyond Promontory: Chinese Railroad Workers and the Rise of California”

Naomi Hirahara, writer, “Torii Gate Welcoming Empire: Japanese Immigrant and Nisei Cultural Workers and Pasadena Landscape and Life”

Jean Chen Ho, writer, University of Southern California, “Sight/Cite/Site: Racial Violence, Chinese Angelenos, and the Lost Stories of LA’s Original Chinatown”