Asian Coalition of Tallahassee - Somasundaram · •Filipinos considered American nationals ......

Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration

Florida Department of Health Kick-off Event

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Tallahassee, FL 32311

Thayumanasamy Somasundaram

somabhanu {at} gmail.com

Asian Coalition of Tallahassee

mailto:somabhanu%20%7bat%7d%20gmail.com




OVERVIEW

Thu, 05/08/12 © 2012 Thayumanasamy

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AAPIHMC

Overview

• Asian Americans - Definition

• History of Asians in America

• Current status of Asian Americans

• Celebration of Asian American Heritage

• Resources

• Question and Answer

Thu, 05/08/12 3 © 2012 Thayumanasamy

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ASIAN AMERICANS


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Asian Americans

Who are Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders?

• Americans who trace their ancestors to Asia

• East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia (Indian sub continent). But not Middle-east Asia or Central Asia


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East Asia: 6

Southeast Asia:12

South Asia: 7

Asian Americans

US Census 2010 Data

• Asian alone US population is 5.2%

• Asian w/other races US population is 6.0%

• 18.5 M are Asian American Pacific Islanders

• Total population of 308 M

• US Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

• Asians

• Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islanders


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Asian Americans

Major Asian American Groups

• US Census 2010 | 7 Race groups

• Asian Indian

• Chinese

• Filipino

• Japanese

• Korean

• Vietnamese

• Other Asian


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Asian Americans

Pacific Islander Groups

• US Census 2010

• Native Hawaiians

• Other Pacific Islanders

• Samoans

• Polynesians

• Micronesians


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HISTORY OF ASIANS IN AMERICA


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History of Asians in America

• Citizenship is guaranteed by US Constitution for people born in the US soil after 14th amendment (Jul 9, 1868, 39th Congress)

• Naturalization, however, is controlled by statutes and varied considerably (USC Article 1, Section 8: Power of Congress, Clause

4: Naturalization and Bankruptcies)

• NA 1790, 1795, Act 1870, CEA 1882, etc


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Context

History of Asians in America Chinese Americans

• West Coast Gold Rush (1850-1880) *

• Involved in rail road and mining

• Mostly laborers and sojourners *

• Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

• Stopped the immigration

• CEA repealed in 1943

• Outlook and prospects got better *Kitano and Daniels


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History of Asians in America Japanese Americans

• Pre WW II period*

• Involved in agriculture and rail road§

• Gentlemen’s Agreement 1907

• CA Alien Land Law 1913

• Japanese American Interment 1942

• Post WW II period *

• Congress in 1988 apologized *Asian-nation.org | § Kitano and Daniels


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History of Asians in America Filipino Americans

• Spanish-American War 1898*

• Philippines-American War 1899-1900 *

• Filipinos considered American nationals

• First wave of students, 1900s

• Second wave of laborers, 1930s*

• Third wave health professionals, 1960s *Multicultural America, Ency Ed. R.H. Bayor


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History of Asians in America (Asian) Indian Americans

• Late1800s agriculture and lumber*

• Sikhs from Punjab came as workers

• Swami Vivekananda 1893

• British Empire and in then barred zone §

• Thind decision of USSC 1923

• INA 1965 law allowed skilled persons *Ency American Immigration, Ed. Ciment | § Kitano and Daniels


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History of Asians in America Korean & Vietnamese Americans

• Early 1900s Koreans to Hawaii*

• Korean war wave 1950s

• Post 1965 INA§

• Vietnam War 1970s

• Forced migration of refugees

• Laotians and Cambodians

*Ency American Immigration, Ed. Ciment | § Kitano and Daniels


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CURRENT STATUS OF ASIAN AMERICANS


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Current Status of Asians in the US Census Data 1860-2010¶

Census year Total Population AAPI Percent

2010 308,745,538 17,320,856 5.61%

2000 281,421,906 11,898,828 4.23%

1990 248,709,873 7,273,662 2.92%

1980 226,545,805 3,500,439 1.55%

1970 203,211,926 1,538,721 0.76%

1960 179,323,175 980,337 0.55%

1950 150,697,361 321,033 0.21%

1940 131,669,275 254,918 0.19%

1930 122,775,046 264,766 0.22%

1920 105,710,620 182,137 0.17%

1910 91,972,266 146,863 0.16%

1900 75,994,575 114,189 0.15%

1890 62,947,714 109,527 0.17%

1880 50,155,783 105,613 0.21%

1870 38,558,371 63,254 0.16%

1860 31,443,321 34,933 0.11%


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¶ Censuses 1790 -1850

didn’t have a category

Current Status of Asians in the US

0.00E+00

2.00E+06

4.00E+06

6.00E+06

8.00E+06

1.00E+07

1.20E+07

1.40E+07

1.60E+07

1.80E+07

2.00E+07

0.00E+00

5.00E+07

1.00E+08

1.50E+08

2.00E+08

2.50E+08

3.00E+08

3.50E+08

1770 1820 1870 1920 1970 2020

US Total and AAPI Populations

Total Population

AAPI


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Current Status of Asians in the US

• Asian alone population growth 43% *

• Asian in combination growth 46% *

• Fastest rate for the decade (2000-10)

– Total growth 9.7% (281.4 ˃ 308.7 M)

• Asian growth 4x (10.2 ˃ 14.7 M)

• Asians 25+yrs 50% bachelor deg (28%)

• Asian veterans 258,183

* 2010 Census compared to 2000 Census


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Current Status of Asians in the US *

Ethnicity (% alone/other)

1. Chinese (22.8/12.6)

2. Asian Indian (19.4/9.1)

3. Filipino (17.4/24.4)

4. Vietnamese (10.6/2.5)

5. Korean (9.7/8.2)

6. Japanese (5.2/13.9)

* 2010 Census

Population size (%)

1. Hawaii 57.4

2. California 14.9

3. New Jersey 9.0

4. Nevada 9.0

5. Washington 9.0


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• Asian owned businesses one of the

strongest in US economy

• Generated $507 B receipts

• Number of businesses 1.5 M

• Employed 2.8 M people

• Whole-sale & retail trade is 46.9%


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* Census 2007

Asian American Firsts

• US Senate: Hiram Fong, 1959, HI [R]¶

• US Rep: D.S. Saund, 1968, CA [D]

• Governor: G. Ariyoshi, 1974, HI [D]

• Mayor: N.Y. Mineta, 1971, San Jose

• Cabinet: N.Y. Mineta, 2000

• Fed Judge: H. Choy, 1971

• US Ambassador: J.C. Block, 1989, Nepal


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¶ D.T. Nakanishi and J. S. Lai | www.infoplease.com



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* 2010 Census

Asian Population by State 2010

ASIAN AMERICAN HERITAGE CELEBRATION


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Asian American Heritage Month Celebration

• 1977: US House Resolution by Frank Horton, NY and Norman Y. Mineta, CA

• 1977: US Senate Resolution by Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga, HI

• 1978: President Jimmy Carter signs into a law 10/05/78 (first 10 days in May)

• May 1990: President GHW Bush extends to month long celebration

• Every president including President Barack Obama issued proclamations


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• May was chosen for celebration

– Historical migration of Japanese began in May 7, 1843

– Completion of trans continental Railway in May 10, 1869 by Chinese laborers

– First 10 days then month long celebration

– Nation, states, cities, local communities

• Theme for 2012:

Striving for Excellence in Leadership, Diversity, and Inclusion


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• Asian Americans are the fastest growing minority in Florida and the US

• Asian Americans representing over 25 countries are one of the most diverse people with rich culture and heritage

• Many of them are calling FL and US their permanent home

• They create jobs, wealth, and knowledge


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Asian Americans

• Asian Americans are professionals, academicians, business owners, and entrepreneurs

• They are well educated and high earners

• They occupy and represent critical and strategic positions in the state both in public and private sectors

• Many are great role models


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Rationale for Celebration

• Why do we celebrate Asian American Awareness?

• Our society is becoming more diverse

• Learning basic concepts about others removes misinformation and prejudice

• Understanding others instills respect for other groups and cooperation

• Informing people without condemning others educates everyone


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Rationale for Celebration

• New and colorful entertainment refreshes one’s mind

• Learning about other culture allows one to learn new trade or skill

• In global economy understanding leads to establishing better trade partners

• Learning allows to travel and starting of new businesses in developing nations


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RESOURCES


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Resources

• Local and national organizations

– Asian Coalition of Tallahassee

– Asian American Federation of Florida

– www.asianpacificheritage.gov

• Invite Asian Americans to be part of public and community policy making

• Celebrate the diversity

• Teach about the culture and heritage


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References 1 of 2 • Asian Americans, Kitano and Daniels

• www.census.gov

• Multicultural America, Ed. Bayor

• Encyclopedia of American Immigration, Ed. Ciment

• Columbia Guide to Asian American History, Okihiro

• Asian American Politics, Nakanishi and Lai

• www.wikipedia.org

• Asians in America, Ed. Ng

• Law.onecle.com


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http://www.census.gov/

http://www.wikipedia.org/

http://law.onecle.com/

References 2 of 2 • Teaching about Asian Pacific Americans, Ed. Chen

and Omatsu

• The myth model minority, Chou and Feagin

• www.asian-nation.org

• How to be South Asian in America, Jain

• South Asian Americans, Leonard


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http://www.asian-nation.org/




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Contact • Contact Information

• Asian Coalition of Tallahassee

www.asiantlh.org

• Thayumanasamy Somasundaram somabhanu {at} gmail.com

www.somasundaram.name

http://www.asiantlh.org/

mailto:somabhanu%20at%20gmail.com



http://www.somasundaram.name/

QUESTION & ANSWER


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Asian Coalition of Tallahassee - Somasundaram · •Filipinos considered American nationals ......

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