Immigrant History Initiative

📣📣📣Our fundraiser next week is going to be a TRIVIA NIGHT! Think you know a lot about AAPI history, pop culture, and more? Test your knowledge and win prizes at our fundraiser!! 🏆🥇🥈🥉

General tickets include food, sponsored drinks, and a chance to show off your knowledge 🧐

See you there!

We’re ONE WEEK AWAY from our fundraiser party in San Francisco!! Get your tickets now at link in bio, and ➡️➡️ for a sneak peek of our gift bags for silver tier tickets!!

See you soon!!

We are having our first in-person fundraiser in San Francisco in November 3! We are raising money for our new Asian American Leadership Program (AALP) for youth and parents.

There will be food and drinks, and gifts from AAPI-owned businesses!

Tickets are available now: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ihi-asian-american-leadership-program-launch-fundraiser-san-francisco-tickets-422892862937.

If you’re in the Bay Area, please join us!

We are having our first in-person fundraiser in San Francisco in November 3! We are raising money for our new Asian American Leadership Program (AALP) for youth and parents.

Tickets are available now at link in bio. If you’re in the Bay Area, please join us!

IHI is excited to release the first of our FREE PLANS focusing on and ! This lesson plan centers on how historical events impacted the formation and survival of families and how Asian American transformed gender roles in the early 20th century in the United States. This is aligned with Common Core and NJ Social Studies and ELA curriculum standards for grades 6-12! Access it for free by clicking the link in our bio or checking out our website!

We’re thrilled to announce that has joined our Board of Directors. Qian Julie is joining Board members Song Kim of and Kate Lee of .us.visible. We are thrilled to be working with this group of phenomenal .

In spring of 1975, the community in Chinatown in New York City organized together in unprecedented numbers to protest and the unjust beating of Peter Yew. These protests bridged generational gaps and successfully pressured the police to enact changes in the community. Read more about the , the protests’ impact, and continuing the fight for justice today➡️

The Delano Grape Strike was an important moment of cross-racial in history in which Filipino and Latino farm workers joined together to fight for their collective rights and successfully secured better pay, benefits, and protections! Swipe to learn more➡️➡️

Post designed by Tammy Zhao from The Next Step.

Interested in bringing IHI to your school or organization? Immigrant History Initiative offers customized workshops on Asian American history, racial justice, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Check out our website to fill out a form and bring us to your organization!

With thanks to Syeeda Nafeah from The Next Step for contributing to design.

Read about the of immigration station in this new post! Heralded as the of the West, Angel Island became a symbol of despair and frustration for many coming from Asia and other parts of the world. Immigrants reported being in for years as they were interrogated about their family background and reason for migrating. During their time imprisoned, many Chinese immigrants carved into the walls chronicling their loneliness and broken hopes. Keep an eye out for our new Angel Island lesson plan, coming soon!

Post designed by Leslie from The Next Step!

🔊News alert: IHI is partnering with acclaimed film director Christine Choy to create the official lesson plans accompanying Who Killed Vincent Chin?, the 1987 Oscar-nominated documentary that tells the story of the murder of Vincent Chin.

Vincent Chin was a Chinese American man murdered by two white men in Detroit, Michigan on June 19, 1982. Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Vincent Chin’s murder, IHI is creating a comprehensive curriculum using exclusive access to film clips and materials to effectively introduce Who Killed Vincent Chin? and its timely themes about anti-Asian hate to new generations of youth, parents, families, and educators.

To read the full press release, visit our website at the link in our bio!

Join us tomorrow in NYC for a parent workshop on talking to kids about Asian American identity!

It’s the last day of for 2022! We close off the month of May with our final 5-Minute Asian American history lesson focusing on the Page Act of 1875. Although the Page Act is much less well known than the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, it actually predates Chinese Exclusion by 7 years and is unique in how it specifically targeted both a specific gender and race. It stands as one of the first laws restricting immigration in the United States and, in practice, worked to restrict virtually all Asian women from entering the United States due to the suspicion that they were involved in s*x work. Swipe to read more about the Page Act and its effects➡️➡️➡️

Post designed by Araceli Ramirez Alonso from The Next Step

To fully understand the surge in anti-Asian violence we have seen over the past few years, we need to understand the origins of anti-Asian movements in the United States. In this 5-Minute Asian American History lesson for , we focus on the origins of the anti-Chinese Movement: when the movement started, what forms of discrimination Chinese immigrants faced, how the United States government codified anti-Asian discrimination into law, and more. Swipe to read➡️➡️

Post designed by Redah Jessani from The Next Step

IHI is excited to announce our collaboration with The Next Step, a paid apprenticeship program where high school students have the opportunity to learn graphic design skills! Students from the program have been helping us design posts for our social media accounts, including the graphics for our May 5-min Asian American history lesson series. We are so grateful for their hard work!

Post designed by Kelly L. from The Next Step

The Oxnard Strike of 1903 was one of the first times in U.S. history that different racial groups came together to form a labor union to organize collectively for their rights as workers! Historically, workers from different racial groups were pitted against each other, and employers benefitted from the disunity along racial lines because it hindered organizing and allowed them to keep wages low. However, in the Oxnard Strike of 1903, Japanese and Mexican laborers fought together to resist exploitation and receive better pay. Despite the success of their cross-racial organizing, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) did not change its position on racial segregation until decades later and refused to admit the Japanese laborers into the national organization. Only later did the AFL finally recognize the importance of diversity in the labor movement. In this 5-Minute Asian American history lesson for , learn more about this important event in labor history!

Post designed by Vivian Teo from The Next Step

Our newest 5-Minute Asian American History Lesson focuses on the story of Wong Kim Ark and the fight for birthright citizenship. Birthright citizenship was enshrined in the 14th Amendment, but the U.S. government attempted to deny this privilege to Asian immigrants. Wong Kim Ark, born in San Francisco to parents who were Chinese citizens, was denied re-entry to the U.S. after taking a visit to China to visit his family because the U.S. government did not recognize his U.S. citizenship. In the Supreme Court case U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), the Supreme Court found that Wong Kim Ark did have a right to birthright citizenship and that the 14th Amendment applies to ALL people born in the United States, regardless of their race. Swipe to read➡️➡️

We kick off our 5-Minute Asian American History Lesson Series for by sharing the history and legacy of Patsy Mink! Patsy Mink was a trailblazer. As the first Asian American woman elected to Congress, she fought for women’s rights, civil rights, and child care and education access. Most notably, she was instrumental to the creation and passage of Title IX legislation which mandates equal treatment in education for students regardless of their gender. Read more about her life:

Patsy Mink had never planned to work in politics. As a Japanese American woman trying to find a viable career path in the mid 20th century, Patsy Mink faced many challenges.
She had hoped to become a doctor, but medical schools denied her access. Mink ended up attending law school instead, though she still encountered difficulties getting hired as a lawyer as a woman of color. She eventually turned to politics, although Democratic party leaders did not think she could be successful because she was a Japanese American woman. She still chose to run for the Hawaii Territory House of Representatives, and through her hard work in making personal connections with the voters in her district, she was elected in 1956! Thus her career breaking barriers in politics began.

In 1964, Mink was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Hawaii. She faced racist comments from her opponents and the press who called her an “Oriental doll,” “Patsy Pink,” and “diminutive.” Despite these racist characterizations, her work and role in Congress could not be diminished. On the Committee of Education and Labor, she introduced the Early Childhood Education Act, and her testimony against G. Harrold Carswell’s Supreme Court nomination in 1970 played a crucial role in opening a path for the nomination of Justice Harry Blackmun who went on to write the majority opinion for Roe v. Wade. She also stood against the Vietnam war and held an anti-war stance which was sometimes at odds with her own party. She ended up serving 12 terms in the House. Mink was unafraid to stand up for what she believed in, even in the face of adversity.

Post designed by Rafsana Chowdhury from The Next Step

Happy 2022! We are finally revealing which AAPI businesses we are partnering with this month to help us fund our new community programming. Swipe➡️➡️ to learn more about each of the businesses and their stories. Please support IHI by shopping AAPI this May!

IHI is so excited to celebrate this May! We have a lot of events and resources planned for the month of May, so stay tuned for exciting updates!

With thanks to students from The Next Step for assistance with this post.

Feel intimidated by all the different vocabulary you might encounter in conversations about race? Swipe➡️➡️ to learn more about the differences between the terms prejudice, discrimination, and racism, and why the language we use when having conversations about race matters!

Post designed by Redah Jessani from The Next Step

We developed our video series focusing on to educate the public and help communities fight against hate in light of the -19 pandemic and the resurgence of ​ophobia, hatred, and . Click the link in our bio to check out the videos and access other resources!

Post designed by Abby Lee from The Next Step

NEW K-5 LESSON PLAN! When I Found Grandma, written by Saumiya Balasubramaniam, offers a touching and insightful portrayal of a grandmother and her granddaughter navigating cross-cultural contexts and generational differences. Our lesson plan, developed in collaboration with , contains vocabulary, reading questions, activities, and additional links to resources to help students gain a deeper understanding of the themes and historical and cultural context of the story. Plus, we’ve included an interview activity that your child can complete with you or a grandparent! Check out this post for a preview of the lesson plan’s context, and click the link in our bio to access the full resource!

Post designed by Vivian Teo from The Next Step

Advocating for your child at school can be intimidating, but we are here to help! In our Parent Guide on Talking to Kids about Asian American Identity & Racism, we have a chart detailing who might be the best person at the school to contact in a variety of different scenarios. We also have available editable email templates that you can use to send to teachers and administrators to introduce yourself, request a language translator or translation of materials, seek an investigation into bullying, and more. All of these resources and more are available for free on our website – click the link in our bio to learn more!

Post designed by Tammy Zhao from The Next Step

IHI is excited to announce another addition to our K-5 lesson plan series for students developed in partnership with ! This free resource provides the historical context for many of the clues left in the beautiful narrative of Bao Phi’s A Different Pond and contains a brief introduction of the Vietnam War and the lasting effects of the war on refugee families. Swipe➡️ to get a preview of this lesson plan, and click the link in our bio to access the full resource and our other K-5 lesson plans!

Post designed by Vivian Teo from The Next Step

📢NOW ALSO OFFERING INTERPRETATION. We are so proud to be partnering with .center for our Beyond Atlanta workshop. Join us on 3/15 to commemorate the anniversary of the Atlanta shootings with an in-depth workshop on the intersections between gender, law, and Asian American history, ranging from the Page Act to to .

IHI is very excited to introduce our newest team members! Swipe ➡️ to learn more about them and how they will help support our mission

SWIPE FOR CHINESE ➡️ As we reflect on the anniversary of the shootings, IHI dives into history with an approach and a critical lens. In this free 60-minute workshop, learn the history that led to current-day dynamics around race and gender affecting Asian American communities. Interpretation into Mandarin and Cantonese provided by Xīn Shēng Project & the CSA Network.

Swipe➡️➡️ to learn about a few steps to take if your child makes a racially biased comment. While your first instinct as a parent may be to immediately reject the statement, a child could react to this by closing off rather than listening and understanding why the comment they made was hurtful and incorrect. We emphasize an empathy-building process, helping your children understand perspectives outside of their own, and using books and anti-racist resources to inform them about the experiences of other groups. To learn more about how to handle other scenarios with your child, make sure to check out our Parent Guide on Talking to Kids about Asian American Identity & Racism, available for free on our website in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Hindi, Tagalog, and Nepali!

Post designed by Sarah Mou from The Next Step