Stories of shaping the political landscape include tribal, local, state, and federal political and governmental institutions that create public policy and those groups that seek to shape both policies and institutions. Places associated with political leaders, theorists, organizations, movements, campaigns, and grassroots political activities all illustrate aspects of the political environment.
While Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders historically were discriminated against, they still participated in shaping the political landscape of the country. They formed community organizations, advocated for new legislation, and challenged discriminatory laws and policies. They gathered in their homes, in rented offices spaces, and in public libraries to meet, discuss, and enact change.
Mabel Ping-Hua Lee
Mabel Lee advocated for women's suffrage rights. She was also the first Chinese woman to earn a PhD in economics from Columbia University.
Yuri Kochiyama
Yuri Kochiyama was a Japanese American political and civil rights activist. Read to learn more about her life and activism.
Vincent Chin
Vincent Chin was a Chinese American draftsman who lived in Detroit, Michigan. In June 1982, Chin was the victim of an anti-Asian hate crime.
Asian American Activism & Citizenship
What does citizenship mean to you? Learn about the historical and contemporary AAPI activism and advocacy for political rights.
Asian Pacific American Queer Activism
How have AAPIs been part of the history of queer activism?
Bhagat Singh Thind
Bhagat Singh Thind was an Indian independence activist, immigrant, and WWI veteran who challenged racial restrictions on US citizenship.
Discover More Stories of Shaping the Political Lansdcape
Showing results 1-7 of 7
- Type: Article
- Locations: Home Of Franklin D Roosevelt National Historic Site
- Offices: Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
Franklin D. Roosevelt employed at least six valets between 1922 and 1945, all of them men of color, but they have largely been forgotten or overlooked. These men were essential to FDR’s life and so much a part of who he was. Through the service they rendered and the crucial role they played in FDR’s private and political life, their stories rightly belong at the forefront of history.
- Type: Article
- Subtype: Series
Curiosity Kits inspire exploration and learning of history through place. These multi-piece resources include articles that explore historic places and provide educational activities for life-long learners. This kit focuses on the life and work of Dr. Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, a suffragist. By the time she was 16, Lee was a known figure in New York’s suffrage movement. Learn more about her contributions to the movement.
- Type: Person
Born in 1861 at Lihue, Kauai in the Kingdom of Hawaii, Wilhelmina Kekelaokalaninui Widemann was the daughter of Mary Kaumana Pilahiulani, a Native Hawaiian, and German immigrant Hermann A. Widemann. Part of the Royal Hawaiian family, her father was a cabinet minister for Queen Lili’uokalani. In 1912, Dowsett founded the National Women’s Equal Suffrage Association of Hawai’i (WESAH), the first Hawaiian suffrage organization.
- War In The Pacific National Historical Park
Cecilia “Chilang” Cruz Bamba
- Type: Article
- Locations: War In The Pacific National Historical Park
Cecilia Cruz Bamba was a Chamorro woman who was orphaned at the age of nine during the Japanese attacks on Guam in 1941. Motivated by the grandmother who raised her, Bamba became a senator, businesswoman, and community leader.
- Type: Person
Bhagat Singh Thind was an Indian independence activist, immigrant to the United States, and World War I veteran. His quest for naturalization is a key part of the long struggle to remove racial barriers to U.S. citizenship.
- Type: Person
Almost 70 years before Brown v. Board of Education, Mary Tape fought for her daughter’s right to attend public school in California. She and her husband sued the San Francisco Board of Education when school authorities barred her daughter because of her Chinese ancestry. The lawsuit became a landmark civil rights case for public school desegregation.
- Type: Article
Dr. Mabel Ping-Hua Lee was born in Guangzhou (Canton), China in 1896, and immigrated to New York City in 1905 to go to school. She received a PhD from Columbia university and was active in the women's suffrage movement. This article offers educational activities about her life and work.
Tags:
shaping the political landscape asian american and pacific islander aapi asian american pacific islander asian american pacific islander heritage asian american pacific islander history aapi heritage aapi history aanhpi aanhpi heritage aanhpi history native hawaiian native hawaiian heritage native hawaiian history
Last updated: July 12, 2024