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Blogs Categories: Asian American History

Blogs Categories: Asian American History

Jeffrey Yoo Warren: Seeing Lost Enclaves

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The Library's 2023 Innovator in Residence, Jeffrey Yoo Warren, is building another doorway to the past with his project, "Seeing Lost Enclaves: Relational Reconstructions of Erased Historic Neighborhoods of Color." Using 3D modeling techniques and insights from the collections, Yoo Warren is developing a virtual reconstruction of the once-bustling Chinatown district in Providence, Rhode Island. A vibrant enclave 100 years ago, the Chinatown of Providence largely has been erased from historical memory.

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Trailblazing American Women on Quarters

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This is a guest post by Maria Peña, a public relations strategist in the Library’s Office of Communications. Maya Angelou broke ground as a multifaceted author, poet, actress, recording artist and civil rights activist, while Adelina “Nina” Otero-Warren left an indelible mark in New Mexico’s suffrage movement. This year, both are among five trailblazing women …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

"Return of the Jedi," Mark Hamill and the 2021 National Film Registry

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The National Film Registry's 2021 class is the most diverse in the program's 33-year history, including blockbusters such as "Return of the Jedi," "Selena" and "Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring," but also the '70s midnight-movie favorite "Pink Flamingos" and a 1926 film featuring Black pilots in the daring new world of aviation, "The Flying Ace." The Library interviewed a dozen key players about their role in inducted films, including Mark Hamill, Edward James Olmos, John Waters, and documentary filmmakers Cheryl Dunye and Sylvia Morales.

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Jade Snow Wong: The Legacy of "Fifth Chinese Daughter"

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Jade Snow Wong was a pioneering Asian American writer, businesswoman and artist. Her memoir, "Fifth Chinese Daughter," became a mid-century landmark of Asian American letters, while her ceramic works were shown in some of the nation's premier museums. The Library holds her papers.

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Japan in U.S. Children's Books: "A New World"

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Sybille Jagusch, chief of the Library's Literature Center, has just published "Japan and American Children's Books," a gorgeously illustrated volume that details how Japan and Japanese culture has been portrayed in American children's books over the past two centuries.

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Perry in Edo Bay: The Dawn of the U.S.-Japanese Relationship

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The Library of Congress recently acquired one of the most famous Black Ship scrolls -- "Kinkai kikan" ("Strange View off the Coast of Kanagawa") by Otsuki Bankei, a Japanese artist and scholar -- that depicts the arrival of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry and his fleet of steamships in Edo Bay in 1854. The gunboat diplomacy established American relations with Japan.

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Japanese-America’s Pastime: Baseball

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This is a guest post by Ryan Reft, a historian in the Manuscript Division. In recognition of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, he explores the role of baseball in the nation’s Japanese-American community. For more about baseball, check out our blog series counting down the weeks until the June 29 opening of “Baseball Americana,” a …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Baseball Americana: Playing Behind Barbed Wire

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Welcome to week three of our blog series for “Baseball Americana,” a major new Library of Congress exhibition opening June 29. This is the third of nine posts – we’re publishing one each Thursday leading up to the opening. This week, in recognition of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we’re highlighting Library collections that document …