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Blogs Categories: Asian American History

Blogs Categories: Asian American History

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Collection Snapshot: John Katsu and the End of WWII

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As I mentioned in my last post, on September 8th, the Veterans History Project (VHP) will release a new Experiencing War web feature to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. In the meantime, I’d like to shine a light on another one of the collections that will be included in …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

East Asian American Traditions

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The earliest East Asian immigrants often had a difficult journey making their way to the United States. Many carried little with them but the cultural traditions they knew, such as language, stories, religious customs, foodways, music, song, and dance. Chinese Americans Chinese immigrants, mainly Cantonese speakers from Guangdong, were among the first Asians to come …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

What is it About May?

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I confess. I always get a little giddy in May. Maybe it’s because the longer, warmer days of May mark the impending arrival of summer, my absolute favorite season. Yes, I am one of the rare lovers of brutally hot, humid DC summers. Or maybe May brings out the giddiness in me because I admire …

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Tragedy and Transformation: Looking at San Francisco's Chinatown with Primary Sources

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Much of the city, including its Chinese immigration enclave, Chinatown, was destroyed by tremors and fires. While this was a devastating tragedy, it was also an opportunity to rebuild and renew. Below is a series of photographs from the Library's Prints and Photographs collections that offers a path for student engagement with San Francisco's pre- and post-earthquake Chinatown.

Smiling woman dressed in outdoor winter clothes holds a large, old-style camera

Day of Remembrance: Photographs of Japanese American Internment During World War II

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The following is a guest post by Karen Chittenden, Cataloger, Prints and Photographs Division. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which led to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. The Executive Order applied to all people of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of whom were American citizens, forcing nearly …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Vasant Panchami: A Celebration of Learning

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January 24, 2015 is the date for the Hindu festival Vasant Panchami or Saraswati Puja, celebrating both the coming of spring and the birthday of  Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom, learning, crafts, and fine arts.  The date for the celebration of Vasant Panchami varies from year to year, as it is calculated by a lunar calendar. It falls on …