Primary Source Spotlight: Asian American Pacific Islanders
Celebrate the history and diverse cultures of Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) through the foci of primary source images, documents, oral histories, and more. You’ll also find related lesson plans, stories, interactives, and streaming webcasts–come explore!
Teaching Resources: Asian American Pacific Islander History & Culture
PSN Asian American Pacific Islander source sets
- Cherry Blossoms
- Chinese Exclusion Act
- Japanese-American Internment
- Korean War
- Duke Kahanamoku & Surfing & Swimming
- Norman Mineta
- Patsy Mink
- Rock Springs Massacre
- Hawaii
- Burma/Myanmar
- Cambodia
- China
- India
- Japan
- New Zealand
- Solomon Islands
- Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
- Thailand (Siam)
- Vietnam
Library collections
- After the Day of Infamy: Man-on-the-Street Interviews Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor
- Ansel Adams Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar
- Chinese in California 1850-1925 Bancroft Library
- Behind Barbed Wire internment story map
- Genthe Collection: San Francisco’s Chinatown, 1896-1942
Online exhibitions
Veterans History Project
Primary Source Sets
- Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage
- Asian American
- Asian American image set
- Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: Free to Use & Reuse
- Chinese American
- Chinese-American image set
- Chinese-American oral history set
- Filipino American
- Filippino Woman’s club images
- Japanese-American image set
- Japanese-American oral history set
- Modern U.S. legislation related to Japanese Americans
- Korean American
- Korean-American image set
- Korean-American oral history set
- Pacific Islander American
- Vietnamese American
- Vietnamese American image set
- Vietnamese-American oral history set
Asian American and Pacific Islander Materials: A Resource Guide
Spotlights, Features & Special Presentations
- Asian American & Pacific Islander Changemakers
- An Asian American Comics Anthology NYC Department of Education
- Chinese in America
- Chinese and Westward Expansion
- Chinese Immigration to the United States, 1851-1900
- Immigration: Chinese & Japanese
- The Filipino Migrant Experience: Part I & Part II streaming webcast
- Shades of L.A.: The Filipino American Experience Los Angeles Public Library
Documentary: Being Asian in America Pew Research Center
Music, Dance & Literature event recordings
- 2017 Asian American Literary Festival
- Asian-American Literature Today
- Asian-American Poetry Today 2011
- Asian-American Poetry Today 2012
- Asian Multicultural Program Philippine & Burmese dance, martial arts
- Roya Bahrami: Classical Music of Persia
- Cambodian-American Heritage Dancers with Chum Ngek Ensemble
- Children’s/Young People’s Author Janet Wong
- Graphic Novelist & Comic Book Author & Artist Gene Luen Yang
- Lao Natasinh Dance Troupe of Iowa
- Chang-rae Lee: 2010 National Book Festival
- Jim Lee and Asian American Superheroes
- Suzy Lee: 2013 National Book Festival
- Novelist & Short Story Writer Jen Gish
- Poet & Children’s Author Linda Sue Park
- Poet & Memoirist Li-Young Lee
- Poet, Novelist & Critic Shirley Geok-Lin Lim
- Poet Suji Kwock Kim
- Poet Amy Uyematsu
- The South Asian Literary Recordings Project MP3 audio files
Library of Congress blog posts
- Aloha, Hawaii! Celebrating Asian-Pacific American Month Teaching with the Library
- Asia, Texts, and Textiles at the Library of Congress, Part II: Hmong Story Cloths 4 Corners of the Word
- Asian American/Pacific Islander and Indigenous Writers’ Author Talks Bookmarked
- Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month In Custodia Legis
- Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month: Highlights from the Veterans History Project Folklife Today
- Before Brown v. Board of Education, There was Tape v. Hurley Headlines & Heroes
- Baseball Americana: Playing Behind Barbed Wire Timeless Stories from the Library
- Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with Primary Sources Teaching with the Library
- Celebrating Asian American Representation in Film Copyright Creativity at Work
- Chinese Americans and the Gold Rush Inside Adams
- Defiant Loyalty: Japanese-American Internment Camp Newspapers Timeless Stories from the Library
- East Asian American Traditions Inside Adams
- The Filipino Forum as Business Research Resource Inside Adams
- Fred Korematsu Winning Justice In Custodia Legis
- “Her Name is Shizuko”—A Mother’s Influence Picture This
- Honoring Asian Americans: A Cornerstone of American Business Inside Adams
- Identity and Solidarity: Asian American Activism in the 1960s and 70s Of the People
- Inquiring Minds: Chinese Opera in North America Timeless Stories from the Library
- A Japanese American Journey: Kazue Mizumura 4 Corners of the World
- Japanese-America’s Pastime: Baseball Timeless Stories from the Library
- Native Hawaiian Law In Custodia Legis
- Photos Document Japanese-American Wartime Internment Timeless Stories from the Library
- Poet Arthur Sze at the 2019 Asian American Literature Festival From the Catbird Seat
- Poet Jennifer Chang at the 2019 Asian American Literature Festival From the Catbird Seat
- Poet Kimiko Hahn at the Asian American Literature Festival From the Catbird Seat
- Recognizing the Service of Asian-Pacific-American Veterans Timeless Stories from the Library
- Sultana’s Dream: Linocut Series by Chitra Ganesh 4 Corners of the World
- Viet Thanh Nguyen: Finding a Voice in America Timeless Stories from the Library
More articles
- Teach Asian American and Pacific Islander History California History Social Science Project blog May 13, 2021
- Current Context Issue: Anti-Asian Racism in US History California History Social Science Project May 2021
- 11 Moments From Asian American History That You Should Know Time April 30, 2021