Asian Americans

Asian American

Vang Pao, Hmong American Notable Asian Americans: Anna May Wong · Eleanor Mariano · Kalpana Chawla Seo Jae-pil · Ellison Onizuka · Loung Ung Nadia Ali · Vang Pao · Areeya Chumsai
Regions with significant populations
Predominantly in Hawaii, the West Coast, with smaller population concentrations elsewhere
Languages
Commonly Asian languages and English
Religion
Agnosticism, Atheism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, East Asian religions, other Indian religions, and others

Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The most commonly used definition of Asian American is the U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asian, which includes individuals of East Asian, South Asian, and Southeast Asian origin.

The term Asian American was used informally by activists in the 1960s who sought an alternative to the term Oriental, arguing that the latter was derogatory and colonialist. Formal usage was introduced by academics in the early 1970s, notably by historian Yuji Ichioka, who is credited with popularizing the term. Today, Asian American is the accepted term for most formal purposes, such as government and academic research, although it is often shortened to Asian in common usage.

As with other racial and ethnicity based terms, formal and common usage have changed markedly through the short history of this term. The most significant change occurred when the Hart-Celler Act of 1965 eliminated highly restrictive "national origins" quotas, designed, among other things, to restrict immigration of those of Asian racial background. The new system, based on skills and family connections to U.S. residents, enabled significant immigration from every nation in Asia, which led to dramatic and ongoing changes in the Asian American population. As a result of these population changes, the formal and common understandings of what defines Asian American have expanded to include more of the peoples with ancestry from various parts of Asia. Because of their more recent immigration, new Asian immigrants also have had different educational, economic and other characteristics than early 20th century immigrants. They also tend to have different employment and settlement patterns in the United States.

As of 2008, Asian Americans had the highest educational attainment level and median household income of any racial demographic in the country, and the highest median personal income overall.

Terminology

The most commonly used definition of Asian American is the US Census Bureau definition of Asian, chiefly because the Census definitions determine many government classifications, notably for equal opportunity programs and measurements. People with origins in the Far East, Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent are included in the Census definition of Asia. The use of a separate "Asian" category in the Census is a recent addition, beginning in 1990. Since then, the Census definitions have varied. The 2000 census divided the Asian/Pacific Islander group and created Pacific Islander ethnicities as a separate category.

In the Oxford English Dictionary, "Asian person" in the United States is sometimes thought of as a person of East Asian descent. In vernacular "Asian" is often used to refer to those of East Asian descent or anyone else of Asian descent with epicanthic eyefolds. This lags behind the US government definition and general usage in many parts of the US and many consider those of East, South or Southeast Asian descent with or without epicanthic eyefolds to be "Asian". In the US Census, people who originate from the original peoples of the East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia are classified as part of the Asian race; while peoples from Siberia, Central Asia, and Western Asia are classified as "White".

Before 1980, Census forms listed particular Asian ancestries as separate groups, along with White and Black or Negro. Asian Americans had also been classified as "other". The 1980 census marked the first classification of Asians as a large group, combining several individual ancestry groups into "Asian or Pacific Islander." By the 1990 census, Asian or Pacific Islander (API) was included as an explicit category, although respondents had to select one particular ancestry. In the 2000 census, people reporting Middle Eastern ancestry but not reporting race are presumed to be in the white race category rather than Asian.

The definition of Asian American has variations that derive from the use of the word American in different contexts. Immigration status, citizenship (by birthright and by naturalization), acculturation, and language ability are some variables that are used to define American for various purposes and may vary in formal and everyday usage. For example, restricting American to include only U.S. citizens conflicts with discussions of Asian American businesses, which generally refer both to citizen and non-citizen owners.

In a recent PBS interview, a panel of Asian American writers discussed how some groups include people from the Middle East in the Asian American category. Asian American author Stewart Ikeda has noted, "The definition of “Asian American” also frequently depends on who’s asking, who’s defining, in what context, and why... the possible definitions of "Asian-Pacific American" are many, complex, and shifting... some scholars in Asian American Studies conferences suggest that Russians, Iranians, and Israelis all might fit the field’s subject of study."

Demographics

Metropolitan Areas with the Highest Percentages of Asian Americans (2000 Census)

Metropolitan Area	Metropolitan population	% Asian Americans
Honolulu, Hawaii MSA (Oahu)	876,156	46.0
San Francisco Bay Area	7,039,362	19.9
Sacramento Metropolitan Area	1,796,857	13.1
Greater Los Angeles Area	16,373,645	11.9
San Diego metropolitan area	2,813,833	10.1
New York Metropolitan Area	21,199,865	9.9
Seattle Metropolitan Area	3,554,760	9.8
Las Vegas Metropolitan Area	1,863,282	6.9
Washington-Baltimore (AA demographics)	7,608,070	5.3
Greater Houston	5,543,936	5.2
Chicago Metropolitan Area	9,098,316	4.3
Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex	5,487,956	3.6

Main articles: Demographics of Asian Americans, List of U.S. states by Asian American population, and List of U.S. communities with Asian American majority populations

The demographics of Asian Americans describe a heterogeneous group of people in the United States who can trace their ancestry to one or more countries in Asia. Because Asian Americans total less than 5% of the entire U.S. population, the diversity of the group is often disregarded in media and news discussions of "Asians" or of "Asian Americans." While there are some commonalities across ethnic sub-groups, there are significant differences among different Asian ethnicities that are related to each group's history.

Current estimates indicate that about 14.9 million people report themselves as having either full or partial Asian heritage, around 5.0% of the U.S. population. The largest ethnic subgroups are Chinese (3.53 million), Filipinos (3.05 million), Indians (2.77 million), Vietnamese (1.64 million), Koreans (1.56 million), and Japanese (1.22 million). Other sizable groups are Cambodian/Khmer (244,000), Pakistanis (214,000), Laotians (198,000), Hmong (186,000), Thais (150,000), and Bangladeshi (75,000).

The Asian American population is heavily urbanized, with nearly three-quarters of Asian Americans living in metropolitan areas with population greater than 2.5 million. The three metropolitan areas with the highest Asian American populations are the Greater Los Angeles Area (1.868 Million in 2007), the New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island Area (1.782 Million in 2007), and the San Francisco Bay Area (979 Thousand in 2007). A large proportion of all Asian Americans live in California (5 Million in 2007), New York (1.4 Million in 2007), Texas (915 Thousand in 2007), New Jersey, and Hawaii. Census data shows that Asian American populations are developing more quickly in major metropolitan areas away from the West Coast than on the West Coast itself.

In regions with large numbers of Asian Americans, suburban communities have developed that are heavily or predominantly Asian. The schools in these areas may offer languages such as Mandarin as a second language. Since the 1970s, in addition to Chinatowns, "Little Manila", "Koreatowns", "Little Saigons" and "Cambodia Town" have appeared in several cities.

Ten Cities with the Highest Percentage of Asian-Americans (2000 Census)

City	% of Asian Americans alone or in combination	% of Asian Americans alone
Honolulu, Hawaii	67.7	55.9
Daly City, California	53.6	50.7
Fremont, California	46.8	40
Sunnyvale, California	36.9	33.3
San Francisco, California	32.6	30.8
Irvine, California	35.9	30.8
Garden Grove, California	33.6	30.9
Santa Clara, California	31.4	29.3
Torrance, California	31.1	28.6
San Jose, California	29.8	26.9

Since the 1970s, populations of Asian Americans have been visible and are growing. Large Japantowns once existed up and down the West Coast because of extensive Japanese immigration. The ones that remain are vestiges of once vibrant pre-World War II communities whose members, like other Americans, moved out into the suburbs and larger communities. They are "underrepresented" (against the national aggregate) in several of the largest areas, including Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, and Dallas-Fort Worth, although sizable concentrations (double the national percentage) can be found in some urban neighborhoods, such as Albany Park in Chicago and Olney in Philadelphia. Additionally, similar Asian populations are found in suburbs of these cities such as Naperville and Evanston near Chicago; Millbourne, King of Prussia, and Cherry Hill near Philadelphia; Richardson, Carrollton, and Plano in Dallas-Fort Worth; Lowell and Lexington near Boston and Las Vegas. This pattern reflects their later arrival and response to changing economic conditions in some cities. As of 2008, Asian American households had the highest median income at $65,637; however, 11.8 percent of Asians were in poverty in 2004, higher than the 8.6 percent rate for non-Hispanic whites. Much of this poverty is concentrated in ethnic enclaves such as Chinatowns in the cities Census figures also show that a white male with a college diploma earns in excess of $66,000 a year, far more than similarly educated Asian men who earned more than $52,000 a year. Asians however are more likely to complete higher education particularly and are the highest group by percentage with graduate degrees.

The more prominent languages of the community include Cantonese, Hindi, Gujarati, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Currently, Chinese languages, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese are all used in elections in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Washington. Template:Asian Americans 2007 metro estimates

History

Main article: Asian American history

In 1763, Filipinos established the small settlement of Saint Malo, Louisiana, after fleeing mistreatment aboard Spanish ships. Since there were no Filipino women with them, the Manilamen, as they were known, married Cajun and Native American women ( miscegenation ).

Chinese sailors first came to Hawaii in 1778, the same year that Captain James Cook came upon the island. Many settled and married Hawaiian women. Some Island-born Chinese can claim to be 7th generation. Most Chinese, Korean and Japanese immigrants in Hawaii arrived in the 19th century as laborers to work on sugar plantations. Later, Filipinos also came to work as laborers, attracted by the job opportunities, although they were limited.

Numerous Chinese and Japanese began immigrating to the U.S. in the mid-19th century for work, because of poor economic conditions in their home nations. Many of the immigrants worked as laborers on the transcontinental railroad. Although the absolute numbers of Asian immigrants in the late 19th century were small compared to that from other regions, much of it was concentrated in the West, and the increase caused some Americans to fear the change represented by the growing number of Asians. This fear was referred to as the "yellow peril". The United States passed laws such as Asian Exclusion Act and Chinese Exclusion Act to sharply restrict Asian immigration.

Immigration trends

Main article: History of Asian American immigration

Asian Americans have been in the territories that would become the United States since the 16th century. Prior to World War II there were international agreements, laws passed, and judicial rulings which restricted immigration of people from Asia into the United States. After World War II legislation was passed, and judicial rulings gradually increased the ability of Asian Americans to immigrate and become naturalized citizens. Immigration rapidly increased following the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965 as well as naturalization of refugees from conflicts that occurred in the late 20th century in Southeast Asia.

Illegal immigration

As of 2009, Filipinos and Indians accounted for the highest number of illegal immigrants for "Asian-Americans" with an estimated illegal population of 270,000 each. Indian Americans are also the fastest growing illegal immigrant group in the United States, an increase in illegal immigration of 125% since 2000. This is followed by Koreans (250,000), Chinese (190,000) and Vietnamese (160,000).

Notable contributions

See also: List of Asian Americans

Arts and entertainment

Main article: Asian Americans in arts and entertainment

I.M. Pei, world-renowned architect.

Art

Sueo Serisawa helped establish the California Impressionist style of painting. Jim Lee is considered to be one of the most popular comic book artists and is one of the founders of Image Comics. Adrian Tomine's cartoons are featured in The New Yorker. Los Angeles-based artists James Jean and David Choe have received domestic and international recognition within the Lowbrow art scene.

Architecture

Asian Americans have designed notable works of architecture, such as the Louvre Pyramid and East Wing of the National Gallery, designed by the worldwide famous architect I. M. Pei, the World Trade Center, designed by Minoru Yamasaki, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Civil Rights Memorial (1989) designed by Maya Lin. In commercial architecture, Gyo Obata, a founding partner of HOK, designed the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. and the Taipei World Trade Center. Fazlur Rahman Khan designed the John Hancock Center and the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower).

Entertainment

File:BruceLeecard.jpg

Bruce Lee is considered one of the most influential martial artists of the 20th century.

Asian Americans have been involved in the entertainment industry since the first half of the 19th century, when Chang and Eng Bunker (the original "Siamese Twins") became naturalized citizens. Through much of the 20th century, there were few acting roles in television, cinema, and theater for Asian Americans, and many of the available roles were for narrow, stereotypical characters. Early Asian American actors such as Sessue Hayakawa, Anna May Wong, and Bruce Lee encountered a movie-making culture that wanted to typecast them. Lee abandoned Hollywood and achieved worldwide fame in Hong Kong. In 1965, a group of actors formed East West Players (EWP), to provide Asian American actors greater opportunity to perform in leading roles. Several other Asian American theater companies were formed in other cities, providing similar outlets there.

More recently, young Asian American comedians and film-makers have found an outlet on Youtube, allowing them to gain a strong and loyal fanbase among their fellow Asian Americans. Notable Youtubers include comedians such as Kevin Wu, and Christine Gambito; musicians such as David Choi and Kina Grannis; and the film-making group Wong Fu Productions. They have gained notable followings, mainly with young Asian American students, through solo and collaborative videos, short films and tours.

Theater

Main article: Asian American theatre

Flower Drum Song is based on the San Francisco nightclub Forbidden City. Rodgers and Hammerstein adapted it into a musical that was produced on Broadway in 1958 and on film in 1961. Largely remembered for the hit song "I Enjoy Being A Girl", it would not be produced with an all-Asian-American cast until a 2002 Broadway revival.

In 1988, Playwright David Henry Hwang's Broadway hit M. Butterfly won a Tony Award for Best Play, among other awards. Renowned singer and actress Lea Salonga is active in Broadway.

Margaret Cho won the American Comedy Award for Best Female Comedian in 1994. Comedian Byron Yee's show "Paper Son" was awarded "Outstanding Solo Show" at the New York International Fringe Festival.

Film

Ang Lee, director

Miyoshi Umeki won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1957 for Sayonara. Haing Ngor won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1985 for The Killing Fields. Lucy Liu was one of the lead actresses in the popular Charlie's Angels movie series.

Lucy Liu, television and film actress

M. Night Shyamalan has directed a number of movies, including Signs, The Village, Unbreakable, and the Academy Award-nominated The Sixth Sense. Mira Nair has acclaimed movies like Salaam Bombay, Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake to her credit. Ang Lee is the world-renowned director of the critically acclaimed Brokeback Mountain, Eat Drink Man Woman, Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Director Justin Lin brought attention to the experiences of Asian Americans through his movie Better Luck Tomorrow, which included an almost exclusively Asian-American cast. He also directed The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, its prequel Fast & Furious and the upcoming Fast Five. John Woo is famous for directing such films as Mission: Impossible 2, Windtalkers, and Paycheck.

Lou Diamond Phillips had leading roles in several motion pictures including Young Guns, Stand by Me, and Extreme Prejudice.

Shin Koyamada became best known to audience after his co-starring role “Nobutada” in Warner Bros. Pictures Action epic The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise and starred in "Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior" with Brenda Song.

John Cho, a Korea-born American actor, famously portrayed Hikaru Sulu in the Star Trek reboot, as well as appearing in the primary American Pie series and the Harold & Kumar series along with Indian American actor Kal Penn.

Ming-Na Wen was the leading actress in Joy Luck Club and the voice actress for the leading role Mulan Fa in Mulan.

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa frequently fills film roles that require an Asian American star and has an extensive film and television appearance history. While often portrayed as a villain, such as the soul-stealing sorcerer Shang Tsung in the film adaptation of the video game Mortal Kombat, he was interviewed in the documentary The Slanted Screen (2006), directed by Jeff Adachi, about the representation of Asian and Asian-American men in Hollywood.

The international star Joan Chen (Chong Chen) was featured in numerous films from China, the USA, Australia, and some other countries. She won quite a number of awards for her acting.

Major films have been based on Asian American novels, such as Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake (2007) and Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club. Others have been created on stories about Asian American communities.

Wah Chang was the designer for many of the props on the Star Trek series as well as The Time Machine, which received an Academy Award for special effects.

Darren Criss is a half-Filipino actor who recently gained fame through the viral hit A Very Potter Musical and the popular TV show Glee.

Gran Torino is also noted as being a pivotal film in asian american culture.

Television

Margaret Cho, comedienne

George Takei and Pat Morita became well-known from supporting roles in Star Trek and Happy Days, two of the best-known series of the 1960s and 1970s. Other Asian Americans who appeared on the small-screen during this time period include Jack Soo of Valentine's Day and Barney Miller, and Bruce Lee on the Green Hornet. In 1976, Morita starred in Mr. T and Tina, which was the first American sitcom centered on a person of Asian descent.

Margaret Cho, stand-up comedian and actress, had a leading role in her own TV comedy series All American Girl in the 1990s. Her character was a Korean-American (as Cho is), who struggled with her family and cultural issues in San Francisco. The show included other Asian-American actors such as Amy Hill, who starred in TV and movie roles throughout her life. Hill played Cho's grandmother. Despite being a breakthrough in prime-time television, All American Girl show was cancelled in two seasons due to low ratings. After the show ended its unsuccessful run, due to the way it was handled and the things that were forced on Margaret Cho to conform to try and make the show a success caused a huge break and disappointment in her that it led to her becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol. Although as of (As of 2009) Margaret has sinced gained new popularity and success from her new show Drop Dead Diva.

Olivia Munn, actress, model, and television personality is best known as being co-host on G4's Attack of the Show!, and is now being recognized as an actress, having big-screen roles in movies such as Iron Man 2.

Comedian Johnny Yune made many appearances on the "Tonight Show" in the late 70's. The late Thuy Trang is probably a familiar face to many children and young adults for her role as Trini Kwan, the original yellow ranger, in the hit youth television show Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

SuChin Pak was a news correspondent frequently seen on MTV news and is now the host of G Word for Planet Green.

Lucy Liu had a big part in the Ally McBeal TV show from 1998 to 2002 before going on to lead roles in feature films. Daniel Dae Kim and Sendhil Ramamurthy have achieved some recognition as sex symbols from their respective roles on Lost and Heroes as has Jon Gosselin from the reality show Jon and Kate Plus 8; B. D. Wong currently stars on Law & Order: SVU after being featured in the critically acclaimed series Oz.

Brenda Song is a Thai-Hmong American actress. Known to younger audiences for starring in several Disney Channel productions including The Suite Life Of Zack and Cody, Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior 1 and 2, Stuck in the Suburbs and most recently (As of 2009) The Suite Life on Deck.

Both Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Jennie Kwan in the past were both popularly known to the Teen and Children Audience for their roles on television series Saved by the Bell and California Dreams respectively both aimed at youth in the 1990s.

Leyna Nguyen a news anchor, is also heavily portrayed in news anchor roles in major television shows and movies. Some examples include Boston Legal, Without a Trace, Las Vegas, Two and a Half Men and Austin Powers in Goldmember.

Parminder Nagra (actually British) is one of the lead actresses in the medical drama Television series ER; preceded on the series by Ming-Na who herself also starred in other successful TV shows such as Stargate Universe and As the World Turns.

Reiko Aylesworth was part of the cast of the critically acclaimed hit TV series 24. Kal Penn was one of the lead actors in medical drama House. He was one Dr. House's four fellows. Kirk Acevedo was a lead actor on various TV shows and was known for his regular roles on popular television shows such as OZ, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, and Fringe.

Curt Apduhan is a NATAS News/Documentary Cinematography Emmy awarded cinematographer for the Sundance Channel (United States) feature documentary Amargosa. Tila Tequila is the star of the MTV show A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila.

Masi Oka and James Kyson Lee are two lead Asian actors that are on the popular TV Series Heroes. Masi Oka is also the only lead actor on the show to be nominated for either an Emmy or Golden Globe Award.

Recently (As of 2009) the hit U.S. TV series Survivor created teams along racial lines during Survivor: Cook Islands. People of East and Southeast Asian ancestry composed the Asian American tribe. Asian American Yul Kwon won the season.

Music

Yo-Yo Ma, world renowned cellist

Norah Jones, an Indian American Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter, pianist, keyboardist, guitarist, and actress.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has performed internationally and made new recordings of world music, as in The Silk Road Project. The classical violinists Sarah Chang and Midori Gotō have each been awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize, as has Ma. The composer Bright Chang has received extensive recognition for his work, including being invited to be composer-in-residence at the New York City Ballet. Tan Dun is a contemporary classical composer, well known for his Grammy and Oscar-award winning scores for the movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.

In popular music, Amerie is a notable R&B singer, as is Ne-Yo and Cassie. Utada Hikaru is a world-famous pop artist, with two songs in the Kingdom Hearts video games, as is Lea Salonga who has performed for three U.S. presidents. Vanessa Hudgens and Nicole Scherzinger are also well-known recording artists. Tony Kanal is the bassist for the popular rock band No Doubt. James Iha is best-known as guitarist with The Smashing Pumpkins. Joey Santiago is the lead guitarist for the Pixies, while Kirk Hammett is the lead guitaritst for Metallica. Mike Shinoda and Joseph Hahn are members of the rap rock band Linkin Park. Kenny Choi is the lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Daphne Loves Derby, as well as his solo projects. In hip-hop, Apl.de.ap is a member of The Black Eyed Peas. A colorful video by rapper Jin spiraled him to fame in 2003. Leehom Wang is a well-known musician in mainland China and Taiwan, and also played a part in Ang Lee's 2007 film Lust, Caution. In the heavy metal genre, Aja Kim, has achieved notoriety as lead vocalist in the role of Bruce 'Lee' Chickinson for the tribute band, The Iron Maidens. In October 2010, Far East Movement became the first Asian-American band to break into the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 with their single "Like a G6", which eventually reached #1. Also in 2010 and 2011, half-Filipino singer-songwriter Bruno Mars broke into the Top 10 with his singles "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade".

Singer-songwriter Dawn Xiana Moon is noted as the first American to fuse her traditional Chinese roots with Western folk, pop, and jazz. Don Ho was a Grammy Award winning Hawaiian pop singer and entertainer. Tia Carrere is a Hawaiian singer and actress. Singer songwriter Norah Jones is also very successful. While Nadia Ali is one of the most successful female Electronic dance music & Trance singer and musician. Former member of the band iiO, whose 2001 hit "Rapture" reached #2 on the UK Singles chart.

Literature

See also: Asian American literature

In literature, Asian American writers have received numerous awards. Maxine Hong Kingston won the National Book Critics Circle award in 1976 for her memoir Woman Warrior. Bharati Mukherjee won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1988 for her short story collection The Middleman and Other Stories. Chang-Rae-Lee received the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for his novel Native Speaker (1995). He has since written "A Gesture Life" and "Aloft." Amy Tan has received popular acclaim for her work. Ha Jin won a handful of awards including the National Book Award, Pushcart Prizes, a Kenyon Review Prize, the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction, the PEN/Hemingway Award, and the PEN/Faulkner Award, and he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Jhumpa Lahiri won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her short story collection The Interpreter of Maladies. Kiran Desai won the Man Booker Prize (2006) and National Book Critics Circle Award (2006) for her second novel The Inheritance of Loss. Her mother Anita Desai was nominated for major awards for her novels. Naomi Hirahara won a 2007 Edgar Award for her novel Snakeskin Shamisen. Jessica Hagedorn won a 1990 American Book Award for her novel Dogeaters.

Fashion design

Many Asian Americans have also penetrated in the fashion world with Monique Lhuillier's dresses parading on the Hollywood red carpet and Chloe Dao winning Project Runway. At the Fashion Institute of Technology, 23 percent of the nearly 1,200 students now enrolled are either Asian or Asian-American. Vera Wang and Anna Sui have been highly accomplished and rewarded fashion designers for years. Other designers include Phillip Lim, 2006 CFDA Emerging Talent Award Winner Doo-Ri Chung, and 2005 Winner Derek Lam.

Business

Co-founder of Yahoo! Jerry Yang

When Asian Americans were largely excluded from labor markets in the 19th century, they started their own businesses. They have started convenience and grocery stores, professional offices such as medical and law practices, laundries, restaurants, beauty-related ventures, hi-tech companies, and many other kinds of enterprises, becoming very successful and influential in American society. They have dramatically expanded their involvement across the American economy. Asian Americans have been disproportionately successful in the hi-tech sectors of California's Silicon Valley, as evidenced by the Goldsea 100 Compilation of America's Most Successful Asian Entrepreneurs.

Compared to their population base, Asian Americans today are well represented in the professional sector and tend to earn higher wages. The Goldsea compilation of Notable Asian American Professionals show that many have come to occupy high positions at leading U.S. corporations, including a surprising number as Chief Marketing Officers.

Asian Americans have made major contributions to the American economy. Fashion designer and mogul Vera Wang, who is famous for designing dresses for high-profile celebrities, started a clothing company, named after herself, which now offers a broad range of luxury fashion products. An Wang founded Wang Laboratories in June 1951. Amar Bose founded the Bose Corporation in 1964. Charles Wang founded Computer Associates, later became its CEO and chairman. Jen-Hsun Huang co-founded the NVIDIA corporation in 1993. Jerry Yang co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in 1994 and became its CEO later. Andrea Jung serves as Chairman and CEO of Avon Products. Vinod Khosla was a founding CEO of Sun Microsystems and is a general partner of the prominent venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Steve Chen and Jawed Karim were co-creators of YouTube, and were beneficiaries of Google's $1.65 billion acquisition of that company in 2006. In addition to contributing greatly to other fields, Asian Americans have made considerable contributions in science and technology in the United States, in such prominent innovative R&D regions as Silicon Valley and The Triangle.

Government and politics

Main article: Asian Americans in government and politics

Asian Americans have a high level of political incorporation in terms of their actual voting population. Since 1907, Asian Americans have been active at the national level and have had multiple officeholders at local, state and national levels. Template:As off the highest ranking Asian American is Senator and President Pro Tempore Daniel Inouye.

Journalism

Fareed Zakaria, journalist and author

Connie Chung was one of the first Asian-American national correspondents for a major TV news network, reporting for CBS in 1971. She later co-anchored the CBS Evening News from 1993 to 1995. At ABC, Ken Kashiwahara began reporting nationally in 1974. In 1990, Sheryl WuDunn, a foreign correspondent in the Beijing Bureau of The New York Times, became the first Asian-American to win a Pulitzer Prize. Ann Curry joined NBC News as a reporter in 1990, later becoming prominently associated with The Today Show in 1997. Carol Lin is perhaps best known for being the first to break the news of 9-11 on CNN. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is currently CNN's chief health correspondent. Lisa Ling, a former co-host on The View, now provides special reports for CNN and The Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as hosting National Geographic Channel's Explorer. Fareed Zakaria, a naturalised Indian-born immigrant, is a prominent journalist, and author specialising in international affairs. He is the editor of Newsweek International, and the host of Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN. Recently (As of 2009), Juju Chang, James Hatori, John Yang, Veronica De La Cruz, Betty Nguyen, and Julie Chen have become familiar faces on television news. John Yang won a Peabody Award. Alex Tizon, a Seattle Times staff writer, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1997.

Military

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki; previously, as the 4-star Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Shinseki became the highest ranked Asian American ever in the military.

Main article: Military History of Asian Americans

See also: List of Asian Americans § Military

Since the War of 1812 Asian Americans have served and fought on behalf of the United States. Serving in both segregated and non-segregated units until the desegregation of the US Military in 1948, 31 have been awarded the nation's highest award for combat valor, the Medal of Honor. Twenty-one of these were conferred upon members of the mostly Japanese American 100th Infantry Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of World War II, the most highly decorated unit of its size in the history of the United States Armed Forces.

Science and technology

Stephen Chu, Nobel laureate in physics and current U.S. Energy Secretary

Asian Americans have made many notable contributions to science and technology. Chien-Shiung Wu was known to many scientists as the "First Lady of Physics" and played a pivotal role in experimentally demonstrating the violation of the law of conservation of parity in the field of particle physics. Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang received the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics for theoretical work demonstrating that the conservation of parity did not always hold and later became American citizens. Samuel Chao Chung Ting received the 1976 Nobel Prize in physics for discovery of the subatomic particle J/ψ. Yoichiro Nambu received the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the consequences of spontaneously broken symmetries in field theories. Har Gobind Khorana shared the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in genetics and protein synthesis. The Chinese American mathematician Shing-Tung Yau won the Fields Medal in 1982, as well as other important awards. The geometer Shiing-Shen Chern received the Wolf Prize in Mathematics in 1983. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar shared the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics and had the Chandra X-ray Observatory named after him. In 1984, Dr. David D. Ho first reported the "healthy carrier state" of HIV infection, which identified HIV-positive individuals who showed no physical signs of AIDS. Steven Chu shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research in cooling and trapping atoms using laser light. Daniel Tsui shared the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics in 1998 for helping discover the fractional Quantum Hall effect. In 2008, biochemist Roger Tsien won the Nobel in Chemistry for his work on engineering and improving the green fluorescent protein (GFP) that has become a standard tool of modern molecular biology and biochemistry. Michio Kaku has popularized science and has appeared on multiple programs on television and radio. In 2009, Charles K. Kao was awarded Nobel Prize in Physics "for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibres for optical communication" and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan won the prize in Chemistry "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome".

Space

See also: List of Asian American astronauts

LTC Ellison Onizuka became the first Asian American (and third person of Asian descent) when he made his first space flight aboard STS-51-C in 1985. Onizuka later died aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. Taylor Gun-Jin Wang became the first person of Chinese ethnicity and first Chinese American, in space in 1985; he has since been followed by Leroy Chiao in 1994, and Ed Lu in 1997. In 1986, Franklin Chang-Diaz became the first Asian Latin American in space. Eugene H. Trinh became the first Vietnamese American in space in 1992. In 2001, Mark L. Polansky, a Jewish Korean American, made his first of three flights into space. In 2003, Kalpana Chawla became the first Indian American in space, but died aboard the ill fated Space Shuttle Columbia. She has since been followed by CDR Sunita Williams in 2006.

Sports

See also: Category:American sportspeople of Asian descent

Figure skater Michelle Kwan

Wataru Misaka broke the NBA color barrier when he played for the New York Knicks in the 1947–48 season. The next Asian-American NBA player was Raymond Townsend, who played for the Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers from 1978 to 1982. Erik Spoelstra is a Filipino-Dutch-Irish who became the youngest coach ever in NBA history. He is currently the head coach of the Miami Heat. Current Kansas Jayhawks coach Kurtis Townsend is Raymond Townsend's brother. After a distinguished collegiate basketball career at Harvard University, point guard Jeremy Lin signed with the NBA's Golden State Warriors in 2010. In doing so, he became the first Asian-American to play in the NBA in over 50 years.

Asian Americans first made an impact in Olympic sports in the late 1940s and in the 1950s. Sammy Lee became the first Asian American to earn an Olympic Gold Medal, winning in platform diving in both 1948 and 1952. Victoria Manalo Draves won both gold in platform and springboard diving in the 1948. Harold Sakata won a weightlifting silver medal in the 1948 Olympics, while Japanese Americans Tommy Kono (weightlifting), Yoshinobu Oyakawa (100-meter backstroke), and Ford Konno (1500-meter freestyle) each won gold and set Olympic records in the 1952 Olympics. Konno won another gold and silver swimming medal at the same Olympics and added a silver medal in 1956, while Kono set another Olympic weightlifting record in 1956. Also at the 1952 Olympics, Evelyn Kawamoto won two bronze medals in swimming.

Amy Chow was a member of the gold medal women's gymnastics team at the 1996 Olympics; she also won an individual silver medal on the uneven bars. Gymnast Mohini Bhardwaj won a team silver medal in the 2004 Olympics. Hapa Bryan Clay won the decathlon gold medal in the 2008 Olympics, the silver medal in the 2004 Olympics, and was the sport's 2005 world champion.

Michael Chang the youngest ever winner of a Grand Slam tennis tournament

Since Tiffany Chin won the women's US Figure Skating Championship in 1985, Asian Americans have been prominent in that sport. Kristi Yamaguchi won three national championships, two world titles, and the 1992 Olympic Gold medal. Michelle Kwan has won nine national championships and five world titles, as well as two Olympic medals (silver in 1998, bronze in 2002).

In football, Asian Americans' contributions are also gaining notice. Norm Chow is currently the offensive coordinator for UCLA after a short stint with the Tennessee Titans of the NFL, after 23 years of coaching other college teams, including four successful years as offensive coordinator at USC. Dat Nguyen was an NFL middle linebacker who was an all-pro selection in 2003. In 1998, he was named an All-American and won the Bednarik Award as well as the Lombardi Award, while playing for Texas A&M. Hines Ward is an NFL wide receiver who was the MVP of Super Bowl XL.

Michael Chang was a top-ranked tennis player for most of his career. He won the French Open in 1989. Tiger Woods, who is of mostly Asian descent, is the most successful golfer of his generation and one of the most famous athletes in the world. Eric Koston is one of the top street skateboarders and placed first in the 2003 X-Games street competition.

There are several top ranked Asian American mixed martial artists. BJ Penn is a former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion. Cung Le is a former Strikeforce middleweight champion. Ben Henderson is the former WEC lightweight champion.

Cultural influence

Health and medicine

Origins of foreign doctors in the US

Country of Origin	Percentage of Total IMGs in US
India	19.9% (47,581)
Philippines	8.8% (20,861)
Pakistan	4.8% (11,330)
South Korea	2.1% (4,982)
China	2.0% (4,834)

Origins of foreign dentists in the US

Country of Origin	Percentage of Total IDGs in US
India	25.8
Philippines	11.0
China	3.2
South Korea	3.2
Pakistan	2.9

Origins of foreign nurses in the US

Country of Origin	Percentage of Total INGs in US
Philippines	50.2
India	1.3
Hong Kong	1.2
Israel	1.0
South Korea	1.0

Asian immigrants are also changing the American medical landscape through increasing number of Asian medical practitioners in this country. Beginning in the 1960s and 70s, the US government invited a number of foreign physicians particularly from India and the Philippines to address the acute shortage of physicians in rural and medically-underserved urban areas. The trend in importing foreign medical practitioners, however, became a long-term, chronic solution as US medical schools failed to produce enough physicians to match the increasing American population. Amid decreasing interest in medicine among American college students due to high rates job dissatisfaction, loss of morale, stress, and lawsuits, Asian American immigrants maintained a supply of healthcare practitioners for millions of Americans. It is well documented that Asian American international medical graduates including highly skilled guest workers using the J1 Visa program for medical workers, tend to serve in health professions shortage areas (HPSA) and specialties that are not filled by US medical graduates especially primary care and rural medicine. Thus, Asian American immigrants play a key role in averting a medical crisis in the US.

A lasting legacy of Asian American involvement in medicine is the forcing of US medical establishment to accept minority medical practitioners. One could speculate that the introduction of Asian physicians and dentists to the American society could have triggered an acceptance of other minority groups by breaking down stereotypes and encouraging trust.

Traditional Asian concepts and practices in health and medicine have attracted greater acceptance and are more widely adopted by American doctors. India’s Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine (which also includes acupuncture) are two alternative therapy systems that have been studied and adopted to a great extent. For instance, in the early 1970s the US medical establishment did not believe in the usefulness of acupuncture. Since then studies have proven the efficacy of acupuncture for different applications, especially for treatment of chronic pain. It is now covered by many health insurance plans.

Meditation and mindfulness practices are taught in mainstream medical schools and hospitals. Increasingly they are seen as part of a holistic approach to health. Doctors and hospitals treating diseases such as heart disease and cancer have adopted meditation as a practice recommended for patients.

Herbalism and massage therapy (from Ayurveda) are sweeping the spas across America. Meditation and yoga (from India) have also been widely adopted by health spas, and spiritual retreats of many religious bases. They are also part of the spiritual practice of the many Americans who are not affiliated with a mainline religious group.

Education

Educational Attainment: 2004 (25 and Older)

Ethnicity	High School Graduation Rate	Bachelor's Degree or More
Indians	90.2%	67.9%
Filipinos	90.8%	47.9%
Bangladeshis	84.5%	41.9%
Pakistanis	87.4%	60.9%
Chinese	80.8%	50.2%
Japanese	93.4%	43.7%
Koreans	90.2%	50.8%
Vietnamese	70.0%	23.5%
Total US Population	83.9%	27.0%

Among America's major racial categories, Asian Americans have the highest educational qualifications. This varies, however, for individual ethnic groups. Dr. C.N. Le, Director of the Asian & Asian American Studies Certificate Program at the University of Massachusetts, writes that although 42% of all Asian American adults have at least a college degree, Vietnamese Americans have a degree attainment rate of only 16% while Laotians and Cambodians only have rates around 5%. According to the US Census Bureau, while the high school graduation rate for Asian Americans is on par with those of other ethnic groups, 48% of Asian Americans have attained at least a bachelor's degree as compared with the national average of 27%, and 29% for non-Hispanic Whites. Indian Americans have some of the highest education rates, with nearly 68% having attained at least a bachelor's degree.

Religious trends

Some scholars see a movement of religions, as Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism have moved into American culture, and Christianity has been adopted by more East Asians. Most Filipinos are also already Christian (Catholic or other denominations) when they immigrate. Many South Koreans, especially, are already Christian when they immigrate to the US, and hence most Korean Americans are born into Christian families. Besides Indian religions, there has also been strong influence of the American adoption of yoga, meditation, Ayurveda and vegetarianism from India.

Many Asians Americans are also Muslim with ancestry from Pakistan, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and China among others. Eight percent of Asian Americans are Muslim and they represent 33% of the American Muslim population.

Beats on the West Coast were among those attracted to Buddhism in the 1950s. American Buddhist groups established then and in the 1970s have built temples, ordained numerous American Buddhist monks, and taught generations of new practitioners. Buddhist concepts and practices such as mindfulness have penetrated mainstream culture.

While much West Coast practice was first influenced by Japanese Zen Buddhism, which originated in China (known as Ch'an Buddhism), more recent generations throughout the country have been influenced also by Vietnamese and Tibetan Buddhist monks who have lived and taught in the West.

As a historic first, President Barack Obama appointed two Indian Americans, Eboo Patel (a Muslim) and Anju Bhargava (a Hindu), to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The Advisory Council is part of the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and is composed of religious and secular leaders and scholars from different backgrounds.

Cultural issues

personal and household income

in the United States Census

in 2005

Percent of households with six figure incomes and individuals with incomes in the top 10%, exceeding $77,500.

Until the late 20th century, the term "Asian American" was adopted mostly by activists, while the average person of Asian ancestries identified with his specific ethnicity. The murder of Vincent Chin in 1982 was a pivotal civil rights case, and it marked the emergence of Asian Americans as a distinct group in United States.

Study has indicated that most non-Asian Americans do not generally differentiate between Asian Americans and Chinese Americans. Stereotypes of both groups are nearly identical. A 2002 survey of Americans' attitudes toward Asian Americans and Chinese Americans indicated that 24% of the respondents disapprove of intermarriage with an Asian American, second only to African Americans; 23% would be uncomfortable supporting an Asian-American presidential candidate, compared to 15% for an African American, 14% for a woman and 11% for a Jew; 17% would be upset if a substantial number of Asian Americans moved into their neighborhood; 25% had somewhat or very negative attitude toward Chinese Americans in general. The study did find several positive perceptions of Chinese Americans: strong family values (91%); honesty as business people (77%); high value on education (67%).

There is a widespread perception that Asian Americans are not "American" but are instead "perpetual foreigners". Asian Americans often report being asked the question, "Where are you really from?" by other Americans, regardless of how long they or their ancestors have lived in United States. Many Asian Americans are themselves not immigrants but rather born in the United States. Many are asked if they are Chinese or Japanese, an assumption based on major groups of past immigrants.

Stereotypes

Main articles: Stereotypes of Asians, Stereotypes of East Asians, and Stereotypes of South Asians

Model minority

Main article: Model minority

Asian Americans are sometimes characterized as a model minority because the culture encourages a strong work ethic, a respect for elders, a high degree of professional and academic success, a high valuation of family, education and religion. Statistics such as high household income and low incarceration rate, low rates of many diseases and higher than average life expectancy are also discussed as positive aspects of Asian Americans.

This concept appears to elevate Asian Americans by portraying them as an elite group of successful, highly educated, highly intelligent, and wealthy individuals, but it can also be considered an overly narrow and overly one-dimensional portrayal of Asian Americans, leaving out other human qualities such as vocal leadership, negative emotions, risk taking, ability to learn from mistakes, and desire for creative expression. Furthermore, Asian Americans who do not fit into the model minority mold can face challenges when people's expectations based on the model minority myth do not match with reality. Traits outside of the model minority mold can be seen as negative character flaws for Asian Americans despite those very same traits being positive for the general American majority (e.g., risk taking, confidence, empowered). For this reason, some believe Asian Americans encounter a "bamboo ceiling," the Asian American equivalent of the glass ceiling in the workplace.

The model minority concept can also affect Asians' public education. By comparison with other minorities, Asians often achieve higher test scores and grades compared to other Americans. Stereotyping Asian American as over-achievers can lead to harm if school officials or peers expect all to perform higher than average.

Those who consider Asian Americans a "model minority" fail to realize that Asian American is a broad category encompassing many different ethnic groups with different histories. When divided up by nationality, it can be seen that the economic and academic successes supposedly enjoyed by Asian Americans are concentrated into a few ethnic groups. Vietnamese, Cambodian, Hmong, and Laotian Americans are less likely than African Americans to be high school graduates and also have a lower median personal income. They are also less likely than African Americans to have high skill occupations.

Furthermore, the model minority concept can even be emotionally damaging to Asian Americans, particularly since they are expected to live up to their peers who are part of the model minority. However, studies have shown that Asian Americans suffer from higher rates of stress, depression, mental illnesses, and suicides in comparison to other races. The pressures to achieve and live up to the model minority image have taken a mental and psychological toll on Asian Americans.

See also

• Amerasian
• Asian Argentinian
• Asian American studies
• Asian Australian
• Asian Brazilian
• Asian Mexican
• Asian Latino
• Asian Canadian
• South Asian British, East Asian British, West Asian British
• Chinese for Affirmative Action
• Hapa
• Hyphenated American
• Index of Asian American-related articles
• Jade Ribbon Campaign
• United States foreign born per capita income
• The Price of Admission

Asian American Communities and Health: Context, Research, Policy, and Action (Public Health/Vulnerable Populations), Chau Trinh-Shevrin (Editor), Nadia Shilpi Islam (Editor), Mariano Jose Rey (Editor), published March 2009

Further reading

• Chan, Sucheng. "The changing contours of Asian-American historiography," Rethinking History, March 2007, Vol. 11 Issue 1, pp 125–147; surveys 100+ studies of defining events; Asian diasporas; social dynamics; cultural histories.
• Chan, Sucheng. Asian Americans: an interpretive history (Twayne, 1991). ISBN 978-0-8057-8437-4
• Chau Trinh-Shevrin, Nadia Shilpi Islam, Mariano Jose Rey. Asian American Communities and Health: Context, Research, Policy, and Action (Public Health/Vulnerable Populations), 2009. ISBN 978-0-7879-9829-5
• Chin, Gabriel J., Ed., U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: Reports on Asian Pacific Americans (2005) ISBN 978-0-8377-3105-6
• Chiu, Monica, ed. Asian Americans in New England: Culture and Community (Durham: University of New Hampshire Press, 2009. xviii, 252 pp.) isbn 978-1-58465-794-1
• Kwong, Peter and Dusanka Miscevic. Chinese America: The Untold Story of America's Oldest New Community (2005)
• Lisa Lowe Immigrant Acts: On Asian American Cultural Politics Durham: Duke University Press, 1996. ISBN 978-0-8223-1864-4
• Okihiro, Gary Y. The Columbia Guide to Asian American History (Columbia UP, 2005) excerpt and text search
• Pyong Gap Min Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Pine Science Press, 2005. ISBN 978-1-4129-0556-5
• Frank H. Wu Yellow: Race in American Beyond Black and White New York: Basic Books, 2002. ISBN 978-0-465-00639-7
• Ronald Takaki Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans New York: Little, Brown, 1998. ISBN 978-0-316-83130-7
• Zia, Helen Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2000. ISBN 978-0-374-52736-5.

Journals

• Journal of Asian American Studies
• Kartika Review

External links

• Population: Estimates and Projections by Age, Sex, Race/Ethnicity, The 2010 Statistical Abstract, U.S. Census Bureau
• UCLA Asian American Studies Center
• Asian-Nation Asian American History, Culture, Statistics, & Issues
• Asians in America - National organizations directory, job posts and news
• Korean-Americans in America - National organizations, business directory, job posts and news
• U.S. Asian Population, Census 2000, infoplease.com..
• Video: Panel Discussion on 'Asian Americans Changing the Landscape' Asia Society, New York, May 19, 2010