A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants).[3] Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peoples of the continent of Asia, the usage of the term "Asian" by the United States Census Bureau only includes people with origins or ancestry from East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent[4] and excludes people with ethnic origins in certain parts of Asia, including West Asia who are now categorized as Middle Eastern Americans.[5][6] Furthermore, Central Asians are not mentioned in any census racial category.[7] The "Asian" census category includes people who indicate their race(s) on the census as "Asian" or reported entries such as "Chinese, Indian, Bangladeshi, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Korean, Japanese, Pakistani, Malaysian, and Other Asian".[8] In 2020, Americans who identified as Asian alone (19,886,049) or in combination with other races (4,114,949) made up 7.2% of the U.S. population.[9]
Chinese, Indian, and Filipino Americans make up the largest share of the Asian American population with 5 million, 4.3 million, and 4 million people respectively. These numbers equal 23%, 20%, and 18% of the total Asian American population, or 1.5%, 1.2%, and 1.2% of the total U.S. population.[10]
Although migrants from Asia have been in parts of the contemporary United States since the 17th century, large-scale immigration did not begin until the mid-19th century. Nativist immigration laws during the 1880s–1920s excluded various Asian groups, eventually prohibiting almost all Asian immigration to the continental United States. After immigration laws were reformed during the 1940s–1960s, abolishing national origins quotas, Asian immigration increased rapidly. Analyses of the 2010 census have shown that Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial group in the United States.[11]
Terminology
As with other racial and ethnicity-based terms, formal and common usage have changed markedly through the short history of this term. Prior to the late 1960s, people of various Asian ancestries were usually referred to as Yellow, Oriental, Asiatic, Brown, Mongoloid, or Hindoo.[12][13][14] Additionally, the American definition of 'Asian' originally included West Asian ethnic groups, particularly Turkish Americans, Armenian Americans, Assyrian Americans, Iranian Americans, Kurdish Americans, Jewish Americans of Middle Eastern descent, and certain Arab Americans, although in modern times, these groups are now considered Middle Eastern American and grouped under White Americans in the census.[15][6][16] The term "Asian American" was coined by historian-activists Yuji Ichioka and Emma Gee in 1968 during the founding of the Asian American Political Alliance,[17][18] and they were also credited with popularizing the term, which meant to be used to frame a new "inter-ethnic-pan-Asian American self-defining political group".[12][19] This effort was part of New Left anti-war and anti-imperialist activism, directly opposing what was viewed as an unjust Vietnam War.[20]
Prior to being included in the "Asian" category in the 1980s, many Americans of South Asian descent usually classified themselves as Caucasian or other.[21] Changing patterns of immigration and an extensive period of exclusion of Asian immigrants have resulted in demographic changes that have in turn affected the formal and common understandings of what defines Asian American. For example, since the removal of restrictive "national origins" quotas in 1965, the Asian American population has diversified greatly to include more of the peoples with ancestry from various parts of Asia.[22]
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.[23] The most commonly used definition of Asian American is the U.S. Census Bureau definition, which includes all people with origins in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.[8] This is chiefly because the census definitions determine many governmental classifications, notably for equal opportunity programs and measurements.[24]
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "Asian person" in the United States is most often thought of as a person of East Asian descent.[25][26] In vernacular usage, "Asian" is usually used to refer to those of East or Southeast Asian descent, with South Asians not included as often.[27] This differs from the U.S. census definition[8][28] and the Asian American Studies departments in many universities consider all those of East, South, or Southeast Asian descent to be "Asian".[29]
Census definition
In the U.S. census, people with origins or ancestry in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent are classified as part of the Asian race;[4] while those with origins or ancestry in West Asia (Israelis, Turks, Persians, Kurds, Assyrians, Arabs, etc.), and the Caucasus (Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Chechens, Circassians, etc.) are classified under the "Middle Eastern and North African" race,[30][5][31] and those with origins from Central Asia (Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Turkmens, Tajiks, Kyrgyz, Afghans, etc.) are not mentioned in any racial definitions provided by the United States Census Bureau.[5][32] As such, "Asian" and "African" ancestry are seen as racial categories only for the purpose of the census, with the definition referring to ancestry from parts of the Asian and African continents outside of West Asia, North Africa, and Central Asia.
In 1980 and before, census forms listed particular Asian ancestries as separate groups, along with white and black or negro.[33] Asian Americans had also been classified as "other".[34] In 1977, the federal Office of Management and Budget issued a directive requiring government agencies to maintain statistics on racial groups, including on "Asian or Pacific Islander".[35] By the 1990 census, "Asian or Pacific Islander (API)" was included as an explicit category, although respondents had to select one particular ancestry as a subcategory.[36] Beginning with the 2000 census, two separate categories were used: "Asian American" and "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander".[37]
Debates and criticism
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.[38] 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.[39] A 2023 Pew Research Center survey of Asian Americans found that 28% self-identify as "Asian", with 52% preferring to refer to themselves by more specific ethnic groupings and 10% simply self-identifying as "American".[40]
In a PBS interview from 2004, a panel of Asian American writers discussed how some groups include people of Middle Eastern descent in the Asian American category.[41] 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."[42] Jeff Yang, of The Wall Street Journal, writes that the panethnic definition of Asian American is a unique American construct, and as an identity is "in beta".[43] The majority of Asian Americans feel ambivalence about the term "Asian American" as a term by which to identify themselves.[44] Pyong Gap Min, a sociologist and Professor of Sociology at Queens College, has stated the term is merely political, used by Asian American activists and further reinforced by the government. Beyond that, he feels that South Asians and East Asians do not have commonalities in "culture, physical characteristics, or pre-migrant historical experiences".[45]
Scholars have grappled with the accuracy, correctness, and usefulness of the term Asian American. The term "Asian" in Asian American most often comes under fire for only encompassing some of the diverse peoples of Asia, and for being considered a racial category instead of a non-racial "ethnic" category. This is namely due to the categorization of the racially different South Asians and East Asians as part of the same "race".[24] Furthermore, it has been noted that West Asians (whom are not considered "Asian" under the U.S. census) share some cultural similarities with Indians but very little with East Asians, with the latter two groups being classified as "Asian".[46] Scholars have also found it difficult to determine why Asian Americans are considered a "race" while Americans of Hispanic and Latino heritage are a non-racial "ethnic group", given how the category of Asian Americans similarly comprises people with diverse origins.[47] However, it has been argued that South Asians and East Asians can be "justifiably" grouped together because of Buddhism's origins in South Asia.[48]
In contrast, leading social sciences and humanities scholars of race and Asian American identity point out that because of the racial constructions in the United States, including the social attitudes toward race and those of Asian ancestry, Asian Americans have a "shared racial experience".[49] Because of this shared experience, the term Asian American is argued as still being a useful panethnic category because of the similarity of some experiences among Asian Americans, including stereotypes specific to people in this category.[49] Despite this, others have stated that many Americans do not treat all Asian Americans equally, highlighting the fact that "Asian American" is generally synonymous with people of East Asian descent, thereby excluding people of Southeast Asian and South Asian origin.[50] Some South and Southeast Asian Americans may not identify with the Asian American label, instead describing themselves as "Brown Asians" or simply "Brown", due to the perceived racial and cultural differences between them and East Asian Americans.[51][52][53]
Demographics
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 East, South, or Southeast Asia.[54] Because they compose 7.3% 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".[55] While there are some commonalities across ethnic subgroups, there are significant differences among different Asian ethnicities that are related to each group's history.[56] The Asian American population is greatly urbanized, with nearly three-quarters of them living in metropolitan areas with population greater than 2.5 million.[57] As of July 2015[update], California had the largest population of Asian Americans of any state, and Hawaii was the only state where Asian Americans were the majority of the population.[58]
The demographics of Asian Americans can further be subdivided into, as listed in alphabetical order:
- East Asian Americans, including Chinese Americans, Hong Kong Americans, Japanese Americans, Korean Americans, Macanese Americans, Mongolian Americans, Ryukyuan Americans, Taiwanese Americans, and Tibetan Americans.
- South Asian Americans, including Bangladeshi Americans, Bhutanese Americans, Indian Americans, Indo-Caribbean Americans, Indo-Fijian Americans, Maldivian Americans, Nepalese Americans, Pakistani Americans, and Sri Lankan Americans.
- Southeast Asian Americans, including Bruneian Americans, Burmese Americans, Cambodian Americans, Filipino Americans, Hmong Americans, Indonesian Americans, Iu Mien Americans, Karen Americans, Laotian Americans, Malaysian Americans, Singaporean Americans, Thai Americans, Timorese Americans, and Vietnamese Americans.
This grouping is by country of origin before immigration to the United States, and not necessarily by ethnicity, as for example (nonexclusive), Singaporean Americans may be of Chinese, Indian, or Malay descent.
Asian Americans include multiracial or mixed race persons with origins or ancestry in both the above groups and another race, or multiple of the above groups.
- Asian American (alone) population distribution over time
-
1860 -
1870 -
1880 -
1890 -
1990 -
2000 -
2010 -
2020
Language
In 2010, there were 2.8 million people (age 5 and older) who spoke one of the Chinese languages at home;[59] after the Spanish language, it is the third most common language in the United States.[59] Other sizable Asian languages are Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu), Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Korean, with all four having more than 1 million speakers in the United States.[59]
In 2012, Alaska, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Washington were publishing election material in Asian languages in accordance with the Voting Rights Act;[60] these languages include Tagalog, Mandarin Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish,[61] Hindi, and Bengali.[60] Election materials were also available in Gujarati, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, and Thai.[62] A 2013 poll found that 48 percent of Asian Americans considered media in their native language as their primary news source.[63]
The 2000 census found the more prominent languages of the Asian American community to include the Chinese languages (Cantonese, Taishanese, and Hokkien), Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Hindi, Urdu, Telugu, and Gujarati.[64] In 2008, the Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese languages are all used in elections in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Washington state.[65]
Sexuality
According to a Gallup survey conducted from June to September 2012, 4.3 percent of Asian Americans self identify as LGBT, compared to 3.4% of the general American population. This makes the Asian-American population disproportionately over-represented within the LGBT community.[66]
In a Gallup survey conducted in 2017, 4.9 percent of Asian Americans identified as LGBT, representing the second-highest growth of LGBT representation in the United States, behind Hispanic Americans.[67]
Religion
Religious affiliation of Asian Americans in 2023[68]
According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted from July 5, 2022, to January 27, 2023, the religious landscape of Asian Americans is both diverse and evolving.[68] The survey reveals that 32% of Asian Americans are religiously unaffiliated, up from 26% in 2012. Christianity remains the largest faith group among Asian Americans at 34%, although it has seen an 8% decline since 2012.[69]
Christianity
As of the most recent Pew Research Center survey, approximately 34% of Asian American adults identify as Christians, a decrease from 42% in 2012. This decline is especially notable among Protestants, who currently constitute 16% of the Asian American population, down from 22% in 2012.[70] Catholics, on the other hand, have maintained a relatively stable presence, making up 17% of the Asian American adult population, nearly unchanged from 19% in 2012. Beyond formal religious identification, an additional 18% of Asian Americans report a cultural or familial closeness to Christianity. This means that about 51% of Asian Americans express some connection to the Christian faith.[70]
Filipino and Korean Americans display particularly strong affiliations with Christianity. Among Filipino Americans, 74% identify as Christian, and when considering those who feel culturally close to Christianity, this figure rises to 90%. Among Korean Americans, 59% identify as Christians, and 81% express some connection to the faith. Most Filipino Americans are Catholic (57%), whereas Korean Americans tend to be Protestant, with 34% identifying as evangelical Protestants.[70]
Unaffiliated
Religious disaffiliation among Asian Americans has been steadily increasing. 32% of Asian Americans identify as religiously unaffiliated, which encompasses individuals identifying as atheist, agnostic, or "nothing in particular".[71] This represents a growth from 26% in 2012. The majority of these individuals describe their religion as "nothing in particular" rather than explicitly identifying as atheist or agnostic. Despite a lack of formal religious affiliation, a significant number of religiously unaffiliated Asian Americans maintain a connection to various religious or philosophical traditions due to cultural or ancestral reasons. In total, only 12% of Asian Americans report having no connection to any religious or philosophical tradition.[71]
Among Asian Americans, Chinese and Japanese Americans are more likely to be religiously unaffiliated, with 56% and 47% respectively identifying as such. Both groups are also more likely to feel a cultural or ancestral connection to a faith tradition despite their lack of formal religious affiliation. Conversely, Indian, Filipino, and Vietnamese Americans are considerably less likely to be religiously unaffiliated and more likely to express some form of connection to a religious tradition.[71]
Religious trends
The percentage of Christians among Asian Americans has sharply declined since the 1990s, chiefly as a result of large-scale immigration from countries in which Christianity is a minority religion (China and India in particular). In 1990, 63% of the Asian Americans identified as Christians, while in 2001 only 43% did.[72] This development has been accompanied by a rise in traditional Asian religions, with the people identifying with them doubling during the same decade.[73]
History
Early immigration
Because Asian Americans or their ancestors immigrated to the United States from many different countries, each Asian American population has its own unique immigration history.[74]
Filipinos have been in the territories that would become the United States since the 16th century.[75] In 1635, an "East Indian" is listed in Jamestown, Virginia;[76] preceding wider settlement of Indian immigrants on the East Coast in the 1790s and the West Coast in the 1800s.[77] In 1763, Filipinos established the small settlement of Saint Malo, Louisiana, after fleeing mistreatment aboard Spanish ships.[78] Since there were no Filipino women with them, these "Manilamen", as they were known, married Cajun and indigenous women.[79] The first Japanese person to come to the United States, and stay any significant period of time was Nakahama Manjirō who reached the East Coast in 1841, and Joseph Heco became the first Japanese American naturalized U.S. citizen in 1858.[80]
Chinese sailors first came to Hawaii in 1789,[81] a few years after Captain James Cook came upon the island. Many settled and married Hawaiian women. Most Chinese, Korean and Japanese immigrants in Hawaii or San Francisco arrived in the 19th century as laborers to work on sugar plantations or construction place.[82] There were thousands of Asians in Hawaii when it was annexed to the United States in 1898.[83] Later, Filipinos also came to work as laborers, attracted by the job opportunities, although they were limited.[84] Ryukyuans would start migrating to Hawaii in 1900.[85]
Large-scale migration from Asia to the United States began when Chinese immigrants arrived on the West Coast in the mid-19th century.[86] Forming part of the California gold rush, these early Chinese immigrants participated intensively in the mining business and later in the construction of the transcontinental railroad. By 1852, the number of Chinese immigrants in San Francisco had jumped to more than 20,000. A wave of Japanese immigration to the United States began after the Meiji Restoration in 1868.[87] In 1898, all Filipinos in the Philippine Islands became American nationals when the United States took over colonial rule of the islands from Spain following the latter's defeat in the Spanish–American War.[88]
Exclusion era
Under United States law during this period, particularly the Naturalization Act of 1790, only "free white persons" were eligible to naturalize as American citizens. Ineligibility for citizenship prevented Asian immigrants from accessing a variety of rights, such as voting.[89] Bhicaji Balsara became the first known Indian-born person to gain naturalized U.S. citizenship.[90] Balsara's naturalization was not the norm but an exception; in a pair of cases, Ozawa v. United States (1922) and United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind (1923), the Supreme Court upheld the racial qualification for citizenship and ruled that Asians were not "white persons". Second-generation Asian Americans, however, could become U.S. citizens due to the birthright citizenship clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; this guarantee was confirmed as applying regardless of race or ancestry by the Supreme Court in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898).[91]
From the 1880s to the 1920s, the United States passed laws inaugurating an era of exclusion of Asian immigrants. Although the exact number of Asian immigrants was small compared to that of immigrants from other regions, much of it was concentrated in the West, and the increase caused some nativist sentiment which was known as the "yellow peril". Congress passed restrictive legislation which prohibited nearly all Chinese immigration to the United States in the 1880s.[92] Japanese immigration was sharply curtailed by a diplomatic agreement in 1907. The Asiatic Barred Zone Act in 1917 further barred immigration from nearly all of Asia, the "Asiatic Zone".[93] The Immigration Act of 1924 provided that no "alien ineligible for citizenship" could be admitted as an immigrant to the United States, consolidating the prohibition of Asian immigration.[94]
World War II
President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, resulting in the internment of Japanese Americans, among others. Over 100,000 people of Japanese descent, mostly on the West Coast, were forcibly removed, in an action later considered ineffective and racist.[95] Japanese Americans were kept isolated in military camps just because of their race including children, old person and young generation. 'Issei:The first generation' and 'Children of the camps' are two great documentaries to represent the situation of Japanese American's during World War II.
Postwar immigration
World War II-era legislation and judicial rulings[which?] 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 the influx of refugees from conflicts occurring in Southeast Asia such as the Vietnam War. Asian American immigrants have a significant percentage of individuals who have already achieved professional status, a first among immigration groups.[96]
The number of Asian immigrants to the United States "grew from 491,000 in 1960 to about 12.8 million in 2014, representing a 2,597 percent increase."[97] Asian Americans were the fastest-growing racial group between 2000 and 2010.[74][98] By 2012, more immigrants came from Asia than from Latin America.[99] In 2015, Pew Research Center found that from 2010 to 2015 more immigrants came from Asia than from Latin America, and that since 1965; Asians have made up a quarter of all immigrants to the United States.[100]
Asians have made up an increasing proportion of the foreign-born Americans: "In 1960, Asians represented 5 percent of the U.S. foreign-born population; by 2014, their share grew to 30 percent of the nation's 42.4 million immigrants."[97] As of 2016, "Asia is the second-largest region of birth (after Latin America) of U.S. immigrants."[97] In 2013, China surpassed Mexico as the top single country of origin for immigrants to the U.S.[101] Asian immigrants "are more likely than the overall foreign-born population to be naturalized citizens"; in 2014, 59% of Asian immigrants had U.S. citizenship, compared to 47% of all immigrants.[97] Postwar Asian immigration to the U.S. has been diverse: in 2014, 31% of Asian immigrants to the U.S. were from East Asia (predominantly China and Korea); 27.7% were from South Asia (predominantly India); 32.6% were from Southeastern Asia (predominantly the Philippines and Vietnam); and 8.3% were from Western Asia.[97]
Asian American movement
Prior to the 1960s, Asian immigrants and their descendants had organized and agitated for social or political purposes according to their particular ethnicity: Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, or Asian Indian. The Asian American movement (a term coined by the Japanese American Yuji Ichioka and the Chinese American Emma Gee) gathered all those groups into a coalition, recognizing that they shared common problems with racial discrimination and common opposition to American imperialism, particularly in Asia. The movement developed during the 1960s, inspired in part by the Civil Rights Movement and the protests against the Vietnam War. "Drawing influences from the Black Power and antiwar movements, the Asian American movement forged a coalitional politics that united Asians of varying ethnicities and declared solidarity with other Third World people in the United States and abroad. Segments of the movement struggled for community control of education, provided social services and defended affordable housing in Asian ghettoes, organized exploited workers, protested against U.S. imperialism, and built new multiethnic cultural institutions."[102] William Wei described the movement as "rooted in a past history of oppression and a present struggle for liberation".[103] The movement as such was most active during the 1960s and 1970s.[102]
Increasingly Asian American students demanded university-level research and teaching into Asian history and interaction with the United States. They support multiculturalism and support affirmative action but oppose colleges' quota on Asian students viewed as discriminatory.[104][105][106]
Notable contributions
Arts and entertainment
.jpg)
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.[107] Throughout the 20th century, acting roles in television, film, and theater were relatively few, and many available roles were for narrow, stereotypical characters. Bruce Lee (born in San Francisco, CA) only achieved movie stardom after leaving the United States for Hong Kong.
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.[108] There have been several Asian American-centric television shows in American media, beginning with Mr. T and Tina in 1976, and as recent as the TV series Fresh Off the Boat in 2015.[109]
In the Pacific, American beatboxer of Hawaii Chinese descent Jason Tom co-founded the Human Beatbox Academy to perpetuate the art of beatboxing through outreach performances, speaking engagements and workshops in Honolulu, the westernmost and southernmost major U.S. city of the 50th U.S. state of Hawaii.[110][111][112][113][114][115]
Business
 | This section is missing information about the history of the subject. (August 2009) |
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.[116]
Compared to their population base, Asian Americans today are well represented in the professional sector and tend to earn higher wages.[117] The Goldsea compilation of Notable Asian American Professionals show that many have come to occupy high positions at leading U.S. corporations, including a disproportionately large number as Chief Marketing Officers.[118]
Asian Americans have made major contributions to the American economy. In 2012, there were just under 486,000 Asian American-owned businesses in the U.S., which together employed more than 3.6 million workers, generating $707.6 billion in total receipts and sales, with annual payrolls of $112 billion. In 2015, Asian American and Pacific Islander households had $455.6 billion in spending power (comparable to the annual revenue of Walmart) and made tax contributions of $184.0 billion.[119]
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. Two brothers, David Khym and Kenny Khym founded hip hop fashion giant Southpole in 1991. Jen-Hsun "Jensen" 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. Eric Yuan, founder of Zoom Video Communications, and Shahid Khan, owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars among others, are both in the U.S. top 100 in terms of net worth, according to Forbes.[120][121] 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
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. As more Asian Americans have been elected to public office, they have had a growing impact on foreign relations of the United States, immigration, international trade, and other topics.[122] The first Asian American to be elected to the United States Congress was Dalip Singh Saund in 1957.
The highest ranked Asian American to serve in the United States Congress was Senator and President pro tempore Daniel Inouye, who died in office in 2012. There are several active Asian Americans in the United States Congress. With higher proportions and densities of Asian American populations, Hawaii has most consistently sent Asian Americans to the Senate, and Hawaii and California have most consistently sent Asian Americans to the House of Representatives.[123]
The first Asian American member of the U.S. cabinet was Norman Mineta, who served as Secretary of Commerce and then Secretary of Transportation in the George W. Bush administration. As of 2021, the highest ranked Asian American by order of precedence is Vice President Kamala Harris. Previously, the highest ranked Asian American was Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao (2017–2021), who had also been in the order of precedence as U.S. Secretary of Labor (2001–2009).
There have been roughly "about a half-dozen viable Asian-American candidates" to ever run for president of the United States.[124] Senator Hiram Fong of Hawaii, the child of Chinese immigrants, was a "favorite son" candidate at the Republican National Conventions of 1964 and 1968.[125][126] In 1972, Representative Patsy T. Mink of Hawaii, a Japanese American, unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president.[127] Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, the son of Indian immigrants, unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president in 2016.[128] Entrepreneur and nonprofit founder Andrew Yang, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2020.[124] In January 2021, Kamala Harris, the daughter of an Indian mother and an African father became the first Asian American Vice President of the United States.[129]
An article by the U.S. Agricultural Department posted on their website is a great example, stating that the birthright citizenship law passed in the U.S. Supreme Court due to a year-long battle between Wong Kim Ark (a Chinese immigrant born in San Francisco) and the U.S. Department of Justice.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej (1927–2016) was the first monarch to be born in the United States. He reigned the throne of Thailand from 1946 to 2016.
Voting behavior
Asian Americans were once a strong constituency for Republicans. In 1992, George H.W. Bush won 55% of Asian voters.[130] However, by 2020, Asian Americans shifted to supporting Democrats, giving Joe Biden 70% support to Donald Trump's 29%.[131] Ethnic background and country of origin have determined Asian American voting behavior in recent elections, with Indian Americans[132] and to a lesser extent Chinese Americans being strong constituencies for Democrats, and Vietnamese Americans being a strong constituency for Republicans.[133]
Sixty eight percent of Filipinos surveyed for a 2023 survey said they identified politically with the Democratic Party and voted for Democrats.[134]
Journalism
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, becoming the first Asian American national news anchor.[135] At ABC, Ken Kashiwahara began reporting nationally in 1974. In 1989, Emil Guillermo, a Filipino American born reporter from San Francisco, became the first Asian American male to co-host a national news show when he was senior host at National Public Radio's All Things Considered. 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 naturalized Indian-born immigrant, is a prominent journalist and author specializing in international affairs. He is the editor-at-large of Time magazine, and the host of Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN. Juju Chang, James Hatori, John Yang, Veronica De La Cruz, Michelle Malkin, 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
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.[136] The highest ranked Asian American military official was Secretary of Veteran Affairs, four-star general and Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki.[137]
Science and technologyedit
Asian Americans have made many notable contributions to science and technology. In the technological sector, Asian Americans are the most influential. According to an article by website ideas.ted.com, over 40% of the high-tech companies are established by highly skilled Asian American people. It also states that AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islanders) has been contributing to remarkable technological innovations and scientific discoveries. For example, the co-founders of Yahoo, Zoom, YouTube, and LinkedIn are Asian American contributors. Intury In the 21st century, Asian Americans are building connections with other Asian countries, such as China, Korea, Bangladesh, and India. Another example could be the CEO of Microsoft, originally from India, Satya Nadella is an example of the contribution of Asian Americans in the technological fields. Asian Americans have a vital contribution not only in technology, and education but also in political aspects. An article by the U.S. Agricultural Department posted on their website is a great example, stating that the birthright citizenship law passed in the U.S. Supreme Court due to a year-long battle between Wong Kim Ark (a Chinese immigrant born in San Francisco) and the U.S. Department of Justice. Kamala Harris, daughter of an Indian immigrant became the first Asian American vice president of the United States in 2021.
Sportsedit
Asian Americans have contributed to sports in the United States through much of the 20th century. Some of the most notable contributions include Olympic sports, but also in professional sports, particularly in the post-World War II years. As the Asian American population grew in the late 20th century, Asian American contributions expanded to more sports. Examples of female Asian American athletes include Michelle Kwan, Chloe Kim, Miki Gorman, Mirai Nagasu, and Maia Shibutani.[138] Examples of male Asian American athletes include Jeremy Lin, Tiger Woods, Hines Ward, Richard Park, and Nathan Adrian.
Cultural influenceedit
In recognition of the unique culture, traditions, and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the United States government has permanently designated the month of May to be Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month;[139] before 2021 it was known as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.[140] Asian American parenting as seen through relationships between Chinese parents and adolescence, which is described as being more authoritarian and less warm than relations between European parents and adolescence, has become a topic of study and discussion.[141] These influences affect how parents regulate and monitor their children, and has been described as Tiger parenting, and has received interest and curiosity from non-Chinese parents.[142]
Health and medicineedit
| Country of origin |
Proportion of total in U.S. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| IMGs[143] | IDGs[144] | INGs[145] | |
| India | 19.9% (47,581) | 25.8% | 1.3% |
| Philippines | 8.8% (20,861) | 11.0% | 50.2% |
| Pakistan | 4.8% (11,330) | 2.9% | |
| South Korea | 2.1% (4,982) | 3.2% | 1.0% |
| China | 2.0% (4,834) | 3.2% | |
| Hong Kong | 1.2% | ||
| Israel | 1.0% | ||
Asian immigrants are also changing the American medical landscape through increasing number of Asian medical practitioners in the United States. Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, the U.S. government invited a number of foreign physicians particularly from India and the Philippines to address the shortage of physicians in rural and medically underserved urban areas. The trend in importing foreign medical practitioners, however, became a long-term solution as U.S. schools failed to produce enough health care providers to match the increasing population. Amid decreasing interest in medicine among American college students due to high educational costs and high rates of job dissatisfaction, loss of morale, stress, and lawsuits, Asian American immigrants maintained a supply of healthcare practitioners for millions of Americans. It is 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.[146][147] In 2020, of all the medical personnel in the United States, 17% of doctors were Asian Americans, 9% of physician assistants were Asian American, and more than 9% of nurses were Asian Americans.[148]
Nearly one in four Asian Americans are likely to use common alternative medicine.[149] This includes traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda.[149][150] Due to the prevalence of usage, engaging with Asian American populations, through the practitioners of these common alternative medicines, can lead to an increase of usage of underused medical procedures.[151]