This Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we celebrate the histories, cultures, and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in the US. We invite you to expand your knowledge and awareness of the experiences and histories of AAPI Americans. From lesson plans to movie recommendations, our resource list can help get you started. There is a section specifically dedicated to resources for children at the bottom of the list in our “Kids’ Corner”!
Articles
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (History.com)
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Materials: A Resource Guide (Library of Congress)
- Education Policies Need To Address the Unique Needs of Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities (Center for American Progress)
- “Multiple Things Can Be True”: Understanding the Roots of Anti-Asian Violence (The Nation)
- The Myth of Asian American Identity (The New York Times Magazine)
- Stop AAPI Hate: Report a hate incident (AAPI Equity Alliance, Chinese for Affirmative Action, San Francisco State University)
- Teachers, Check Your Texts (Learning for Justice)
- Understanding Asian American And Pacific Islander Heritage Month (Texas A&M)
- Untapped Power: The Strength of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, & Pacific Islander Working People (APALA)
- What It Means to be Asian in America (Pew Research Center)
Books
- 10 Influential Asian American and Pacific Islander Authors (PBS)
- The Asian American Achievement Paradox, by Jennifer Lee and Min Zhou
- Crying in H Mart: A Memoir, by Michelle Zauner
- Goodbye, Vitamin, by Rachel Khong
- Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhhà Lai
- The Joy Luck Club: A Novel, by Amy Tan
- Kaikeyi, by Vaishnavi Patel
- The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race by Anthony Ocampo
- The Leavers, by Lisa Ko
- The Making of Asian America: A History by Erika Lee
- Third State Books– Our Books (Third State Books)
Lesson Plans
- 18 Student Activities for AAPI Heritage Month (We Are Teachers)
- Asian American Education Project Lesson Plans/Curriculum (Asian American Education Project)
- Asian American Studies Curriculum Framework (Asian American Research Initiative)
- Back to School Toolkit (Sikh Coalition)
- Novel Study: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (Newsela) – requires account
- Pass or Fail in Cambodia Town (Learning for Justice) – requires account
- Teaching Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage (National Education Association)
- What is Sikhism? (C3 Teachers)
Webinars & Videos
- Anti-Asian Violence and Black-Asian Solidarity Today with Tamara K. Nopper (Asian American Writers’ Workshop)
- Asian Americans (PBS)
- Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month: A Conversation with Author Hena Khan (MAEC)
- From Voices to Action: A Conversation with AAPI Families (MAEC)
- History of AAPIs in the US and Diversity within AAPI Communities (JEDI Office & Mass General Brigham Center for Diversity and Inclusion)
- Lunar – The Jewish-Asian Film Project (Lunar)
- Teaching Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage (Learning for Justice)
- We Are Not A Stereotype (Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center)
- What Are You? (PBS)
Podcasts
- Asian Voices Radio
- Exploring in-depth conversations on the various cultural and social issues that impact the Asian & Pacific American (APA) communities. Recommended: Episode 21, where Dr. Thuy Vo Dang & Dr. Tu-Uyen Nguyen share their experiences as immigrants that had faced racial discrimination at a young age and later become community builders and preservers of history and culture.
- Deep Pacific Podcast
- Dive into Pacific Island issues alongside a Pacific Islander millennial woman of science. The mission of this podcast is to reinforce the connection that Pasifika people share throughout Oceania and surrounding areas by weaving their stories and experiences together every episode. You can follow Deep Pacific Podcast on Twitter and Instagram at @DeepPacificPod.
- Escape From Plan A
- Created by writers from Plan A Magazine, this podcast aims to encourage critical thought, discussion and action amongst the Asian diaspora to collectively empower the AAPI community.
- Model Majority
- A podcast about politics, culture, and life through the eyes of two Asian-American grassroots organizers–former members of (a lot of) political campaigns, the Obama White House, Department of Commerce, the DNC; currently in tech and Hollywood. We have stuff to say.
- Politically Asian!
- Two Asian comedians talking about politics and the Asian American community to get more Asians talking about politics! Join Aaron Yin (he/him) and Gerrie Lim (they/them) for 45 minutes-ish every week as they discuss current topics and events related to Asian Americans through the lenses of history, class, and advocacy.
- Self Evident: Asian America’s Stories
- We tell Asian America’s stories to go beyond being seen. As people of all backgrounds reckon with complex legacies of race, power, culture, and identity and ask themselves, “Where do I stand?” Self Evident presents reported stories and radically open conversations from the everyday Asian Americans who have been confronting this question for generations. Our mission is to empower local communities to share stories and build relationships around the value of self-representation.
- Time to Say Goodbye
- A podcast about Asia, Asian America, and life during the Coronavirus pandemic, featuring Jay Caspian Kang, Tammy Kim, and Andy Liu.
- Untold Pacific History
- Untold Pacific History is a dynamic account of New Zealand’s relationship with the Pacific and the broad impact it has had on NZ’s own history and relationship with Pacific peoples in Aotearoa today. The series shines a light on five key stories in the Pacific that have been little-told in Aotearoa.
Pop culture that is inclusive of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Movies and TV shows can provide a window into the lives and cultures of the characters depicted in ways that can both dismantle and reinforce cultural stereotypes. When consuming movies and TVs shows that depict characters and cultures different from your own, be careful not to allow the dramatization to nurture harmful stereotypes. No cultural dramatization can fully represent the spectrum of human qualities, characteristics and cultures of any particular group of people.
Movies & Documentaries
- Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
- A middle-aged Chinese immigrant is swept up into an insane adventure in which she alone can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led.
- Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)
- The people of a small village in Victorian India stake their future on a game of cricket against their ruthless British rulers.
- Minari (2020)
- A Korean family starts a farm in 1980s Arkansas.
- Mississippi Masala (1991)
- An ethnic Indian family is expelled from Idi Amin’s Uganda in 1972 and lives in Mississippi 17 years later. The dad sues Uganda to get his property back. The grown daughter falls in love with a black man.
- Parasite (2019)
- Greed and class discrimination threaten the newly formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan.
- Tigertail (2020)
- In this multigenerational drama, a Taiwanese factory worker leaves his homeland to seek opportunity in America, where he struggles to find connection while balancing family and new-found responsibilities.
- Vai (2019)
- A portmanteau feature film by 9 female Pacific filmmakers and filmed on seven Pacific islands. It is about the journey of empowerment through culture over the lifetime of one woman, Vai.
TV Shows
- Fresh Off the Boat (2015-2020)
- A Taiwanese family makes their way in America during the 1990s.
- Kim’s Convenience (2016-2021)
- The misadventures of a Korean-Canadian family running a convenience store.
- Master of None (2015-2021)
- The personal and professional life of Dev, a 30-year-old actor in New York.
- Never Have I Ever (2020-2023)
- The complicated life of a modern-day first generation Indian American teenage girl, inspired by Mindy Kaling’s own childhood.
- Warrior (2019-2023)
- During the Tong Wars in the late 1800s, Ah Sahm, a martial arts prodigy from China, immigrates to San Francisco and becomes a hatchet man for the most powerful tong in Chinatown.
- Young Rock (2021-2023)
- A look at the formative years of superstar Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as he grows up through life.
Kids’ Corner
Books
- 5 YA Books on AAPI Life (Facing History and Ourselves)
- Asian American Women in Science: An Asian American History Book for Kids, by Tina Cho
- Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, by Joanna Ho
- Chicken Soup, Chicken Soup, by Pamela Mayer and illustrated by Deborah Melmon
- The Most Beautiful Thing, by Kao Kalia Yang
- We Are Inspiring: The Stories of 32 Inspirational Asian American Women Volume 1, by Angel Trazo
Movies
- Finding ‘Ohana (2021)
- A summer in rural O‘ahu takes an exciting turn for two Brooklyn-raised siblings when a journal pointing to long-lost treasure sets them on an epic adventure with new friends, and leads them to reconnect with their Hawaiian heritage.
- Moana (2016)
- In Ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by the Demigod Maui reaches Moana’s island, she answers the Ocean’s call to seek out the Demigod to set things right.
- Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
- In a realm known as Kumandra, a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization, a warrior named Raya is determined to find the last dragon.
- Turning Red (2022)
- A 13-year-old girl named Meilin turns into a giant red panda whenever she gets too excited.
TV Shows
- Amphibia (2019-2021)
- Ordinary Anne Boonchuy, 13, finds a music box that sends her to Amphibia, a world full of frogs, toads, and giant insects. With help from Sprig, she must adjust to life in Amphibia and discover her first true friendship in her life.
- Avatar (2005-2008)
- In a war-torn world of elemental magic, a young boy reawakens to undertake a dangerous mystic quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and bring peace to the world.
- Mighty Little Bheem (2019-present)
- An innocent toddler’s boundless curiosity – and extraordinary might – lead to mischief and adventure in his small Indian town.
