Asian American Movement

Asian American Civil Rights Movement

The Asian American Civil Rights Movement, gaining momentum in the 1960s and 1970s, sought to address the specific struggles faced by Asian immigrants and their descendants in the United States. Faced with racial discrimination, exclusionary immigration laws, and the legacy of Japanese American internment during World War II, Asian American activists pushed for social, political, and economic equality. Key events like the 1968 student protests and the Vincent Chin murder in 1982 brought national attention to issues of racism and anti-Asian violence. Leaders such as Yuri Kochiyama and Grace Lee Boggs, along with organizations like the Asian American Political Alliance, helped establish Asian American identity and solidarity, which continue to influence advocacy on issues like immigration reform, affirmative action, and representation.

Ansel Adams's Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar | The Library of Congress : In 1943, Ansel Adams (1902-1984), America's most well-known photographer, documented the Manzanar War Relocation Center in California and the Japanese-Americans interned there during World War II.

Chinese Exclusion Act: Primary Documents in American History | The Library of Congress : The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of primary source materials associated with the Chinese Exclusion Act, including manuscripts, books, newspaper articles, government documents, and broadsides. Provided below is a link to the home page for each relevant digital collection along with selected highlights.

• Chinese Exclusion Act: Primary Documents in American History | Curated by The Library of Congress : The external websites contain primary source materials related to the Chinese Exclusion Act and Chinese immigration.

Civil Liberties Act of 1988 | Congress.gov : Requests the President, upon the recommendation of the Attorney General, to offer pardons to those convicted of violating laws or executive orders during the internment period because they refused to accept treatment which discriminated on the basis of their Japanese ancestry.

Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project, digital archive of video oral histories of Japanese-Americans incarcerated or interned during World War II, Japanese-American internment stories : Densho's mission is to preserve the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II before their memories are extinguished. We offer these irreplaceable firsthand accounts, coupled with historical images and teacher resources, to explore principles of democracy and promote equal justice for all.

Document for February 19th: Executive Order 9066: Resulting in the Relocation of Japanese | National Archives

Evacuation and Internment of San Francisco Japenese -1942 | The Museum of the City of San Francisco : The San Francisco News, for the first six months of 1942, carried almost daily reports of FBI and police sweeps, and the various proclamations, plans - and restrictions to civil liberties - issued by Lieutenant-General John L. DeWitt at the Presidio of San Francisco.

Japanese-American Internment Camp Newspapers, 1942 to 1946 | The Library of Congress : Produced by the Japanese-Americans interned at assembly centers and relocation centers around the country during World War II, these newspapers provide a unique look into the daily lives of the people who were held in these camps. They include articles written in English and Japanese, typed, handwritten and drawn.

Japanese American Relocation Collection | USC Libraries : Photos and other materials related to relocation of Japanese Americans during WWII.

Japanese American Relocation Digital Archives (JARDA) | University of California : Contains thousands of Japanese American internment primary source materials.

Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress

Our Documents Chinese Exclusion Act 1882 | National Archives