ASIAN AMERICANS

By Jennifer Robinson / Web Producer

Published May 5, 2020 at 1:24 PM PDT

Sikh patriot. Explore the impact of Asian Americans, the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the United States, on the country’s past, present and future, told through individual lives and personal histories.

Encore Wednesdays, May 15, May 22, 29, 2024 at 9 p.m. on KPBS 2 and Thursday, May 30 and Friday, May 31 at 4 p.m. on KPBS 2 / Stream now with the PBS App

—The most ambitious television chronicle of the Asian American story in the United States—

A five-part documentary series explores the impact of Asian Americans, the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the United States, on the country’s past, present and future, told through individual lives and personal histories. Led by a team of Asian American filmmakers, including Academy Award®-nominated series producer Renee Tajima-Peña ("Who Killed Vincent Chin?," "No Más Bebés"), ASIAN AMERICANS examines the significant role of Asian Americans in shaping American history and identity, from the first wave of Asian immigrants in the 1850s and identity politics during the social and cultural turmoil of the twentieth century to modern refugee crises in a globally connected world.

Become a KPBS sponsor

ASIAN AMERICANS Preview

“As America’s home for documentaries, PBS is committed to telling stories that illuminate and celebrate the rich diversity of our country,” said Paula Kerger, PBS President and CEO. “We are proud to share this important series with our audiences, and to deepen understanding about the extraordinary impact of Asian Americans on our national identity.”

"It Reminds Me I Have a Legacy To Live Up To"

EPISODE GUIDE:

Episode 1 “Breaking Ground” Encore Wednesday, May 15 at 9 p.m. on KPBS 2 - See how new immigrants from China, India, Japan, the Philippines and beyond, despite anti-Asian laws, still manage to build railroads, dazzle on the silver screen and take their fight for equality to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Astonishing Story of the Men Who Built the Railroad

Episode 2: “A Question of Loyalty” Encore Wednesday, May 22 at 9 p.m. on KPBS 2 - Meet an American-born generation that straddles the U.S. and their parents’ homelands in Asia. Loyalties are tested during World War II, when families are imprisoned in detention camps and brothers find themselves on opposite sides of battle lines.

For Susan Ahn, WWII Was a Fight for America and Korea

Episode 3: “Good Americans” Encore Wednesday, May 29 at 9 p.m. on KPBS 2 - Learn how Asian Americans are simultaneously heralded as a model minority and targeted as the perpetual foreigner during the Cold War. It is also a time of bold ambition, as Asian Americans aspire to national political office.

Become a KPBS sponsor

Patsy Mink: The First Woman of Color in the U.S. Congress

Episode 4: “Generation Rising” Encore Thursday, May 30 at 4 p.m. on KPBS 2 - Follow a young generation’s fight for equality in the fields, on campuses and in the culture, claiming a new identity: Asian Americans. New immigrants and war refugees expand the population and definition of Asian America.

‘We Farmworkers Should Have an Organization of Our Own’

Episode 5: “Breaking Through” Encore Friday, May 31 at 4 p.m. on KPBS 2 - Revisit the turn of the millennium, when Asian Americans are empowered by growing numbers and rising influence but face a reckoning of what it means to be an American in an increasingly polarized society.

Hari Kondabolu Recalls the Perilous Days After 9/11

WATCH ON YOUR SCHEDULE: Episodes are available to stream now with the PBS App for a limited time.

Extend your viewing window with KPBS Passport, a benefit for members supporting KPBS at $60 or more yearly, using your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire or Chromecast. Learn how to activate your benefit now.

Also available on DVD from PBS

1 of 17

Storefront of Chinatown meat and vegetable market, San Francisco, Calif., 1895.

Courtesy of University of Washington, Special Collections

2 of 17

Antero Cabrera (Ba-Long-Long) and weapon as Igorot villager in the "Living Exhibits" at 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

Courtesy of Public Domain Photograph

3 of 17

Bhagat Singh Thind as a young man in U.S. Army uniform with rifle, Camp Lewis 1918 (WWI). Thind, a Sikh American, was the first U.S. serviceman to be allowed for religious reasons to wear a turban as part of their military uniform.

Courtesy of Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind Spiritual Science Foundation

4 of 17

Filipino American labor organizer Larry Itliong. (undated photo)

Courtesy of Corky Lee

5 of 17

A protest with San Francisco State University in 1968.