1 00:00:04,133 --> 00:00:05,473 ♪ 2 00:00:08,366 --> 00:00:10,896 CANDY: I grew up with the American dream. 3 00:00:10,933 --> 00:00:13,533 ERIKA: But all Asian immigrantswere denied the right of 4 00:00:13,566 --> 00:00:16,566 naturalized citizenship and withthe Exclusion Act, 5 00:00:17,233 --> 00:00:20,173 the Chinese became the first undocumented immigrants. 6 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,000 CANDY: The American Dream is a lovely dream to have and so 7 00:00:24,033 --> 00:00:28,473 people continue to aspire; enduring whatever it is that 8 00:00:28,500 --> 00:00:30,930 they've got to do as immigrants. 9 00:00:32,066 --> 00:00:36,096 HELEN: Japanese Americans foughton the side the United States, 10 00:00:36,133 --> 00:00:39,603 while the rest of their family was incarcerated. 11 00:00:41,100 --> 00:00:43,600 ERIKA: Legal challenges were so important because they did not 12 00:00:43,633 --> 00:00:45,473 have political power. 13 00:00:47,033 --> 00:00:50,503 And as much as tragedy is a part of our heritage here, 14 00:00:50,533 --> 00:00:52,273 so is possibility. 15 00:00:54,266 --> 00:00:56,166 MAN: Asian voices are coming out. 16 00:00:56,900 --> 00:00:58,900 ALEX: You've got these young people fighting to 17 00:00:58,933 --> 00:01:00,673 make change happen. 18 00:01:00,966 --> 00:01:02,966 ALISA: They had to assert their rights. 19 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:06,330 NOBUKO: It was like a giantgenie coming out of the bottle. 20 00:01:06,366 --> 00:01:07,966 You couldn't put us back in. 21 00:01:08,866 --> 00:01:12,126 THAHN: These were stories aboutwhat it meant to be human. 22 00:01:12,833 --> 00:01:15,303 What it meant to be resilient. 23 00:01:15,333 --> 00:01:17,473 VIET: To transform the system into something more just 24 00:01:17,500 --> 00:01:19,700 for everyone, that's the hope from which the Asian American 25 00:01:19,733 --> 00:01:21,703 movement was born. 26 00:01:22,500 --> 00:01:25,970 ♪ 27 00:01:37,266 --> 00:01:39,066 HARI: The country's changing and people are freaking 28 00:01:39,100 --> 00:01:40,400 out about it. 29 00:01:40,433 --> 00:01:43,173 I keep hearing about the year 2042 on the news. 30 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:44,330 For those of you who don't know, 31 00:01:44,366 --> 00:01:47,266 2042 according to census figures is the year when 32 00:01:47,300 --> 00:01:49,900 white people will be the minority in this country. 33 00:01:49,933 --> 00:01:51,933 They'll be 49% and white people are 34 00:01:51,966 --> 00:01:53,196 freaking out about it. 35 00:01:53,233 --> 00:01:55,503 Don't freak out white people! 36 00:01:55,900 --> 00:01:58,670 You were the minority when you came to this country. 37 00:01:59,700 --> 00:02:01,900 Things seem to have worked out for you. 38 00:02:03,633 --> 00:02:06,473 I first wanted to do standup comedy when I saw 39 00:02:06,500 --> 00:02:08,270 Margaret Cho do standup on television. 40 00:02:09,666 --> 00:02:11,726 She was a Korean American woman, 41 00:02:11,766 --> 00:02:14,296 but as an Indian kid that was as close as we were going to 42 00:02:14,333 --> 00:02:15,773 get at that point. 43 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:17,230 MARGARET: I was in Mobile, Alabama. 44 00:02:17,266 --> 00:02:18,766 I was walking down the street and this man 45 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:21,170 actually calls me a chink. 46 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:24,030 I mean actually called me a chink. 47 00:02:24,066 --> 00:02:24,996 I was so mad. 48 00:02:25,033 --> 00:02:26,873 I just looked at him and said chink. 49 00:02:26,900 --> 00:02:28,600 I'm sorry. Chinks are Chinese. 50 00:02:28,633 --> 00:02:30,603 I'm Korean. I'm a gook. All right. 51 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,400 Get like a redneck to English dictionary. 52 00:02:38,166 --> 00:02:39,726 HARI: That fearlessness. 53 00:02:39,766 --> 00:02:43,466 She stood out and it made me believe there was a chance 54 00:02:43,500 --> 00:02:46,800 that I could perform in front of people and be accepted. 55 00:02:52,266 --> 00:02:55,426 The future that people in this country seem to be afraid of. 56 00:02:55,466 --> 00:02:57,326 Where there's many different cultures, 57 00:02:57,366 --> 00:02:58,896 where whites are the minority. 58 00:02:58,933 --> 00:03:00,033 Yeah. I grew up in the future. 59 00:03:00,066 --> 00:03:01,866 That's Queens. 60 00:03:02,300 --> 00:03:04,900 I was always surrounded by diversity like if anything, 61 00:03:02,300 --> 00:03:04,900 I was always surrounded by diversity like if anything, 62 00:03:04,933 --> 00:03:07,973 I was sheltered in diversity, I just assumed the whole 63 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:09,900 country was like Queens, New York. 64 00:03:13,433 --> 00:03:15,773 NARRATOR: When Hari's parents came to the United States, 65 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:18,470 they were part of a historic wave of new immigrants who 66 00:03:18,500 --> 00:03:20,530 would change America. 67 00:03:23,566 --> 00:03:26,426 Today Asians in America are making their presence felt, 68 00:03:26,466 --> 00:03:29,166 as the country's fastest growing racial group. 69 00:03:32,300 --> 00:03:34,230 In a time where we find ourselves increasingly 70 00:03:34,266 --> 00:03:38,466 polarized, Asian Americans areplaying an essential role in 71 00:03:38,500 --> 00:03:40,230 the future of America. 72 00:03:53,066 --> 00:03:56,366 In the late 1970s refugees are escaping war-torn 73 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,000 Southeast Asia, and coming to the United States. 74 00:04:01,066 --> 00:04:03,996 They settle in the big cities,but they also move to small 75 00:04:04,033 --> 00:04:06,233 towns across the country. 76 00:04:09,633 --> 00:04:12,833 MEE: Growing up, I always identify as being Hmong, 77 00:04:13,133 --> 00:04:14,873 not even Hmong-American. 78 00:04:15,566 --> 00:04:18,526 My family came to the United States in 1978. 79 00:04:19,300 --> 00:04:22,330 We were refugees in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. 80 00:04:25,833 --> 00:04:28,873 I grew up in the Midwest. 81 00:04:30,266 --> 00:04:33,426 And I remember walking my brothers and sisters to school 82 00:04:34,033 --> 00:04:36,873 and we would have cars go by. 83 00:04:37,333 --> 00:04:40,473 People would throw their ashtrays out the window at us, 84 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:43,470 you know, give us the finger. 85 00:04:43,500 --> 00:04:45,070 They would say, you know, 86 00:04:45,100 --> 00:04:48,230 "Chink, gook, go back to your own country." 87 00:04:50,033 --> 00:04:52,473 I didn't grow up with a consciousness that 88 00:04:52,500 --> 00:04:55,170 actually there were other Asian Americans 89 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:57,270 experiencing similar things. 90 00:04:57,300 --> 00:04:59,400 It felt very isolating. 91 00:04:59,433 --> 00:05:02,503 Uh, and it felt like we just had to suck it up. 92 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:07,930 NARRATOR: Mee Moua's perspective would be 93 00:05:07,966 --> 00:05:10,126 drastically transformed by an event that will rock 94 00:05:10,166 --> 00:05:12,326 the Asian American community. 95 00:05:13,100 --> 00:05:16,570 It happens in Detroit on a summer night in 1982. 96 00:05:18,633 --> 00:05:20,373 REPORTER: Was Vincent Chin beaten to death 97 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:22,870 with a baseball bat because he was Oriental? 98 00:05:24,300 --> 00:05:27,030 The brutal slaying has outraged the Chinese community 99 00:05:27,066 --> 00:05:29,266 in Detroit, and across the nation. 100 00:05:30,733 --> 00:05:34,433 HELEN: I had gone to Detroit in the mid-seventies to be 101 00:05:34,466 --> 00:05:37,396 involved in community organizing and to learn about 102 00:05:37,433 --> 00:05:39,133 the Heartland of America. 103 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:44,970 I actually arrived in Detroit when the auto industry was 104 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:49,730 still booming and I got hired in as a large press operator 105 00:05:49,766 --> 00:05:52,666 in a Chrysler corporation stamping plant. 106 00:05:55,233 --> 00:05:58,773 These were well paid jobs with full benefits. 107 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:02,400 The city had millions of people whose livelihoods for 108 00:06:02,433 --> 00:06:05,703 generations have been based on a manufacturing economy. 109 00:06:02,433 --> 00:06:05,703 generations have been based on a manufacturing economy. 110 00:06:08,033 --> 00:06:09,903 Then the bottom fell out. 111 00:06:11,733 --> 00:06:14,773 NARRATOR: In 1979 Detroit's automakers are devastated by 112 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:17,330 an international oil crisis. 113 00:06:17,833 --> 00:06:21,003 Gas prices skyrocket. 114 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,000 Consumers start buying fuel efficient foreign cars and 115 00:06:24,033 --> 00:06:26,833 sales of American-made cars plummet. 116 00:06:28,333 --> 00:06:33,173 By 1982 one in five Detroit residents are unemployed. 117 00:06:34,466 --> 00:06:38,466 HELEN: People lost their futuresand their children's futures. 118 00:06:38,833 --> 00:06:41,933 Pretty soon the finger of blame ended up on Japan. 119 00:06:45,166 --> 00:06:47,096 All of this hatred. 120 00:06:47,133 --> 00:06:49,503 You could feel it. It was palpable. 121 00:06:50,066 --> 00:06:51,996 REPORTER: Detroiters were invited for 50 cents a 122 00:06:52,033 --> 00:06:54,503 smash to take out their anger on Japanese cars. 123 00:06:55,966 --> 00:06:59,896 HELEN: It was in that climate of intense hatred that a 124 00:06:59,933 --> 00:07:04,673 27 year old Chinese American was getting ready for his 125 00:07:04,700 --> 00:07:07,330 all American bachelor party. 126 00:07:09,700 --> 00:07:11,870 NARRATOR: Vincent Chin is the only child of a Chinese 127 00:07:11,900 --> 00:07:14,830 immigrant couple, who adoptedhim because they couldn't have 128 00:07:14,866 --> 00:07:17,196 children of their own. 129 00:07:17,966 --> 00:07:20,466 As a teenager he was a football player with a wide 130 00:07:20,500 --> 00:07:22,600 circle of friends. 131 00:07:23,100 --> 00:07:26,730 By the summer of 1982, he's all set for a June wedding 132 00:07:26,766 --> 00:07:28,766 to his long-time girlfriend, Vicky. 133 00:07:33,066 --> 00:07:34,896 HELEN: A week before his wedding, 134 00:07:34,933 --> 00:07:38,473 he was out with his buddies at a bar in Detroit. 135 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:41,870 REPORTER: Inside the bar, 43 year old Ronald Ebens, 136 00:07:41,900 --> 00:07:43,930 a foreman at a Chrysler auto plant, 137 00:07:43,966 --> 00:07:47,366 and his 23 year old stepson Michael Nitz taunted Chin, 138 00:07:47,900 --> 00:07:51,070 mistaking him for Japanese and accusing him for the 139 00:07:51,100 --> 00:07:53,630 economic downfall of the US auto industry. 140 00:07:55,766 --> 00:07:58,126 NARRATOR: The fight ends up outside where the assailants 141 00:07:58,166 --> 00:08:01,226 hunt down Chin and his friends. 142 00:08:02,466 --> 00:08:03,896 REPORTER: According to witnesses, 143 00:08:03,933 --> 00:08:06,803 Ebens took this bat out of the trunk of his car and 144 00:08:06,833 --> 00:08:10,573 repeatedly used it to hammer and crush Chin's skull. 145 00:08:12,133 --> 00:08:14,803 As his friends held him, his last words were, 146 00:08:14,833 --> 00:08:17,333 "It isn't fair. It isn't fair." 147 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:23,500 NARRATOR: Vincent's killers plead guilty to manslaughter 148 00:08:23,533 --> 00:08:26,533 and face 15 years in prison. 149 00:08:26,933 --> 00:08:29,133 But Judge Charles Kaufman sentences them to 150 00:08:29,166 --> 00:08:32,796 three years' probation and a $3,000 fine. 151 00:08:33,466 --> 00:08:36,596 He says, "These aren't thekind of men you send to prison"" 152 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:42,430 VIET: I think theVincent Chin murder was 153 00:08:42,466 --> 00:08:44,566 shocking to a lotof Asian Americans. 154 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:47,600 Not because itrepresented something new, 155 00:08:47,633 --> 00:08:49,933 but that it actually represented something old. 156 00:08:51,766 --> 00:08:53,996 It reminded Asian-Americans that progress 157 00:08:54,033 --> 00:08:56,203 hadn't really been made. 158 00:08:56,633 --> 00:09:01,003 HELEN: In 1882 you could kill a quote China man and 159 00:09:01,033 --> 00:09:02,773 get off paying $1. 160 00:09:03,500 --> 00:09:08,300 In 1982 you can kill an Asian American and get off 161 00:09:03,500 --> 00:09:08,300 In 1982 you can kill an Asian American and get off 162 00:09:08,333 --> 00:09:10,033 paying $3,000. 163 00:09:11,333 --> 00:09:15,503 This was not justice, but there wasn't an organization 164 00:09:15,533 --> 00:09:18,873 that existed to stand up and say, this is wrong. 165 00:09:22,266 --> 00:09:26,396 What began out of that was meetings that started with 166 00:09:26,433 --> 00:09:31,403 four people, 10 people, 20 people, 100 people, 167 00:09:33,266 --> 00:09:35,726 and people were talking about what can we do? 168 00:09:35,766 --> 00:09:37,926 What can we do? What can we do? 169 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:42,600 I raised my hand and I said, the world wants to know how 170 00:09:42,633 --> 00:09:45,733 the Asian American community feels about this. 171 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:49,700 CROWD: We want justice. We want justice. 172 00:09:50,433 --> 00:09:51,603 REPORTER: In death. 173 00:09:51,633 --> 00:09:54,373 Vincent Chin inspired protest marches, rallies, 174 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:56,330 dinners, banquets. 175 00:09:58,100 --> 00:10:00,570 GROUP: Justice for Vincent Chin! 176 00:10:01,933 --> 00:10:03,673 HELEN: The killing of Vincent Chin is probably the 177 00:10:03,700 --> 00:10:07,070 most tragic example of the kindof violence that's being 178 00:10:07,100 --> 00:10:08,770 committed against Asians. 179 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:13,530 JEFF: For Asian Americans, Vincent Chin's murder 180 00:10:13,566 --> 00:10:16,366 symbolized an extreme example of the kind of 181 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:17,930 discrimination that they'd face. 182 00:10:19,500 --> 00:10:22,800 It becomes a rallying point for Asian Americans 183 00:10:22,833 --> 00:10:26,373 to be able to say, "That's me too." 184 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:31,370 MEE: I was a freshman in college when I heard about 185 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:34,000 Vincent Chin and the impact on the Asian American community. 186 00:10:36,466 --> 00:10:40,066 And it was the first time that I felt like my experience as a 187 00:10:40,100 --> 00:10:44,870 Hmong refugee, as a Southeast Asian was connected to the 188 00:10:45,300 --> 00:10:48,630 experience of other Asian Americans. 189 00:10:49,166 --> 00:10:53,796 I am finally a piece of the puzzle that completes the 190 00:10:53,833 --> 00:10:56,273 picture and it was so liberating. 191 00:11:02,433 --> 00:11:04,673 HELEN: Civil rights organizations of every kind 192 00:11:04,700 --> 00:11:07,330 came forward as well as individuals. 193 00:11:10,266 --> 00:11:13,666 JESSE: We have been drawn together by death, 194 00:11:15,366 --> 00:11:18,496 an unplanned family reunion, 195 00:11:20,166 --> 00:11:23,326 our hearts are made heavy by a mother who sits here 196 00:11:23,366 --> 00:11:27,166 with us whose son was brutally killed just 197 00:11:27,733 --> 00:11:32,303 because he was, what can we do in the aftermath? 198 00:11:33,566 --> 00:11:37,126 Those who live, we must redefine America, 199 00:11:37,166 --> 00:11:39,596 So that everybody knows everybody fits 200 00:11:39,633 --> 00:11:42,273 in the rainbow somewhere. 201 00:11:49,233 --> 00:11:52,273 HELEN: Mrs. Chin was the inspirational and spiritual 202 00:11:52,300 --> 00:11:55,400 leader of this movement. 203 00:11:56,266 --> 00:12:00,026 Many of the ways that she's been seen is to remember her 204 00:12:00,066 --> 00:12:04,326 as a grieving mother, but to know her, she was a strong, 205 00:12:00,066 --> 00:12:04,326 as a grieving mother, but to know her, she was a strong, 206 00:12:05,633 --> 00:12:08,533 outspoken woman. 207 00:12:08,566 --> 00:12:11,396 LILY: You know how they killed my son? 208 00:12:12,533 --> 00:12:16,633 Killed my son. Like they kill an animal. 209 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:20,070 DONAHUE: Like they kill an animal. Yes ma'am. 210 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:22,400 LILY: This made me very angry. 211 00:12:22,433 --> 00:12:24,403 DONAHUE: Yes ma'am. 212 00:12:24,866 --> 00:12:28,226 HELEN: Lilly Chin's husband had just died six months 213 00:12:28,266 --> 00:12:30,896 before Vincent was attacked and killed. 214 00:12:31,866 --> 00:12:34,626 Her son had already been shopping and looking for a 215 00:12:34,666 --> 00:12:38,526 house that would have a room for his mother to live in and 216 00:12:38,566 --> 00:12:41,896 there was nothing more that Mrs. Chin wanted 217 00:12:41,933 --> 00:12:44,933 than to have grandchildren. 218 00:12:45,233 --> 00:12:46,933 Even through her pain. 219 00:12:46,966 --> 00:12:49,966 She was standing up, speaking up, organizing. 220 00:12:50,166 --> 00:12:55,966 LILY: I don't want any other mother to suffer like me. 221 00:13:00,866 --> 00:13:04,766 HELEN: We began to look at the different civil rights laws. 222 00:13:06,533 --> 00:13:09,603 There were constitutional law professors who 223 00:13:09,633 --> 00:13:11,403 came out and said, 224 00:13:11,433 --> 00:13:14,003 "Civil rights laws are only meant to protect 225 00:13:14,033 --> 00:13:15,603 African Americans." 226 00:13:15,633 --> 00:13:18,703 We had to talk to them and say, no, that's not true. 227 00:13:19,333 --> 00:13:23,233 As an Asian American, he wasbeing isolated and targeted 228 00:13:23,266 --> 00:13:27,066 and scapegoated because of his race in this climate of hate. 229 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:30,370 So of course, civil rights laws should apply. 230 00:13:32,666 --> 00:13:34,066 NARRATOR: Under mounting pressure, 231 00:13:34,100 --> 00:13:37,270 the Justice Department agrees to bring charges. 232 00:13:37,633 --> 00:13:40,173 This is the first hate-crime prosecution involving 233 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:42,270 an Asian American. 234 00:13:44,166 --> 00:13:46,326 Ronald Ebens is found guilty of violating Vincent's 235 00:13:46,366 --> 00:13:49,066 civil rights and is sentenced to 25 years in prison. 236 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:54,230 But his conviction is overturned on appeal. 237 00:13:54,900 --> 00:13:56,770 Neither he nor his stepson will ever serve 238 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,300 a day in prison for Vincent's murder. 239 00:14:01,066 --> 00:14:05,696 LILY: I wanted justice for my son, this is not fair... 240 00:14:11,066 --> 00:14:15,196 MEE: All the things that went wrong didn't give justice to 241 00:14:15,233 --> 00:14:20,333 Vincent's mom, but what it did do was it invited 242 00:14:20,366 --> 00:14:23,866 Asian Americans to search our voices and demand that 243 00:14:23,900 --> 00:14:27,430 we are seeing beyond being the perpetual foreigner, 244 00:14:27,466 --> 00:14:30,196 but that we actually belong. 245 00:14:31,133 --> 00:14:33,803 This is our country. 246 00:14:34,066 --> 00:14:37,266 HELEN: Vincent Chin's case has a legacy that 247 00:14:37,300 --> 00:14:40,130 affects all Americans. Even to this day. 248 00:14:42,666 --> 00:14:45,696 MEE: A hate crime now is not just an act committed 249 00:14:45,733 --> 00:14:48,333 on somebody because of who they are, but 250 00:14:48,366 --> 00:14:51,066 because of who the perpetrator perceived them to be. 251 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:56,100 That's one of the concrete legacies 252 00:14:56,133 --> 00:14:58,503 of the Vincent Chin case. 253 00:15:06,100 --> 00:15:08,670 NARRATOR: Mee Moa's activism led her to a career as the 254 00:15:08,700 --> 00:15:11,470 first Hmong politician in the U.S. 255 00:15:11,866 --> 00:15:14,196 Though she came to this country as a refugee, 256 00:15:14,233 --> 00:15:17,533 she was elected to the Minnesota senate in 2002, 257 00:15:17,566 --> 00:15:20,726 where she will serve for 8 years. 258 00:15:23,633 --> 00:15:26,173 The early 1980s is a tipping point: 259 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:30,070 the Asian American population flips from majority US-born 260 00:15:30,100 --> 00:15:31,870 to largely foreign-born. 261 00:15:32,700 --> 00:15:36,170 New neighborhoods pop up all over the United States. 262 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:39,670 One of the biggest is in the heart of Los Angeles, 263 00:15:40,100 --> 00:15:43,030 an enclave that comes to be known as Koreatown. 264 00:15:54,433 --> 00:15:57,273 ANGELA: Koreatown was a physical space where you could 265 00:15:57,300 --> 00:16:01,030 migrate here and never have to encounter the mainstream. 266 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:05,700 We had our grocery stores, our restaurants, 267 00:16:05,733 --> 00:16:08,503 watch repair stores, wig shops, you name it. 268 00:16:09,233 --> 00:16:13,533 You could transact daily life without breaking into English. 269 00:16:16,900 --> 00:16:19,170 ALEX: When I think about Koreatown, 270 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:21,600 I really think about the Sundays with my family. 271 00:16:22,766 --> 00:16:24,196 It would be like a whole day, 272 00:16:24,233 --> 00:16:26,033 we'd like go there in the morning, 273 00:16:26,066 --> 00:16:27,826 go to church service. 274 00:16:27,866 --> 00:16:30,366 And then after that we'd go and have like a family meal 275 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:34,200 together and my parents would go to the video store. 276 00:16:36,933 --> 00:16:38,973 For our family and many families a store 277 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,100 was like a second home. 278 00:16:41,433 --> 00:16:44,773 We had birthday parties there and I know a lot of 279 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:47,970 Korean American store owners had a little cot in the back 280 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:49,630 or someplace where people ate meals. 281 00:16:51,766 --> 00:16:55,496 (singing in Korean) 282 00:16:58,833 --> 00:17:00,903 NARRATOR: Korean immigrants like Alex's parents look for 283 00:17:00,933 --> 00:17:03,773 opportunities where the cost of business is affordable. 284 00:17:05,366 --> 00:17:07,796 For many, this means looking beyond the borders of 285 00:17:07,833 --> 00:17:10,133 Koreatown in places like South Los Angeles. 286 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:15,470 These neighborhoods are predominantly black and 287 00:17:15,500 --> 00:17:18,730 Latinx, with their own identities and histories. 288 00:17:20,366 --> 00:17:22,426 BRENDA: Many people of color and African Americans in 289 00:17:22,466 --> 00:17:26,396 particular were disappointed, frustrated, um, 290 00:17:26,433 --> 00:17:28,533 agitated about, um, social conditions, 291 00:17:29,466 --> 00:17:33,126 about the lack of jobs, about policing in Los Angeles. 292 00:17:35,333 --> 00:17:38,273 And so you have an African American community that in 293 00:17:38,300 --> 00:17:42,000 some ways is like an immigrant community because we've never 294 00:17:42,033 --> 00:17:44,103 been completely integrated within the society. 295 00:17:46,366 --> 00:17:50,026 NARRATOR: In March of 1991, theworld watches as Los Angeles 296 00:17:50,066 --> 00:17:52,766 police officers beat a 26 year old African American 297 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:54,600 man named Rodney King. 298 00:17:56,933 --> 00:18:01,133 ANGELA: Back then in the 90s, I was just a lawyer when a 299 00:18:01,833 --> 00:18:04,773 number of us who practiced in that area saw that video. 300 00:18:01,833 --> 00:18:04,773 number of us who practiced in that area saw that video. 301 00:18:06,133 --> 00:18:09,133 Our reaction was, well, it's about time the rest of the 302 00:18:09,166 --> 00:18:11,526 world see what happens on the streets of South LA. 303 00:18:14,833 --> 00:18:18,233 MAN: We are not going to take this racist 304 00:18:18,266 --> 00:18:20,396 police brutality in our streets. 305 00:18:21,900 --> 00:18:24,130 HELEN: Unfortunately in our Asian American community, 306 00:18:24,166 --> 00:18:27,826 many of the newer immigrants who come have no idea of the 307 00:18:27,866 --> 00:18:30,496 civil rights history in America. 308 00:18:32,266 --> 00:18:35,666 ANGELA: The civil rights laws that came into effect in the 309 00:18:35,700 --> 00:18:39,030 60s were the product of huge fights, 310 00:18:39,066 --> 00:18:41,566 mostly led by African Americans. 311 00:18:41,866 --> 00:18:45,496 Sacrifices that were made by African Americans. 312 00:18:45,866 --> 00:18:49,466 None of this was appreciated by the majority of new 313 00:18:49,500 --> 00:18:51,530 immigrants who came after the fact. 314 00:18:53,100 --> 00:18:54,830 ALEX: You know, my parents didn't have any understanding 315 00:18:54,866 --> 00:18:56,866 that there was the civil rights movement or the 316 00:18:56,900 --> 00:18:59,670 history of racial equality in this country. 317 00:19:00,033 --> 00:19:02,703 They didn't know anything about that. 318 00:19:03,700 --> 00:19:05,970 ANGELA: In South L.A. you had a region that was 319 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,800 historically an established African American community 320 00:19:08,833 --> 00:19:12,233 being transformed into a Latinx community. 321 00:19:14,166 --> 00:19:16,066 There's competition for jobs. 322 00:19:16,100 --> 00:19:18,570 There's competition for housing. 323 00:19:19,166 --> 00:19:21,326 BRENDA: Close to 70% of businesses were owned by 324 00:19:21,366 --> 00:19:23,866 Korean Americans. 325 00:19:24,066 --> 00:19:26,696 There was a notion that the shop owners had been 326 00:19:26,733 --> 00:19:28,903 disrespectful, had been dismissive. 327 00:19:29,533 --> 00:19:30,773 MAN: Yeah, prices are high. 328 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:33,230 Their attitude is wrong and they just don't seem to have 329 00:19:33,266 --> 00:19:34,726 any respect for the black community. 330 00:19:35,300 --> 00:19:36,930 ANGELA: In the Korean community, 331 00:19:36,966 --> 00:19:40,066 there's an anxiety because there was a lot of news about 332 00:19:40,100 --> 00:19:45,130 assaults, robberies, shootings that were being reported in, 333 00:19:46,233 --> 00:19:50,033 in language news, but if youread the LA times Metro section, 334 00:19:50,066 --> 00:19:53,096 all you read about when it came to Koreans was 335 00:19:53,133 --> 00:19:55,803 how rude they were, how racist they were. 336 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:02,100 JEFF: What we see is a lot of media trying to play up 337 00:20:02,133 --> 00:20:04,073 Asian and black tensions. 338 00:20:05,100 --> 00:20:08,070 ALEX: I'm sure that's a much easier narrative to build and 339 00:20:08,100 --> 00:20:12,100 write than something about the hundreds of years of racial 340 00:20:12,133 --> 00:20:14,673 inequality and social inequality in America. 341 00:20:18,633 --> 00:20:20,903 BRENDA: Latasha Harlins was a 15 year old African American 342 00:20:20,933 --> 00:20:24,833 girl who lived in South Central Los Angeles. 343 00:20:25,466 --> 00:20:29,226 She went into a grocery slash liquor store in her 344 00:20:29,266 --> 00:20:33,226 neighborhood on March 16th, 1991 to purchase a bottle of 345 00:20:33,266 --> 00:20:35,326 orange juice for $1.79. 346 00:20:37,900 --> 00:20:42,170 The proprietress Mrs. Soon Ja Duaccuses her of stealing, 347 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:43,570 pulls her across the counter. 348 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:46,670 Latasha responds by punching her, a fight ensues. 349 00:20:48,833 --> 00:20:51,603 Latasha bends down to pick up the orange juice and Mrs. Du 350 00:20:51,633 --> 00:20:54,273 has stood up with a gun in her hand. 351 00:20:55,066 --> 00:20:57,066 Latasha turns to walk out of the store and 352 00:20:57,100 --> 00:20:59,530 she shot in the back of the head. 353 00:21:04,333 --> 00:21:08,073 JEFF: This particular incident comes to represent all these 354 00:21:08,100 --> 00:21:10,300 grievances that have been building up. 355 00:21:11,333 --> 00:21:14,233 REPORTER: A jury convicted Du of voluntary manslaughter. 356 00:21:14,266 --> 00:21:16,466 A pre-sentence report recommended the maximum 357 00:21:16,500 --> 00:21:20,970 16 years, but judge Joyce Karlin imposed probation, 358 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:23,830 a $500 fine, no jail time. 359 00:21:25,933 --> 00:21:28,273 JEFF: This is literally 10 years after the 360 00:21:28,300 --> 00:21:30,400 killing of Vincent Chin. 361 00:21:31,300 --> 00:21:35,170 Wasn't the equivalent to Vincent Chin, Latasha Harlins? 362 00:21:36,933 --> 00:21:40,373 But in this case, certain Asian-Americans organized 363 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:42,900 to support Soon Ja Du. 364 00:21:44,700 --> 00:21:47,900 HELEN: And instead of being seen as a part of the 365 00:21:47,933 --> 00:21:51,303 multiracial coalition, suddenly Korean Americans 366 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:56,300 were seen as just like those racist LA cops 367 00:21:56,333 --> 00:21:57,733 who beat up Rodney King. 368 00:21:57,766 --> 00:21:59,166 MAN: Go home CROWD: Go home! 369 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:01,100 MAN: Go home CROWD: Go home! 370 00:22:01,366 --> 00:22:03,696 HELEN: People on the ground within the Korean American and 371 00:22:03,733 --> 00:22:06,933 African American communities were trying to signal this 372 00:22:06,966 --> 00:22:08,766 could be a problem. 373 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:12,630 Then all hell broke loose. 374 00:22:14,066 --> 00:22:15,626 REPORTER: The verdict stunned almost 375 00:22:15,666 --> 00:22:17,666 everyone except the four officers acquitted of 376 00:22:17,700 --> 00:22:19,700 beating Rodney King. 377 00:22:19,733 --> 00:22:21,973 Sheriff's deputies escorted them from the courthouse to 378 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,530 face a hostile crowd. 379 00:22:35,133 --> 00:22:39,333 ANGELA: We had five days of looting, burning, arson, 380 00:22:40,366 --> 00:22:43,226 chaos really in the city of L.A. 381 00:22:43,533 --> 00:22:46,133 CROWD: No justice, no peace. No justice, no peace. 382 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:51,600 ANGELA: The fire department, they felt unsafe rolling out. 383 00:22:52,633 --> 00:22:54,133 So the city burned. 384 00:22:54,166 --> 00:22:57,466 I mean I counted at one point 19 fires going simultaneously. 385 00:23:00,566 --> 00:23:04,126 ALEX: I remember the whole scene playing out on TV. 386 00:23:04,666 --> 00:23:07,766 Much as the first Gulf War played out on TV that it was 387 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:09,970 kind of, I don't know, infotainment in a way. 388 00:23:12,033 --> 00:23:13,673 REPORTER: Though the riots were sparked by the 389 00:23:13,700 --> 00:23:15,400 verdicts in the Rodney King case. 390 00:23:15,433 --> 00:23:17,573 They were fueled by growing hostilities 391 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:19,630 between blacks and Koreans. 392 00:23:20,766 --> 00:23:22,626 ALEX: I remember my father said, 393 00:23:22,666 --> 00:23:24,466 he knew that this wasn't good. 394 00:23:24,500 --> 00:23:27,230 That this media narrative that Koreans and black people 395 00:23:27,266 --> 00:23:29,366 were in this conflict. 396 00:23:30,066 --> 00:23:32,796 BRENDA: As people left South central and went up to 397 00:23:32,833 --> 00:23:36,403 Koreatown, Latasha's name was heard on the streets. 398 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:40,230 You know, "This is for Latasha.This is for Latasha." 399 00:23:42,100 --> 00:23:44,000 ANGELA: The police were not coming to protect 400 00:23:44,033 --> 00:23:45,833 any of these stores. 401 00:23:45,866 --> 00:23:49,026 Most of them owned by immigrant families from Korea. 402 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:53,370 The Korean community itself went over the airwaves and 403 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:56,370 they were calling for people to show up wherever 404 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:58,270 they could with arms. 405 00:23:59,966 --> 00:24:02,226 A lot of the men in the community, 406 00:24:02,266 --> 00:24:05,296 first generation immigrants had served in the military 407 00:24:02,266 --> 00:24:05,296 first generation immigrants had served in the military 408 00:24:05,900 --> 00:24:08,600 'cause it's mandatory in Korea. 409 00:24:09,033 --> 00:24:11,573 So they had firearms, they knew how to use firearms 410 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:14,000 and they started defending their own stores. 411 00:24:17,866 --> 00:24:19,896 ALEX: The strongest memory I have, the one 412 00:24:19,933 --> 00:24:23,533 that goes deepest is I had a conversation with my father, 413 00:24:24,100 --> 00:24:25,630 we sat on the couch in our living room. 414 00:24:25,666 --> 00:24:28,166 He came and sat down next to me. 415 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:33,400 He said that the violence and looting in Koreatown was 416 00:24:33,433 --> 00:24:36,903 getting really bad and that he had to go and defend the 417 00:24:36,933 --> 00:24:41,403 store, that he had obtained a gun and that he was 418 00:24:41,433 --> 00:24:43,433 going to go down there. 419 00:24:43,466 --> 00:24:45,766 And um... 420 00:24:50,333 --> 00:24:54,573 Even now it's a very painful memory that, um, 421 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:57,870 basically he may not come back. 422 00:25:03,500 --> 00:25:06,870 NARRATOR: Alex's parents' store is destroyed along with 423 00:25:06,900 --> 00:25:10,170 more than 2,000 other Korean owned businesses. 424 00:25:12,733 --> 00:25:15,703 WOMAN: This is America. 425 00:25:16,166 --> 00:25:18,266 We have to stand our pride. 426 00:25:19,100 --> 00:25:21,570 Human dignity. Where is your human dignity? 427 00:25:23,033 --> 00:25:27,733 We are human beings, we have to have dignity. 428 00:25:28,566 --> 00:25:31,266 We don't do things like this. 429 00:25:34,766 --> 00:25:36,566 JEFF: I mean it was, it was one of those moments that 430 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:39,230 actually really changed my life because it was like 431 00:25:39,266 --> 00:25:42,496 war had broken out and I knew people that 432 00:25:42,533 --> 00:25:45,703 I deeply loved on both sides. 433 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:51,000 And for me, you know, I had come up really deeply 434 00:25:51,033 --> 00:25:55,773 believing in this third world strike ideal and this idea of, 435 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:59,900 of a rainbow coalition, it was like, 436 00:26:01,133 --> 00:26:03,303 not just people whose lives were at stake, 437 00:26:03,333 --> 00:26:06,403 but also our revolutionary dreams are kind of 438 00:26:06,433 --> 00:26:09,203 going up in smoke. 439 00:26:12,700 --> 00:26:15,470 NARRATOR: As a result of the unrest in Los Angeles, 440 00:26:15,500 --> 00:26:18,070 63 people lose their lives, 441 00:26:18,100 --> 00:26:21,770 with damages estimated at $1 billion. 442 00:26:28,066 --> 00:26:31,366 ALEX: Because the rioting had destroyed their businesses, 443 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:34,730 my family's financial situation changed drastically, 444 00:26:35,266 --> 00:26:37,296 had to move from where we were living. 445 00:26:37,333 --> 00:26:39,233 They were under tremendous stress to figure out what 446 00:26:39,266 --> 00:26:42,966 they're going to do to, like feed me and my brother. 447 00:26:43,633 --> 00:26:46,503 That trauma stayed with them, like marked them as people. 448 00:26:50,166 --> 00:26:51,626 I made a documentary about 449 00:26:51,666 --> 00:26:53,696 my family's experience with the riots. 450 00:27:04,133 --> 00:27:06,733 ALEX: After the riots, my parents and I barely 451 00:27:06,766 --> 00:27:11,526 discussed it, so the film was a way for me and my parents 452 00:27:11,566 --> 00:27:13,496 to like engage about it. 453 00:27:25,466 --> 00:27:27,326 ALEX: I think about when I should tell 454 00:27:27,366 --> 00:27:28,966 my daughter about riots. 455 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:33,030 Like when is she old enough for me to explain the riots 456 00:27:33,066 --> 00:27:35,896 are part of her family's journey here in this country. 457 00:27:37,300 --> 00:27:40,030 I wouldn't be able to speak of our experiences in this 458 00:27:40,066 --> 00:27:43,396 country, our immigrant story, without talking about that. 459 00:27:45,233 --> 00:27:49,403 I recognize now the reason that Koreatown burned down. 460 00:27:49,666 --> 00:27:53,596 That was a neighborhood that was brought up, established, 461 00:27:53,633 --> 00:27:56,703 populated by people who are themselves marginalized. 462 00:27:59,233 --> 00:28:03,973 If those businesses were in the well-heeled parts of this town, 463 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:08,170 do you think that themayor would let that burn down? 464 00:28:09,966 --> 00:28:11,496 Never. 465 00:28:11,533 --> 00:28:15,033 They would go down themselves to protect those places. 466 00:28:15,066 --> 00:28:17,066 There's no way that they would let that happen. 467 00:28:17,100 --> 00:28:20,400 So, you know, we were victims as well, of this system. 468 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:25,970 (inaudible chanting) 469 00:28:26,633 --> 00:28:28,603 CROWD: We want justice. We want justice. 470 00:28:28,633 --> 00:28:30,933 ANGELA: There was a consciousness that woke 471 00:28:30,966 --> 00:28:34,766 out of the fire and the chaos and the crisis that hit LA. 472 00:28:36,633 --> 00:28:39,633 Korean America was born in 1992. 473 00:28:42,133 --> 00:28:44,603 NARRATOR: On May 2nd as the violence subsides, 474 00:28:44,633 --> 00:28:48,333 30,000 people gather in Koreatown for a peace rally. 475 00:28:53,866 --> 00:28:58,826 ANGELA: It was a huge March that took us down Olympic Boulevard. 476 00:28:59,133 --> 00:29:02,233 That kind of diversity that you would expect to see in LA. 477 00:29:02,266 --> 00:29:04,526 There were African Americans, there were Latinos, 478 00:29:04,566 --> 00:29:06,466 there were Koreans, there were whites. 479 00:29:06,500 --> 00:29:08,870 Everyone was present. 480 00:29:09,866 --> 00:29:13,996 We wanted to send a message that we also want justice and 481 00:29:14,033 --> 00:29:17,103 we also want peace. 482 00:29:17,866 --> 00:29:21,466 BRENDA: We had emerging now these new leaders within the 483 00:29:21,500 --> 00:29:25,700 Korean American community and this leadership has been 484 00:29:25,733 --> 00:29:29,273 working with African American leadership to move forward. 485 00:29:30,933 --> 00:29:34,233 MAN: We have a dream as late Martin Luther King 486 00:29:34,266 --> 00:29:36,326 had a dream. 487 00:29:36,366 --> 00:29:40,526 That we together will be able to establish a nation of 488 00:29:40,566 --> 00:29:43,996 justice and peace and we are here to stay. 489 00:29:45,133 --> 00:29:47,173 VIET: My parents were shopkeepers. 490 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:48,970 And I think it would take a little bit of time for me to 491 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:52,200 think through what all these things meant. 492 00:29:53,066 --> 00:29:54,726 Like every population, 493 00:29:54,766 --> 00:29:57,766 Asian Americans have choices to make. 494 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:00,100 They can dwell on their own victimization which is a 495 00:30:00,133 --> 00:30:02,603 choice that is there for every so-called minority 496 00:30:02,633 --> 00:30:04,673 and for the majority. 497 00:30:02,633 --> 00:30:04,673 and for the majority. 498 00:30:04,966 --> 00:30:06,596 They can choose to side with power or 499 00:30:06,633 --> 00:30:08,103 to be complicit with power. 500 00:30:08,133 --> 00:30:11,033 And to be perpetrators or to at least enjoy the profits of 501 00:30:11,066 --> 00:30:13,596 being aligned with perpetrators. 502 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:20,370 Or they could refuse these kindsof choices and instead seek to 503 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:23,500 transform the system into something more just, 504 00:30:23,533 --> 00:30:25,833 more equitable for everyone. 505 00:30:26,233 --> 00:30:29,503 That's the hope of activism, that's the hope of solidarity. 506 00:30:29,533 --> 00:30:32,173 That's the hope of alliance, that's the hope and the 507 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:33,700 conviction from which something like the Asian 508 00:30:33,733 --> 00:30:36,073 American movement was born. 509 00:30:41,333 --> 00:30:44,473 MOM: Margaret, do you know why I encourage your brother 510 00:30:44,500 --> 00:30:46,230 to become a cardiologist? 511 00:30:46,266 --> 00:30:47,326 MARGARET: No. 512 00:30:47,366 --> 00:30:48,926 MOM: Because I always knew that one day 513 00:30:48,966 --> 00:30:51,466 you give me a heart attack, what are you wearing! 514 00:30:52,366 --> 00:30:56,496 RANDALL: In 1994 I remember "All-American Girl" coming out 515 00:30:56,533 --> 00:30:59,333 and it being a big deal because it was uh, 516 00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:01,870 an Asian family on TV. 517 00:31:02,366 --> 00:31:04,396 MARGARET: I'm American, Eric is American, 518 00:31:04,433 --> 00:31:05,903 even Stuart is American. 519 00:31:06,300 --> 00:31:07,570 Tell her. 520 00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:10,630 RANDALL: And I remember there being criticisms of the show 521 00:31:10,666 --> 00:31:13,666 and even from within like, the community, 522 00:31:13,700 --> 00:31:16,870 but I remember watching it and just thinking it was like so 523 00:31:16,900 --> 00:31:19,770 great to see this and normalizing, 524 00:31:20,633 --> 00:31:23,273 HARI: Well there was a whole group of films in like the 525 00:31:23,300 --> 00:31:27,500 late 90s all about like a middle class Indian life. 526 00:31:29,033 --> 00:31:32,133 MAN: Leaving the house is leaving the house 527 00:31:32,166 --> 00:31:33,496 no matter where you go. 528 00:31:33,533 --> 00:31:36,233 And just be a good boy and let her do a poojah. 529 00:31:37,266 --> 00:31:38,926 HARI: And they were terrible. 530 00:31:38,966 --> 00:31:41,726 But that's, you know, we had to create art for, 531 00:31:41,766 --> 00:31:44,266 for us to represent our stories 'cause they weren't being told. 532 00:31:45,166 --> 00:31:47,426 WOMAN: Okay, looks nice, now smile naturally mom. 533 00:31:47,466 --> 00:31:48,796 MOM: I always do... 534 00:31:48,833 --> 00:31:52,033 WOMAN 2: You look younger all the time, how is that? 535 00:31:52,566 --> 00:31:55,526 MOM 2: I give you my good skin,you will look like me when... 536 00:31:55,900 --> 00:31:58,030 VIET: I went to a local bookstore and came across 537 00:31:58,066 --> 00:32:00,496 Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club", which had just come out. 538 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:04,830 I had never seen a book before written by an Asian-American 539 00:32:04,866 --> 00:32:06,096 about Asian-Americans. 540 00:32:06,133 --> 00:32:07,673 And even if it wasn't about Vietnamese people, 541 00:32:07,700 --> 00:32:09,000 it was close enough. 542 00:32:09,033 --> 00:32:10,703 I was like, wow, this is an amazing book. 543 00:32:10,733 --> 00:32:12,303 And I can't believe the story is being told and 544 00:32:12,333 --> 00:32:14,073 in such a powerful way. 545 00:32:14,866 --> 00:32:17,426 JERRY: The kinds of stories I heard from my grandmother who 546 00:32:17,466 --> 00:32:21,666 escaped to mainland China in1949 by herself with five kids. 547 00:32:23,566 --> 00:32:27,196 For my kids' generation, it's like fairy tale. 548 00:32:27,233 --> 00:32:30,103 It's hard to believe that war was 60 years ago. 549 00:32:32,066 --> 00:32:34,466 You know, in some ways she hated the country she came 550 00:32:34,500 --> 00:32:36,900 from because the Communists tortured her. 551 00:32:38,233 --> 00:32:40,473 She never looked back. 552 00:32:40,500 --> 00:32:43,300 But her mission in life was to make sure her kids 553 00:32:43,333 --> 00:32:45,673 and then her grandkids had it better. 554 00:32:47,033 --> 00:32:49,203 NARRATOR: Jerry Yang was born in Taiwan, 555 00:32:49,233 --> 00:32:50,973 and was 2 years old when his father died. 556 00:32:52,233 --> 00:32:56,333 His widowed mother decided toemigrate the family to America. 557 00:32:56,800 --> 00:33:00,300 When he arrived he only knew one word of English, shoe. 558 00:33:03,433 --> 00:33:06,873 JERRY: My mom was a singlemother and I was the first born, 559 00:33:03,433 --> 00:33:06,873 JERRY: My mom was a singlemother and I was the first born, 560 00:33:06,900 --> 00:33:09,530 so I was expected to go to college, get a job, 561 00:33:09,566 --> 00:33:12,326 make money so my mom doesn't have to pay for us anymore. 562 00:33:13,466 --> 00:33:16,896 NARRATOR: Jerry is accepted to Stanford University. 563 00:33:16,933 --> 00:33:20,633 There, he forms a partnershipwith fellow student David Filo. 564 00:33:20,666 --> 00:33:22,366 The two of them create a business that changes 565 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:24,830 the way that Americans engage with the world. 566 00:33:32,033 --> 00:33:34,033 MAN: Do you, uh, Yahoo? 567 00:33:36,766 --> 00:33:40,126 JERRY: When the worldwide web started in 1989 we had this 568 00:33:40,166 --> 00:33:43,066 explosion of content that you'd never had before. 569 00:33:48,033 --> 00:33:50,773 David and I said, Hey, maybe we can try to keep track of 570 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:52,870 all these websites that are coming online. 571 00:33:54,500 --> 00:33:56,370 We had no idea that it would be a business. 572 00:33:56,400 --> 00:33:57,830 For the longest time it was called 573 00:33:57,866 --> 00:34:00,626 Jerry's Guide to the Worldwide Web. 574 00:34:00,966 --> 00:34:02,596 By the end of the 1994 575 00:34:02,633 --> 00:34:05,403 we were one of the largest websites in the world. 576 00:34:09,366 --> 00:34:11,196 You're literally laying down the train tracks 577 00:34:11,233 --> 00:34:12,903 as the train is running. 578 00:34:12,933 --> 00:34:14,833 And you just got to stay ahead of it. 579 00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:20,400 OANH: I was a young reporter in Silicon Valley, 580 00:34:20,433 --> 00:34:22,033 started at the Mercury News in 1998. 581 00:34:23,900 --> 00:34:26,170 It was a really exciting time because, you know, 582 00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:28,670 the tech boom was in full mode. 583 00:34:29,766 --> 00:34:33,266 You really felt this was at the center of where things 584 00:34:33,300 --> 00:34:35,600 were going to happen that was going to change the world. 585 00:34:37,500 --> 00:34:40,500 ANNALEE: In the early 90s supplies of white and 586 00:34:40,533 --> 00:34:43,533 native born talent really driedup and you started to see the 587 00:34:43,566 --> 00:34:46,896 influx in large numbers ofhighly skilled Asian immigrants. 588 00:34:48,833 --> 00:34:52,973 Close to 40% of the new startupswere from Asian entrepreneurs. 589 00:34:55,433 --> 00:34:56,933 OANH: You know, Asian-Americans have been a 590 00:34:56,966 --> 00:34:59,696 very important part of the rise of big industries. 591 00:35:01,233 --> 00:35:05,003 You know in the 1860s you had the Chinese who were 592 00:35:05,033 --> 00:35:08,173 so integral to building the transcontinental railroad. 593 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:11,470 Going into the 21st century there were Asian Americans 594 00:35:11,500 --> 00:35:14,170 who were becoming founders with fantastic visions. 595 00:35:15,233 --> 00:35:17,903 If you were lucky enough to have gone to American schools 596 00:35:17,933 --> 00:35:20,573 and get a US education, Silicon Valley and that 597 00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:23,900 boom was fantastic for them. 598 00:35:26,100 --> 00:35:29,200 There were a lot of people who had to do the hard work 599 00:35:29,233 --> 00:35:32,373 of actually manufacturing the guts of what goes into 600 00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:34,570 computers at the time. 601 00:35:35,033 --> 00:35:37,273 And those people, unfortunately though they were 602 00:35:37,300 --> 00:35:39,630 immigrants from China, immigrants from Vietnam, 603 00:35:40,466 --> 00:35:43,126 most of them didn't have the college education that these 604 00:35:43,166 --> 00:35:45,196 other engineers did. 605 00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:48,170 They basically would be putting transistors on circuit 606 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:50,530 boards and getting paid by the piece. 607 00:35:51,133 --> 00:35:53,603 For every printed circuit board that you finished. 608 00:35:53,633 --> 00:35:55,603 And that's why it's called piece work. 609 00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:58,870 Some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley were using 610 00:35:58,900 --> 00:36:02,670 Asian immigrant workers to do piece work at home. 611 00:36:03,666 --> 00:36:05,666 We ended up doing a nine month investigation into 612 00:36:03,666 --> 00:36:05,666 We ended up doing a nine month investigation into 613 00:36:05,700 --> 00:36:08,130 piece work in Silicon Valley. 614 00:36:09,566 --> 00:36:12,926 We were looking at violations that included child labor, 615 00:36:12,966 --> 00:36:14,896 minimum wage violations. 616 00:36:16,733 --> 00:36:19,033 So you do have kind of this barbell division, right, 617 00:36:19,066 --> 00:36:22,066 where you have Asian Americans at the very top who are doing 618 00:36:22,100 --> 00:36:25,100 really well, who are the model minorities. 619 00:36:25,133 --> 00:36:27,903 And at the very bottom you also have a different 620 00:36:27,933 --> 00:36:31,773 flavoring of Asian Americans who are really struggling. 621 00:36:31,800 --> 00:36:36,070 A lot of them were refugees like myself and my family. 622 00:36:37,833 --> 00:36:39,233 You know, there weren't too many people in the 623 00:36:39,266 --> 00:36:41,896 "San Jose Mercury" newsroom who can go into the 624 00:36:41,933 --> 00:36:45,003 Vietnamese American community toask them about piece work. 625 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:47,270 You know, in the aftermath, 626 00:36:47,300 --> 00:36:49,530 I just realized that as a journalist of color, 627 00:36:49,566 --> 00:36:52,026 I need to be able to tell the stories of my community. 628 00:36:57,166 --> 00:36:58,996 NARRATOR: Jerry Yang draws from his own bicultural 629 00:36:59,033 --> 00:37:02,503 experience as an immigrant to become a maverick of the 630 00:37:02,533 --> 00:37:04,773 internet revolution. 631 00:37:06,100 --> 00:37:08,400 JERRY: During the starting of the internet craze, and 632 00:37:08,433 --> 00:37:11,203 starting Yahoo! I still identified as Asian American. 633 00:37:11,233 --> 00:37:12,733 There was no question. 634 00:37:12,766 --> 00:37:16,196 But especially when I went back to Asia to do business, 635 00:37:16,233 --> 00:37:18,833 my identity really helped. 636 00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:23,370 ANNALEE: Immigrants were part of opening up India. 637 00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:25,200 Apple wouldn't be in China without the help 638 00:37:25,233 --> 00:37:27,373 of Asian immigrants. 639 00:37:27,633 --> 00:37:30,833 You wouldn't have manufacturing in Taiwan. 640 00:37:30,866 --> 00:37:34,326 Many pieces of the global economy are fueled by the 641 00:37:34,366 --> 00:37:37,496 contributions of the Asian immigrants in Silicon Valley. 642 00:37:40,500 --> 00:37:43,370 JERRY: If you look at our children, 643 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:47,870 they live in a more global world today than we did 644 00:37:47,900 --> 00:37:50,600 30 years ago, but in many ways more divided. 645 00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:55,100 And for me, making sure they know who they are, 646 00:37:56,666 --> 00:37:59,726 the history of the places that they come from, 647 00:37:59,766 --> 00:38:02,396 first and foremost, America. 648 00:38:02,833 --> 00:38:05,733 You want to prepare them to be the most impactful 649 00:38:05,766 --> 00:38:08,096 citizens of their community that they can be. 650 00:38:09,666 --> 00:38:11,666 In many ways, that's what my mom did for us 651 00:38:11,700 --> 00:38:13,930 by moving to the US. 652 00:38:13,966 --> 00:38:16,426 When people's backs are against the wall and there's 653 00:38:16,466 --> 00:38:18,666 nowhere else to go, you go forward. 654 00:38:30,833 --> 00:38:36,873 ♪ 655 00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:41,930 TEREZA: I started playing pianowhen I was seven years old. 656 00:38:43,833 --> 00:38:47,533 We couldn't afford lessons, but my dad made me practice 657 00:38:47,566 --> 00:38:49,866 three hours a day every day. 658 00:38:59,233 --> 00:39:02,503 My parents are from South Korea. 659 00:39:02,700 --> 00:39:06,500 They fled the aftermath of the Korean War to South America. 660 00:39:02,700 --> 00:39:06,500 They fled the aftermath of the Korean War to South America. 661 00:39:08,466 --> 00:39:11,426 I was born in Brazil and when I was two years old, 662 00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:15,200 we came to the United States. 663 00:39:15,533 --> 00:39:18,933 Soon after my little brother was born. 664 00:39:19,966 --> 00:39:23,496 When I was seven years old, my dad sat the whole family 665 00:39:23,533 --> 00:39:25,803 around in the living room and he said, 666 00:39:25,833 --> 00:39:31,633 "I have a very serious secret to tell you and that is that, 667 00:39:31,666 --> 00:39:33,326 we are undocumented." 668 00:39:36,266 --> 00:39:39,196 My dad said that if anyonefound out we were undocumented, 669 00:39:39,233 --> 00:39:41,773 my parents would be sent to the South Korea and 670 00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:43,930 I would be sent to Brazil. 671 00:39:43,966 --> 00:39:45,766 My brother, who was born in Chicago, 672 00:39:45,800 --> 00:39:48,930 sent to some foster carebecause he's a US born citizen. 673 00:39:51,766 --> 00:39:55,626 That made us become muted. 674 00:39:56,133 --> 00:39:59,273 The fear of separation is real. 675 00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:03,170 We grew up having nightmares of the police 676 00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:05,870 storming up our stairs and breaking our doors down 677 00:40:05,900 --> 00:40:08,900 and taking our family away. 678 00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:12,430 NARRATOR: The piano is Tereza's sanctuary. 679 00:40:12,466 --> 00:40:15,766 She gets a scholarship at a music school in Chicago. 680 00:40:15,800 --> 00:40:18,800 The artistic director Ann Monaco takes Tereza 681 00:40:18,833 --> 00:40:21,033 under her wing. 682 00:40:21,300 --> 00:40:23,730 TEREZA: She proceeded to print out 10 college applications 683 00:40:23,766 --> 00:40:26,926 for me and she said, fill them out and bring them back to me 684 00:40:26,966 --> 00:40:29,466 as soon as you can. 685 00:40:29,700 --> 00:40:33,030 She saw that my social security number was blank. 686 00:40:33,066 --> 00:40:35,826 She saw that my birthplace was Brazil and she looked at me 687 00:40:35,866 --> 00:40:38,196 and said, you were born in Brazil? 688 00:40:38,233 --> 00:40:40,603 I burst into tears and 689 00:40:40,633 --> 00:40:44,073 begged her to not turn me into the police. 690 00:40:44,933 --> 00:40:48,333 She said, "Tereza, do you trust me?" 691 00:40:52,300 --> 00:40:54,870 NARRATOR: Ann Monaco makes a plea on Tereza's behalf 692 00:40:54,900 --> 00:40:57,430 to their Senator, Dick Durbin. 693 00:40:59,533 --> 00:41:02,173 DICK: Tereza Lee, under the eyes of the law in the 694 00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:04,100 United States was undocumented. 695 00:41:04,133 --> 00:41:06,073 She was in the United States illegally. 696 00:41:07,600 --> 00:41:10,200 The law said the only thing Tereza could do was leave the 697 00:41:10,233 --> 00:41:14,033 United States for 10 years and apply to come back. 698 00:41:14,733 --> 00:41:17,403 Uh, I thought that was a terrible outcome. 699 00:41:17,833 --> 00:41:20,003 NARRATOR: Senator Durbin drafts an immigration bill 700 00:41:20,033 --> 00:41:23,373 specifically for Tereza that puts her on a path to 701 00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:26,530 citizenship and college, but in the process, 702 00:41:27,366 --> 00:41:30,426 he hears from more students facing the same dilemma. 703 00:41:31,866 --> 00:41:34,326 DICK: We realized she was not alone. 704 00:41:34,366 --> 00:41:37,366 There were thousands just like her. 705 00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:41,100 TEREZA: He needed to redraft the whole thing into a larger 706 00:41:41,133 --> 00:41:43,973 bill and that became known as the "DREAM Act." 707 00:41:44,933 --> 00:41:47,133 NARRATOR: The "DREAM Act" wouldopen a path to citizenship 708 00:41:47,166 --> 00:41:48,726 for undocumented children 709 00:41:48,766 --> 00:41:51,326 who are brought to the country as minors. 710 00:41:51,566 --> 00:41:53,766 To qualify, they must either join the military 711 00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:56,270 or attend college. 712 00:41:56,300 --> 00:41:59,000 They become known as dreamers. 713 00:41:59,266 --> 00:42:02,866 DICK: The first dreamer was Tereza Lee. 714 00:42:03,100 --> 00:42:05,230 My mother was an immigrant to this country. 715 00:42:03,100 --> 00:42:05,230 My mother was an immigrant to this country. 716 00:42:05,266 --> 00:42:08,126 She didn't become a citizen until she was in her 717 00:42:08,166 --> 00:42:11,466 mid-20s, a mother with two children. 718 00:42:11,500 --> 00:42:13,700 If you're here through no fault of your own, 719 00:42:13,733 --> 00:42:15,803 you ought to have a chance to prove yourself and 720 00:42:15,833 --> 00:42:18,173 be part of America's future. 721 00:42:18,533 --> 00:42:20,403 NARRATOR: The DREAM Act is cosponsored by 722 00:42:20,433 --> 00:42:22,503 Republican Senator Orrin Hatch. 723 00:42:22,533 --> 00:42:24,433 The bill attracts overwhelming support on 724 00:42:24,466 --> 00:42:26,926 both sides of the aisle. 725 00:42:29,166 --> 00:42:31,996 TEREZA: 2001 we had a hearing set, 726 00:42:32,333 --> 00:42:35,303 62 votes were lined up and president Bush was 727 00:42:35,333 --> 00:42:37,673 ready to sign it into law. 728 00:42:38,133 --> 00:42:42,903 I was set to perform a little concert for the senators. 729 00:42:44,066 --> 00:42:47,826 I was ready to fly to DC and the subways were closed. 730 00:42:48,866 --> 00:42:50,426 There were no cabs available. 731 00:42:50,466 --> 00:42:53,326 Everyone was talking about this attack. 732 00:42:56,633 --> 00:42:59,303 BRYANT: It's 8:52 here in New York. 733 00:42:59,333 --> 00:43:00,533 I'm Bryant Gumbel. 734 00:43:00,566 --> 00:43:02,566 We understand that there has been a plane crash on the 735 00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:04,170 southern tip of Manhattan. 736 00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:06,600 You're looking at the World Trade Center. 737 00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:17,500 HARI: 9/11 happened when I was in college, 738 00:43:17,533 --> 00:43:18,803 so I was so far from home. 739 00:43:20,300 --> 00:43:22,200 My brother went to Stuyvesant High School, 740 00:43:22,233 --> 00:43:25,273 which is not that far from where the Twin Towers were, 741 00:43:26,700 --> 00:43:28,770 so that day was horrible for everybody 'cause 742 00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:30,870 my city was attacked. 743 00:43:30,900 --> 00:43:33,030 I don't know where my brother is. 744 00:43:33,066 --> 00:43:34,996 I'm very far away. I feel very alone. 745 00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:40,370 REPORTER: The terrorist attackshave united much of America, 746 00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:43,500 but some ArabAmericans are feeling left out. 747 00:43:43,733 --> 00:43:47,173 Fearful they could become thenext target of misguided anger. 748 00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:51,600 Since Tuesday's attacks, the FBI reports 40 hate crimes, 749 00:43:51,633 --> 00:43:53,703 suspected retaliation. 750 00:43:54,533 --> 00:43:56,803 HARI: You had a lot of people being beaten up because they 751 00:43:56,833 --> 00:43:58,433 were brown skin, because they were Muslim, 752 00:43:58,466 --> 00:43:59,826 because they were Sikh. 753 00:43:59,866 --> 00:44:01,896 REPORTER: In Mesa, Arizona, a man from India was killed at 754 00:44:01,933 --> 00:44:05,003 his convenience store because he looked Middle Eastern. 755 00:44:08,466 --> 00:44:10,966 HARI: One of the weird parts about being a Brown person in 756 00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:14,230 that post 9/11 era is you get victimized twice. 757 00:44:16,600 --> 00:44:19,030 Like on one hand you're afraid of terrorism as much as 758 00:44:19,066 --> 00:44:21,626 anybody else is at that point, like that's all you're hearing 759 00:44:21,666 --> 00:44:22,796 from the media. 760 00:44:22,833 --> 00:44:25,403 And then your country hates you. 761 00:44:25,433 --> 00:44:27,773 They don't, they don't say it openly, 762 00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:29,930 but when people are yelling things to you, 763 00:44:29,966 --> 00:44:32,426 telling you to go back to countries you're not even from 764 00:44:32,466 --> 00:44:34,066 cause you're from America. 765 00:44:34,100 --> 00:44:35,870 WOMAN: Go home. You don't like America. 766 00:44:35,900 --> 00:44:38,500 Leave this country. We're proud to be Americans. 767 00:44:38,533 --> 00:44:40,103 HARI: You start to get the hint. 768 00:44:42,666 --> 00:44:46,596 NORM: On Thursday, September 13 there was a cabinet meeting 769 00:44:46,633 --> 00:44:50,373 with the House and Senate, 770 00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:52,370 Democratic and Republican leadership. 771 00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:56,700 Congressmen from Detroit, Michigan said, Mr. President, 772 00:44:57,200 --> 00:45:01,370 we have a large population of Middle Easterners and Muslims 773 00:45:02,033 --> 00:45:04,973 and they're very concerned about all the rhetoric. 774 00:45:02,033 --> 00:45:04,973 and they're very concerned about all the rhetoric. 775 00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:07,800 President said, you're absolutely correct. 776 00:45:07,833 --> 00:45:10,173 We don't want to have happen today 777 00:45:10,200 --> 00:45:12,970 what happened to Norm in 1942. 778 00:45:17,266 --> 00:45:18,926 MAN: Before arrival at their new quarters, 779 00:45:18,966 --> 00:45:21,126 the evacuees voluntarily registered. 780 00:45:21,166 --> 00:45:24,066 What this means for the Japs, nobody knows. 781 00:45:24,900 --> 00:45:27,370 What it means to us, everybody knows. 782 00:45:30,666 --> 00:45:33,126 HARI: And it didn't happen again in the same way. 783 00:45:34,166 --> 00:45:35,826 REPORTER: The Bush administration has been 784 00:45:35,866 --> 00:45:38,226 conducting a top secret surveillance program 785 00:45:38,266 --> 00:45:40,826 without warrants in Muslim communities. 786 00:45:43,300 --> 00:45:46,930 JEFF: What happens after 9/11 is immigration policy moves 787 00:45:46,966 --> 00:45:50,126 from trying to create pathways to citizenship, 788 00:45:51,733 --> 00:45:55,133 to being wholly about closing the door and deporting people. 789 00:45:56,833 --> 00:45:58,903 TEREZA: Any immigrant friendly legislation 790 00:45:58,933 --> 00:46:01,303 was out of the question. 791 00:46:01,333 --> 00:46:04,403 The DREAM Act was canceled and that meant that the 792 00:46:04,433 --> 00:46:07,173 undocumented immigrants were at risk. 793 00:46:08,366 --> 00:46:10,566 HARI: It wasn't so public, let's round them up, 794 00:46:10,600 --> 00:46:11,930 put them into camps. 795 00:46:11,966 --> 00:46:14,496 But it was like, quietly and quickly, 796 00:46:14,533 --> 00:46:16,973 deport people, arrest people. 797 00:46:18,466 --> 00:46:20,866 Like the Ansar Mahmoud case. 798 00:46:28,666 --> 00:46:31,066 ANSAR: My name is Ansar Mahmoud. 799 00:46:31,100 --> 00:46:34,800 I'm here for the something happening after 9/11. 800 00:46:35,600 --> 00:46:37,630 That's the reason I'm here. 801 00:46:39,733 --> 00:46:42,133 NARRATOR: Born in Pakistan, Ansar Mahmoud moved to 802 00:46:42,166 --> 00:46:45,566 New York's Hudson Valley in2000 after his dream came true: 803 00:46:46,966 --> 00:46:49,566 he won a green card from the immigration lottery. 804 00:46:52,200 --> 00:46:55,130 ANSAR: I liked the quiet life, you know, tried to relax. 805 00:46:55,500 --> 00:46:58,770 Not too many people over there, not too much noise. 806 00:46:58,800 --> 00:47:02,430 All old houses. I can see lots of mountains. 807 00:47:03,800 --> 00:47:05,900 There's a nice river. 808 00:47:07,300 --> 00:47:10,300 NARRATOR: One evening in October 2001, 809 00:47:10,333 --> 00:47:13,133 Ansar was taking photos of the Hudson Valley landscape 810 00:47:13,166 --> 00:47:15,396 to send home to his family. 811 00:47:16,133 --> 00:47:18,703 He ducks behind a fence to get a better view, 812 00:47:18,733 --> 00:47:21,373 not realizing he has stumbled onto the grounds 813 00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:23,530 of a water treatment facility. 814 00:47:24,066 --> 00:47:25,866 REPORTER: DPW crews saw him and they did report 815 00:47:25,900 --> 00:47:26,970 to the police. 816 00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:30,000 Hudson PD then called the FBI who contacted INS 817 00:47:30,033 --> 00:47:31,773 and the state police. 818 00:47:32,166 --> 00:47:34,496 HARI: And even after they cleared him, 819 00:47:34,533 --> 00:47:35,933 even after they said, 820 00:47:35,966 --> 00:47:38,766 "Oh yea, this is just someharmless guy taking a picture," 821 00:47:38,800 --> 00:47:41,430 they wanted to get rid of him. 822 00:47:42,100 --> 00:47:43,930 REPORTER: In searching his apartment, 823 00:47:43,966 --> 00:47:47,166 federal authorities found he had co-signed a lease for a 824 00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:51,100 Pakistani couple who had overstayed their visa. 825 00:47:51,366 --> 00:47:54,126 HARI: It was fear. Fear drove all of it. 826 00:47:54,800 --> 00:47:57,170 REPORTER: One bigsource of comfort for Mahmood 827 00:47:57,200 --> 00:47:59,700 is a group of people in Hudson deeply concerned 828 00:47:59,733 --> 00:48:01,103 about his case. 829 00:48:01,133 --> 00:48:03,703 They are searching for a way to keep him here. 830 00:48:03,733 --> 00:48:07,203 CROWD: Free Ansar, free Ansar! 831 00:48:03,733 --> 00:48:07,203 CROWD: Free Ansar, free Ansar! 832 00:48:08,133 --> 00:48:12,303 ANSAR: These people, they make my spirit high and high hope. 833 00:48:19,400 --> 00:48:21,470 I still believe this country is good. 834 00:48:21,500 --> 00:48:23,130 It's valuable. 835 00:48:23,166 --> 00:48:25,996 You can live here, you can work. 836 00:48:27,266 --> 00:48:28,796 MAN: Even after all that's happened? 837 00:48:28,833 --> 00:48:31,273 ANSAR: Even after all that's happened. 838 00:48:32,266 --> 00:48:34,866 DICK: I rise today to speak about an issue which is 839 00:48:34,900 --> 00:48:37,370 timely and controversial. 840 00:48:37,400 --> 00:48:38,970 It's the issue of immigration. 841 00:48:40,466 --> 00:48:42,366 NARRATOR: After September 11th, 842 00:48:42,400 --> 00:48:45,800 the DREAM Act is reintroduced a number of times in the Senate, 843 00:48:46,033 --> 00:48:48,703 but never achieves enough votes to become law. 844 00:48:50,766 --> 00:48:53,926 TEREZA: In 2012, Dreamers started organizing. 845 00:48:54,866 --> 00:48:57,896 (inaudible chanting) 846 00:48:57,933 --> 00:48:59,603 CROWD: Now! 847 00:49:00,100 --> 00:49:03,570 TEREZA: For the first time we started seeing an immigration 848 00:49:03,600 --> 00:49:07,670 movement, not just undocumented immigrants, 849 00:49:08,200 --> 00:49:11,530 but other Americans coming out to support. 850 00:49:13,400 --> 00:49:16,330 HELEN: On the one hand, communities are now under 851 00:49:16,366 --> 00:49:18,396 intense investigation. 852 00:49:18,433 --> 00:49:21,803 On the other hand, it's also brought communities together. 853 00:49:23,666 --> 00:49:25,396 HARI: 9/11 happens. 854 00:49:25,433 --> 00:49:28,203 I go from someone who's sheltered in diversity and 855 00:49:28,233 --> 00:49:30,933 fairly apolitical to a politicized being. 856 00:49:31,633 --> 00:49:33,303 I was an immigrant rights organizer. 857 00:49:33,333 --> 00:49:35,073 I worked with victims of hate crimes, 858 00:49:35,100 --> 00:49:37,070 people being detained and deported, 859 00:49:37,100 --> 00:49:39,230 and I wanted my standup, 860 00:49:39,266 --> 00:49:41,666 my art form to reflect what I believed. 861 00:49:43,200 --> 00:49:45,470 I hate how immigrants are talked about in this country. 862 00:49:45,500 --> 00:49:48,070 I was watching CNN, which was my mistake, 863 00:49:48,100 --> 00:49:52,370 and they were interviewing this woman in Arizona who is 864 00:49:52,400 --> 00:49:53,800 against immigration, right? 865 00:49:53,833 --> 00:49:56,403 And she said, look, we're just trying to bring this country 866 00:49:56,433 --> 00:49:58,433 back to the way it used to be. 867 00:49:59,200 --> 00:50:01,800 The way it used to be! 868 00:50:01,833 --> 00:50:05,373 Lady, you're in Arizona. It used to be Mexico. 869 00:50:08,633 --> 00:50:11,833 Growing up I always felt like I had access to the world. 870 00:50:11,866 --> 00:50:13,226 People from all over the world. 871 00:50:13,266 --> 00:50:14,726 Different races, religions, 872 00:50:14,766 --> 00:50:16,426 people with status, without status. 873 00:50:16,466 --> 00:50:19,496 Like I felt, looking back on it now, 874 00:50:19,533 --> 00:50:22,603 I feel like I was trained for the future. 875 00:50:32,400 --> 00:50:34,770 NARRATOR: They were seen as outsiders... 876 00:50:34,800 --> 00:50:36,930 Dreamers who could never become American. 877 00:50:38,000 --> 00:50:40,000 But they were always American. 878 00:50:41,466 --> 00:50:45,596 By arriving on these shores, by seeking a better destiny, 879 00:50:45,633 --> 00:50:48,333 by giving their all, 880 00:50:48,600 --> 00:50:51,930 by building up the nation rail by rail. 881 00:50:53,066 --> 00:50:57,366 By claiming their space. By striving for justice. 882 00:50:59,233 --> 00:51:01,703 By struggling for the rights of all people, 883 00:51:01,733 --> 00:51:03,473 not just their own. 884 00:51:03,500 --> 00:51:06,930 They have always been American. 885 00:51:03,500 --> 00:51:06,930 They have always been American. 886 00:51:08,400 --> 00:51:11,570 HELEN: History has a way of moving in cycles, 887 00:51:11,600 --> 00:51:14,430 and if we can learn from history even a little bit, 888 00:51:15,266 --> 00:51:17,096 we can avoid repeating it. 889 00:51:17,133 --> 00:51:19,703 But even better than that, we can find the things that have 890 00:51:19,733 --> 00:51:23,633 moved civilization forward and have led to greater progress. 891 00:51:24,333 --> 00:51:27,203 And if we learned from that, we can really move ahead. 892 00:51:28,866 --> 00:51:33,666 JEFF: The idea of being Asian American originated in part as 893 00:51:33,700 --> 00:51:35,670 a will to power. 894 00:51:36,766 --> 00:51:40,266 As a way to be able to say we've been stepped on, 895 00:51:40,300 --> 00:51:43,070 we've been excluded, we've been erased. 896 00:51:44,533 --> 00:51:47,033 And you need to recognize us now. 897 00:51:47,333 --> 00:51:50,603 Because we're here and we're not going away. 898 00:51:53,066 --> 00:51:56,126 VIET: The very idea of the Asian American contains 899 00:51:56,633 --> 00:52:00,473 within itself an endless range of possibilities... 900 00:52:01,200 --> 00:52:03,600 Is a part of who we are! 901 00:52:04,800 --> 00:52:08,170 CONNIE: We honor the courage, fortitude and sacrifice of 902 00:52:08,200 --> 00:52:12,970 Chinese railroad workers and their legacy in America which 903 00:52:13,000 --> 00:52:15,400 belongs to all of us! 904 00:52:19,466 --> 00:52:23,066 ERICA: The Asian American story is such a quintessential 905 00:52:23,100 --> 00:52:26,000 American story because we, 906 00:52:26,733 --> 00:52:28,403 as Asian Americans, 907 00:52:28,433 --> 00:52:30,273 have represented the polar extremes of 908 00:52:30,300 --> 00:52:32,830 the American experience. 909 00:52:32,866 --> 00:52:36,996 The most downtrodden and discriminated against, 910 00:52:37,633 --> 00:52:41,473 to rising to positions of power and privilege. 911 00:52:42,700 --> 00:52:45,600 To being singled out for exclusion, 912 00:52:45,633 --> 00:52:50,173 to being explicitly welcomed, and included, and held up, 913 00:52:51,233 --> 00:52:53,933 of the very best of America. 914 00:52:53,966 --> 00:52:55,796 That is the story of America, 915 00:52:55,833 --> 00:52:57,273 and that is the story of Asian America. 916 00:53:07,833 --> 00:53:14,073 ♪ 917 00:53:22,800 --> 00:53:24,870 NARRATOR: To order Asian Americans on DVD, 918 00:53:24,900 --> 00:53:29,730 visit ShopPBS.org or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS 919 00:53:30,233 --> 00:53:33,903 This program is also available on Amazon Prime Video.