By Mabel Pais

‘ASIAN AMERICANS,’ to celebrate ASIAN AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, was aired as a five-part documentary television series. This was a collaborative production of PBS, WETA and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), via the Independent Television Service (ITVS).

The series chronicles the contributions, the history and the challenges of Asian Americans, the fastest-growing ethnic group in America. Spearheaded by an array of award-winning Asian American filmmakers, including Academy Award®-nominated series producer Renee Tajima-Peña (‘Who Killed Vincent Chin?’), ‘ASIAN AMERICANS’ examines how Asian Americans played a role in defining both U.S. history and American identity. From the first wave of Asian immigrants in the 1850s, to identity politics during the social and cultural turmoil of the twentieth century, and the modern refugee crisis, this series champions the unheard voices of Asian Americans.

This history has long been omitted from the textbooks. Through this groundbreaking series, viewers may discover the compelling untold stories and contributions that Asian Americans have had in shaping America.

‘ASIAN AMERICANS’ delivers a bold, fresh perspective on a history that matters today more than ever, at a time when themes of immigration, race and xenophobia, inform all facets of the national conversation. As the United States rapidly becomes more diverse, but also more divided, how do we move forward together?

Asian immigrants first arrived in large numbers during the mid-1800s. They were mostly young laborers and full of dreams, but they were met with hostility and hysteria. Branded the “Yellow Peril” and the “Dusky Peril,” they were blamed for disease, vice and unfair labor competition. Long considered perpetually foreign and unassimilable, Asians faced exclusionary laws and were barred from becoming citizens. They were America’s first “undocumented immigrants.” The series takes audiences through the momentous years since then, and the lives of people who helped to shape this history. ‘ASIAN AMERICANS’ is about their resilience during extraordinary times, through anti-Asian exclusion, a Great Depression, multiple wars fought in Asia, mass incarceration, and the journeys of countless refugees. At each of these tipping points, core ideals of equality and justice were constantly tested. Yet Asian Americans built railroads and cyber-highways. They created families and communities, and stood up for their ideals in the courts, at the ballot box, in the fields, on the streets and in the culture.

‘ASIAN AMERICANS’ illuminates two visions of the American Dream for the nation’s fastest growing population: One of opportunity and a better life, but also the pursuit of democracy and equality. It is the story of how a people, long denied citizenship, have come to define what it means to be an American. To watch the series, visit pbs.org/weta/asian-americans

ASIAN AMERICAN FILMS TODAY

Violent acts against the Asian American public continues to plague the community, thus exposing continued systemic racism. The following two films, one released in 2022, the other restored, remind us that very little progress has been made against Asian American bias.

FREE CHOL SOO LEE

“An enthralling documentary… a powerful indictment of systemic racism and the criminal justice system. –  Josh Flanders and Sheri Flanders – Chicago Reader

Dirs: Julie Ha & Eugene Yi l USA l 2022 l Eng, Korean l 1h 26m

Premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Free Chol Soo Lee tells the landmark story of Chol Soo, who was wrongly convicted of murder, and the unprecedented pan-Asian American movement that freed him.

In 1970s San Francisco, 20-year-old Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee is racially profiled and convicted of a Chinatown gang murder. Sentenced to life, he spends years fighting to survive until investigative journalist K.W. Lee takes a special interest in his case, igniting an unprecedented social justice movement that would unite Asian Americans and inspire a new generation of activists.

Nearly five decades later, Free Chol Soo Lee excavates this largely unknown yet essential history, crafting an intimate portrait of the complex man at its center and serving as an urgent reminder that his legacy is more relevant than ever. Born on August 15th, 1952, this year commemorates what would have been the late Chol Soo Lee’s 70th birthday. Opening – August 12, IFC Center, New York, followed by ONE-NIGHT ONLY NATIONWIDE on August 17. For more information and more openings, visit mubi.com/freecholsoolee

WHO KILLED VINCENT CHIN

ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINATED 1987 DOCUMENTARY RE-RELEASED

The 1982 Hate Crime Galvanized a New Generation of Asian Americans to Fight for Justice

The film was recently restored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and also selected for the National Film Registry.

Dirs: Christine Choy & Renee Tajima-Peña l USA l 1987 l 27m

In this current moment of anti-Asian hate in America, the timing of this film is once again significant and important. The organizing of the Asian American communities that rallied against this horrible crime when the murderers were acquitted was incredible, as these dedicated people literally transformed themselves from a grassroots advocacy group into a national movement. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the racially motivated murder/hate crime of Vincent Chin – a Chinese American – murdered by two white men, Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz, in Detroit, Michigan on June 19, 1982. The documentary, which originally aired on POV in March 1987, details the incident from initial eye-witness accounts, the ensuing murder trials to the lenient sentences the assailants received, and the repercussions for the families and community involved.

In addition to the film broadcast in March 2022, there were a number of events and activities organized in the week leading to June 20, 2022. “I was vaguely aware of the killing of Vincent Chin in 1982. The next year, when I had the opportunity to meet Lily Chin, Vincent’s mother in Detroit, Michigan, I knew this was a story that would make an impact. The project started as a short film to help the American Citizens for Justice (ACJ) raise the legal fee but with the support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the film was expanded. It was a privilege to have taken part in the telling of this story nearly forty years ago and still see its relevance and importance today.” said ‘Who Killed Vincent Chin?’ filmmaker Christine Choy.

Who Killed Vincent Chin? represents a critical turning point for Asian Americans with chilling relevance today. Anti-Asian sentiments that were further stoked by the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to ongoing xenophobia, particularly against Chinese Americans, though they have affected the broader AAPI community. From March 19, 2020, to December 31, 2021, over ten thousand hate crime incidents were reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a nonprofit coalition tracking incidents of hate and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Breaking news headlines about the 2021 Atlanta and Indianapolis shootings, and the recent murders in New York City of Christina Yuna Lee and Michelle Go as well, show that these hate crimes are disproportionately targeted at the elderly and Asian American women. The encore presentation of the film was done by pbs.org/pov. Watch the film: pbs.org/video/the-black-rodeo-new-detroit-riverfront-park-kris-johnson-govgpk

(Mabel Pais writes on Social Issues, The Arts and Entertainment, Health & Wellness, Cuisine and Spirituality)