The history of Asian Americans can be understood in various perspectives. There is a claim in the US that the Asian American students are so many in learning institutions. The enrollment of Asian American students has been on the rise and this is what has caused the notion. Such notions are over-exaggerated. It narrows down to one perspective of higher education. It is also not clear whether these claims include the students from Asia or it is only referring to students of Asian origin but are Americans by citizenship. We aim at getting to the root statistics of the issue and to knowledge exactly whether the claims are wrong or right.
The Asian Americans are aggressive community with strong cultural backgrounds. They are of business community who migrated into US for various reasons. However, some were born in US where they have lived for a long time. The claim that they have flooded the learning institutions is not true. This community, as compared to other Americans, is only 6% of the total population in US.
I attended one of the Chinese New year celebrations in Fresno. This event was held during the weeks of 26-31 December, 2005. This event was influenced by commercial, political and educational activities. It was the 30th event in US held by the Asian American. The event was presided over by General Vang Pao .The event involved young men displaying their costumes, ball tossing and singing of traditional Hmong songs.
This event usually takes place at the end of the 12th lunar calendar month. The event is basically sponsored by families who make their contributions towards the success of the occasion. The family slaughters a pig for feasting. This time is not only for feasting but also to visit friends and relatives of Asian origin. They offer libation and pray for the spirits of the departed to be in peace. This time is used to pray for the community to live in peace and send away bad omen. The men would stay awake mid-night to welcome the New Year. In the morning after the eve of New Year, children rush to their grand- parents to wish them well and long life. Girls wear their embroidered costumes and skull caps on their heads.
The 2006 New Year is influenced by young Asian American population and the preference of the Hmong American community leaders. The Hmong community population has increased for the last ten years. During this event commercial activities carried the day with items ranging from herbal medicines, traditional vegetables, car exhibition and clothes displays.
They ate traditional food ranging from fried chicken to noodles, ice cream and donuts. Information concerning education was displayed to the youth who attended the event. This event was attended major General Vang Pao and several military officers. Others who attended were the Asian American professionals in the central valley.
This event taught me a lot of things concerning this community in US. The reach culture among this community is a unique aspect that the Americans have to learn from. Their aggressiveness in entrepreneurship was also evident during the annual event I attended in 2005-2006. They also showed their culture practically when the young ladies wore costumes embroidered specifically for the events. This is a great time for family reunion and sharing whereby families contributed what they had with other families.
Asian Americans come from all walks of life. Most of them are professionals who have gone through the education systems in US. Many of the Asian Americans were born in US while others are immigrants. They originated from various countries in Asia such as Bangladesh, China and India. Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in US. They make up almost 6% of the country’s total population. This data also reflects their participation in economic, employment, education and their participation in social life. Most of the for a I attended had a unique lot of a race that has the zeal to develop their culture in US.
Although this race has had several critics on its continued growth in US, they have remained steadfast in their ambitions. This is a community that has earned itself a name of as a community of contrast. A report by the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice, states this community’s organization, leadership and their growth in US.
According to the 2010 census report, this community has by about 46% within a period of ten years. This community is found in New York, California and Texas. Although they are referred to Asian Americans, they also belong to different ethnic groups such as Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Lankans and Indians.
Asian Americans hold a lot of the US economy and are some of the most aggressive entrepreneurs. Their annual income is high and they mostly pump this income into the economy. Their purchasing power is comparatively high as compared to other immigrants. A large number of immigrants enter US. Some of them come under family sponsorship while others come for education. A good number come to the US to look for employment.
However, their aggressiveness in education, entrepreneurship and in political participation has earned them the name, a community of “contrast”. Another issue with this community is their inability to understand English, the official language of communication in US. Although it known that they are a hard working community, is a fact that some of them experience financial difficulties especially the learned who are seeking jobs. However, compared to their parents, the modern AA’s are better of economically than their parents. They live with a belief that hard work pays and all those who work hard must finally succeed. Also, family formation is unique. Those who are born in US are less likely to be married than those who were born outside US.
Concerning their educational attainment, there is a distinct variation among the Asian ethnic groups. The educational attainment of the Laotian and the Vietnamese Americans is the same as African Americans. This limits their chances of employment. Home ownership in US has been a challenge to many Asian Americans. Approximately, only 59% of the Asian Americans own homes in the US. This indicates that a good number of this community does not own homes. Hawaii is the city with the highest number of Asian America (AA) with Florida as the lowest.
In conclusion, it is prudent to note that this paper has presented some of the events that involved the Asians Americans in different occasions. The paper has also provided a comprehensive and a critical analysis of the events mentioned in the paper and how the author participated in the events.
Work Cited
Asian American society of central Virginia. Accessed on 28th of April 2013 from http://www.aasocv.org/events.html.
Lee, Esther.” A History of Asian American Theatre”. U.S.A: Cambridge University Press.
Asian Americans. “Celebrating thirty yerars”. Accessed on 28th April 2013 from http://aaartsalliance.org.
Asian Americans studies. “Annual event”. Accessed on 28th April 2013 from http://asa.ucdavis.edu/annual-events?destination=node/6.
Asian American Awareness Month. Accessed on 28th April 2013 from http://www.uic.edu/depts/aarcc/aaam.html.
Asian American Heritage Week. Accessed on 28th April from http://www.northeastern.edu/aac/events/aahw.html.
Events focus on Asians and Asian Americans, cultural understanding. Accessed on 28th of April 2013 from http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2013/Q1/events-focus-on-asians-and-asian-americans,-cultural-understanding.html.
