Today's post is written by Ruth Chan, archivist and Subject Matter Expert for Asian American and Pacific Islander records Special thanks to Holly Rivet, Archives Specialist at the National Archives at St. Louis; Katie Seitz, Archives Specialist at the National Archives in Washington DC; and Victoria Blue, Public Affairs Specialist, for access to the records … Continue reading Sau Ung Loo Chan, An Advocate for American Citizenship and Immigrant Rights
At the end of World War II, some Japanese soldiers retreated into the jungle and continued to “fight,” not believing the call for surrender by the Emperor. One of the most famous and longest of those fighters was Hiroo Onoda. Hiroo Onoda, c.1944 (courtesy wikimedia) Onoda, a Japanese army lieutenant, was sent to Lubang Island … Continue reading Onoda of the Jungle
Today’s post is written by Lucas Blackwood, an intern at the National Archives at Denver. When World War II began the United States chose to remain neutral and did not join the war right away. Then, on December 7, 1941, Japan, part of the axis powers and allied with Germany, attacked the U.S. military base … Continue reading Japanese American Internment and Resistance at Heart Mountain
Today’s post is by Leah Booth and John Marden, Archives Technicians at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. As part of the Asian American/Pacific Islander Records Aggregation Project at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) we are working to assess our holdings of records and materials relevant to the Asian American and Pacific … Continue reading The Past is the Present in the Asian American/Pacific Islander Records Aggregation Project
Today’s post is by Katherine Stinson, Archives Specialist in Motion Pictures at the National Archives in College Park, MD. When National Archives staff began working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was looking for new telework projects to do. One of the projects I discovered, through email updates from the National Archives Catalog, … Continue reading Bringing the Past to Light through the Chinese Exclusion Act Case Files
This post was written by Audrey Amidon. Audrey is a Preservation Specialist in the Motion Picture Preservation Lab and writes for The Unwritten Record. James Wong Howe was one of America’s greatest cinematographers, with a career stretching from the golden age of silent cinema to the early 1970s. Nominated for ten Academy Awards, Howe won … Continue reading James Wong Howe: Hollywood’s Ace Cinematographer
APA Heritage Month is an opportunity to...contribute to the wider understanding of what it means to be an American. - Alex Villaseran, archives technician and APA Unity co-chair Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month was born of years of work by Asian/Pacific American (APA) community members, activists, educators, and politicians to have their histories and cultures recognized … Continue reading Asian/Pacific American History: Learning Our Legacy
Today’s post is written by Larry Shockley, Archives Specialist in the Office of Innovation. May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – a celebration of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Covering the entire continent of Asia as well as multiple Pacific islands, the origins of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month originated … Continue reading Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Highlights: Duke Kahanamoku
Today's post is written by Alexandra Villaseran, Archives Technician at the National Archives in Washington, DC On May 7, 1843, the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States. A couple of decades later, on May 10, 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed; the majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants. … Continue reading Honoring Notable Asian Pacific Americans for APA Heritage Month
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. On January 17, 1893, Hawaiian Queen Liliuokalani was overthrown in a coup. The resulting Provisional Government sent five commissioners to Washington to negotiate a treaty of annexation with the United States. To accomplish that, … Continue reading Making Good History: Preserving Records of the February 1893 Negotiations with Hawaiian Commissioners
