Half a century after arriving in the US, Thais are leaving permanent marks in their local communities in the form of restaurants, other businesses, wats, churches, and masjids. Thai Americans have successfully petitioned city officials to designate Thai spaces in the cities with the two highest Thai populations: Los Angeles, California and New York City. To have two permanent spaces in urban areas designated to be Thai is a welcomed reprieve from how Thai wats were being driven out of their spaces in the suburbs through zoning just years earlier.

This module introduces a new generation of Thais who are defining their “Thainess” through civic engagement and advocacy and the creation of new Thai American organizations. We will also learn how Thai Americans artists and writers are challenging the ways how Thais are portrayed in mass media by helming their own shows and writing their own books that center Thai stories and experiences.