PEOPLE AND EVERYDAY LIFE
Asian Americans in the United States South
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Are Asian Americans who live in the United States South impacted by their experiences in the South?
Chapter objectives
- Learn about the legal, labor, and literary history of Asian Americans in the United States South from colonial times to today.
- Understand how Asian Americans created communities in the US South despite segregation and other racial restrictions in the South.
- Explore how the complex position of Asian Americans in questions of labor, race, and migration are influenced by their geographical location in the US.
In 2020, Asian Americans were one of the fastest growing demographics across the United States South, yet they have formed an important part of the society and economy of the South since before the founding of the United States. Throughout the history of the US South, Asian Americans have navigated and challenged the laws and social customs around race in complicated and impactful ways. Since the mid-twentieth century, Asian American migration into the South has highlighted questions surrounding race, labor, and health. Covering a wide array of historical and contemporary case studies of different ethnic groups, this chapter looks at the ways that Asian American populations migrated to the South, developed socioeconomic structures, interacted with other groups, and told their own stories. Although principally about Asian Americans, the chapter also touches on Pacific Islanders, such as Native Hawaiians and Marshallese in the South.
Modules in this chapter
Overview
Labor and Migration
Building Communities
The Fight for Civil Rights
Literature and Identity
Overview
Labor and Migration
Building Communities
The Fight for Civil Rights
Literature and Identity
Chapter Sources
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