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Discover the curated images, videos, and primary sources featured throughout Foundations and Futures

History is more than just text on a page; it is the photographs, voices, and artifacts of the people who lived it. The images and recordings featured across Foundations and Futures are part of a meticulously curated media repository. Whether you are building a lesson plan or investigating an artifact, you can use this database to trace the provenance of our media: discover who created an asset, the historical context behind it, and how it can be used to bring Asian American and Pacific Islander experiences into your classroom.

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  • Well-dressed Thai garment workers gather for a large group photo outside in the grass. Some stand, some kneel. A red banner hangs behind them.
    Image
    Gathering of Thai Garment Workers

    A gathering of the Thai garment workers commemorating the anniversary of their freedom. Julie Su, an attorney with Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, represented workers in a groundbreaking civil case that resulted in a multi-million dollar settlement and sweeping labor legislation reforms.

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 2
    View multimedia
  • Newspaper front page with image of Thai women lined up, crouched on sidewalk. Beneath photo, article titled "Thai Workers Set Free in California."
    Text
    El Monte Garment Workers Released

    A story covering the release of the El Monte Thai garment workers from captivity was featured on the front page of the New York Times on August 4th, 1995.

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 2
    View multimedia
  • Thai magazine advertises two Thai restaurants in Chicago: New Siam and Rosded Restaurant.
    Text
    Advertisement for Thai Restaurants

    A handwritten advertisement for Rosded Restaurant and Siam and New Siam restaurants printed in Dhammophas Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 3 (June–August 1976), published by Wat Dhammaram in Chicago, Illinois. Early Thai businesses were important financial supporters for Thai temples in the early years.

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 2
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  • Co-business owner Wanchai Suksod, smiling in black pants and white shirt, leans in doorway of his Thai restaurant Tawan. Open sign shown in window.
    Image
    Thai Restaurant Owner and Open Sign

    The owners of the newly opened Tawan Restaurant posing in front of their business. The names in Thai and English did not match, showing the ways early Thai restaurant owners had to appeal to both Thais and non-Thais in their business model.

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 2
    View multimedia
  • Co-business owner Rushanee Suksod, smiling proudly in a striped shirt, stands by front door of her Thai restaurant Tawan with the open sign displayed.
    Image
    Thai Restaurant With Owner

    The owners of the newly opened Tawan Restaurant posing in front of their business. The names in Thai and English did not match, showing the ways early Thai restaurant owners had to appeal to both Thais and non-Thais in their business model.

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 2
    View multimedia
  • A group of Thai people gather outside a wat. The group stands in a line formation and carries a sphere that is hung from a rod as a monk watches.
    Image
    Prayer Hall Consecration Ceremony

    Thais gathered at Wat Buddhawararam in Denver, Colorado, for the prayer hall consecration ceremony (งานผูกพัทธสีมา) in 1978. Senior monks flew from Thailand to preside over the ceremony due to a shortage of monks in Denver.

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 2
    View multimedia
  • Monument honoring King Bhumibol's birthplace. Bronze plaque has text related to King Bhumibol beneath decorated symbol.
    Image
    King Bhumibol’s Birthplace

    This plaque in Cambridge, Massachusetts, commemorates King Bhumibol’s birthplace and his connection to Harvard University, where his father Prince Mahidol studied public health and medicine. It has recently become a gathering place for the veneration and protest of the monarchy.

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 2
    View multimedia
  • Statue of mythical eagle-like creature, decorated in multi-colored tiles. Text in English and Thai relates to upcoming U.S. Census.
    Text
    The US Census Bureau Thai Outreach

    The US Census Bureau created outreach materials in Thai, with references to Thai culture. This poster depicts Karuda, a mythical creature from Hindu lore that many Thais would recognize.

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 2
    View multimedia
  • Black text on white background titled "Founding Members." Beneath heading, twenty four names are written in Thai.
    Text
    Thai Physician Association of America

    Names of the twenty-four founding members of the Thai Physician Association of America. The two party hosts, Drs. Yutthana and Thanasri Samroengrajaya, and Dr. Chalotorn Locharoenkul, writer of the initial recruitment letter, were all present at the inaugural meeting. (Source: TPAA (Thai Physician Association of America)

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 2
    View multimedia
  • Gold-colored painted words on red wooden signs read "Welcome to Buddhist Center of Dallas" in English and "Dallas Buddhist Center" in Thai.
    Image
    Buddhist Temple of Dallas Sign

    The Buddhist Temple of Dallas was founded in 1982. Like many Thai wats at the time, it was initially housed in a small home in a residential neighborhood. The next year, a new and larger location was consecrated on March 29, 1983.

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 1
    View multimedia
  • Buddhist monks, dressed in orange robes, stand beside "Buddhist Temple of Dallas" sign. The monks stand in front of steps leading to Temple.
    Image
    Buddhist Temple of Dallas

    The Buddhist Temple of Dallas was founded in 1982. Like many Thai wats at the time, it was initially housed in a small home in a residential neighborhood. The next year, a new and larger location was consecrated on March 29, 1983.

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 1
    View multimedia
  • Directory page with two photos. Above, a man in suit addresses rows of people in classroom. Below, a small portrait of the program's director.
    Text
    1967 Peace Corps Training

    A page from the 1967 Peace Corps Training Directory showing Thai language instructors and the Thai Minister of Education, M.L. Pin Malakul, addressing the latest cohort of volunteers during his visit to the training center at Northern Illinois University.

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 1
    View multimedia
  • President Lyndon B. Johnson, seated outdoors at desk, signs Immigration Act. Uniformed men and men in suits crowd behind him to the right.
    Image
    President Lyndon B. Johnson Signs Immigration Act

    When President Johnson signed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, he did not foresee how drastically the legislation would change Asian American communities and the American ethnic landscape.

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 1
    View multimedia
  • Large banner with text "Go Home and Take Your True American Democracy Back With You" hangs in front of large field crowded with people.
    Image
    Students Criticize U.S. Involvement

    The US has had a looming presence in Thai politics and economy since after WWII. During the 1976 protests, students erected giant banners around Sanam Luang to criticize continued US presence and support of the ruling military regime in Thailand.

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 1
    View multimedia
  • Historical map labeled "U.S. Installations and Facilities in Thailand." Different colored fonts indicate the bases of different military branches.
    Image
    U.S. Military Facilities In Thailand

    The “Vietnam War,” also known as The Second Indochina War, was not waged only in Vietnam. This map shows the number of US military facilities operating in Thailand in 1969. (Source: Geography and Map Division Titled Collection, Library of Congress)

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 1
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  • Side-by-side photos. Left photo is portrait of Thai woman in white gown with tiara. Right photo is Thai woman standing against dark backdrop.
    Image
    Miss Universe Bui Porntip

    Bui Porntip on the cover of the November 1988 issue of Thai fashion magazine, Dichan. During her reign as Miss Universe, she was featured on many Thai magazine covers and on several television shows. She remains extremely popular with Thais today.

    Featured in:
    Thai Americans, Module 1
    View multimedia
  • Video
    BTS Visits The White House

    BTS, one of South Korea’s most popular boy bands, visits the White House in 2022 to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence in America during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Featured in:
    Korean Americans, Module 5
    View multimedia
  • A large commercial building, with sign reading "Koreatown Galleria" at center.
    Image
    Los Angeles Koreatown Galleria

    With its roots in Korean culture, the Koreatown Galleria became an iconic shopping and dining destination in Los Angeles, boosting its soft power or cultural cachet.

    Featured in:
    Korean Americans, Module 5
    View multimedia
  • Characters from the film Parasite sit and stand in front of modern-looking home with stark lines drawn across their eyes.
    Image
    Parasite Poster

    Parasite (2019), directed by Bong Joon-ho, became the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Its global success occurred in the context of South Korea’s government subsidies and screen quota system to develop a competitive national cinema.

    Featured in:
    Korean Americans, Module 5
    View multimedia
  • Video
    “Gangnam Style”

    In December 2012, Psy’s “Gangnam Style” became the first music video to reach more than one billion views on YouTube.

    Featured in:
    Korean Americans, Module 5
    View multimedia
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The Asian American Studies Center acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, So. Channel Islands) and pay our respects to the honuukvetam (ancestors), ‘ahiihirom (elders), and ‘eyoohiinkem (relatives/relations) past, present, and emerging.

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