Sharing the stories of Asian American and Pacific Islanders is essential to understanding the complexity and depths of our history. This May, in honor of AAPI Month, we will highlight programs and resources from the RIHS and our community and national partners to highlight jobs and how Asian American and Pacific Island Rhode Islanders have impacted locally, nationally, and globally. This page will continue to be updated throughout the month of May. If you have suggestions of resources to be added to this page, please email communications@rihs.org.

Programs • Educational Resources • Community Organizations

Programs

  • Tuesday, May 14th, 1-2pm: Smithsonian Virtual Tour | Art Across Asian Cultures– The National Museum of Asian Art is home to more than 45,000 objects from the Islamic world, the ancient Near East, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the United States. Join a free, docent-led, virtual tour to explore highlights of the museum’s collections that showcase the richness and diversity of Asian art.

  • Thursday, May 16th, 6pm: Angie Kim Author Talk – Happiness Falls– “We didn’t call the police right away.” Those are the electric first words of this extraordinary novel about a biracial Korean American family in Virginia whose lives are upended when their beloved father and husband goes missing. The United Theatre in Westerly hosts author Angie Kim for a discussion on her Bestselling novel.

  • Wednesday June 5, 6pm: Asian Pacific American History, Art, and Culture in 101 Objects Book Talk– Join the RIHS for a talk from Theodore Gonzalves, curator of Asian Pacific American History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, on his new book which showcases 101 objects relevent to the experience of Asian Pacific Americans, from a fortune cookie baking mold to the debut Ms. Marvel comic featuring Kamala Khan.

Educational Resources

  • Seeing Providence Chinatown– Jeffrey Yoo Warren uses archival photography and maps to build an immersive digital 3D model of historic downtown Providence Chinatown in this ongoing project

  • AAPI History Museum– The Cultural Society’s website for an in-development AAPI History Museum, a space where the community can come together and learn about AAPI history, cultures, and impacts on Rhode Island. On display at the John Brown House Museum from May13th until May 31st.

  • We Are Not a Stereotype– A video series from The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. This series explores and challenges the complexity surrounding the term Asian Pacific American, breaking it down into topics that span multiple timelines, geographies, and identities.

  • Asian Pacific American Women– A collection from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum focusing on the impact of Asian Pacific American WOmen in all aspects of American life.

  • Asian Americans Documentary Series– Asian Americans is a PBS documentary film series. The series tells the history of Asian Americans through intimate and personal narratives. The series provides a lens on U.S. history and the ongoing role that Asian Americans have played in shaping the nation’s story.

  • “Never Again is Now”: Incarceration Histories and Solidarity– In this lesson from the Brown University Choices Program, students will use primary sources to compare and contrast Japanese American incarceration in World War II and contemporary migrant detention, assess the role of xenophobia and racism in these case studies, and explore how knowledge of history can inspire activism and build solidarity across communities.

  • Cultural Society RI Reading List– The Cultural Society provides teacher resources for the state requirement to provide students with an excellent, well-rounded education that includes the history and culture of AAPI peoples.

  • Gilder Lehrman Institute AAPI Reading List– To commemorate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the Gilder Lehrman Institute highlights resources for studying AAPI history in America through curated groupings of documents and accompanying materials.

  • Smithsonian AAPI Resource List– Smithsonian museums’ share the role Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) have played in our shared history. Explore Smithsonian events happening online and in-person and find resources, podcasts, and collection items to learn more about AANHPI contributions.

  • AsianPacificHeritage.gov– The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental in its future success.

Community Organizations