Immigration, Exclusion, and the American Dream

FAIN: GW-253982-17

Center for Asian American Media (San Francisco, CA 94103-2641)
Stephen Gong (Project Director: August 2016 to January 2023)

Who Is American? Immigration, Exclusion, and the American Dream is a 12-month public humanities project organized in conjunction with the May 2017 national PBS broadcast of The Chinese Exclusion Act documentary. The initiative will foster public understanding and dialogue about the history and impact of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, a landmark, little-known piece of federal legislation that reshaped American law, foreign policy, and civic life. This public engagement initiative will coordinate community conversations in 15 key cities led by humanities scholars. A community conversation kit, website, and robust social media campaign will provide additional resources for these events. Who Is American? will bring Americans from all backgrounds together to reflect on themes of immigration, citizenship, national identity, civil rights, globalization, labor, democracy, and other issues of ongoing relevance.