Bridging Histories: Angel Island and Asian American Immigration

FAIN: ES-301373-24

Montclair State University (Montclair, NJ 07043-1600)
Minkyung Choi (Project Director: February 2024 to present)
Virginia Loh-Hagan (Co Project Director: July 2024 to present)

A two-week combined format institute for 25 K-5 educators on the history and legacies of Asian immigration to the United States in San Francisco, California.

Bridging Histories: Angel Island and Asian American Immigration, is a two-week hybrid institute for 25 K-5 teachers to visit Angel Island and develop content knowledge and critical perspectives on Asian American immigration. Immigration is often taught through the experience of European immigrants arriving through Ellis Island, who are welcomed by the inscription on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." For Asian Americans, the immigration experience has been marked by exclusion and discrimination, which continues to shape the way in which Asian Americans are still viewed as foreigners. While less known than Ellis Island, Angel Island served as an important gateway for Asian American immigration, which is complex and shaped by exclusion based on race, class, and gender. Teachers participating in the institute will visit Angel Island in San Francisco and engage in lectures and workshops remotely.