Asian Texans: Our Histories and Our Lives (review)

Although geographically centered in Texas, Irwin Tang's collection speaks broadly to the Asian American experience. Asian Texans really demonstrates how Asians in the United States share a collective experience and history. Asian Americans have always been part of the story of Texas, even before the formation of the Republic. Tang's edited collection is an effort to provide a comprehensive history of Asian American contributions to the history and culture of Texas in addition to exposing the many struggles Texas Asian Americans have endured. Tang's goals for the edited collection are: to give a sense of place, perhaps make "sense" of one's world and help understand Asian American identity; to provide information for historians, filling gaps in recorded history; and to enlighten and educate those outside of academia (vii). Tang and the contributors accomplish these goals with in-depth research and detailed accounts of the Asian American Texas experience.

Tang's collection is a noteworthy contribution to Asian American scholarship and collective memory of Asian American experiences. Of the existing scholarship, West Coast, East Coast, and Hawaiian Asians get most of the attention. Very little is detailed about Asian Americans in the Midwest, Southwest, and Deep South. Tang's work is a great addition to an important subject. Each chapter is a historical survey of the different groups of Asians in the United States. To say that the collection is thorough may be an understatement. His collection is extensive, covering peoples from many countries of origin: Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Asian Indian, Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Hmong, Thai, Burmese, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Nepalese, Tibetan, Indonesian, Malaysian, Singaporean, and Pacific Islanders. Tang's work fits into a larger goal of Asian American studies and scholarship. This is a recovery project, much like an excavation of long-lost artifacts based on an imbalance or power over time. Tang and his contributors have skillfully excavated the trials and tribulations—and the important contributions—of Asians in Texas.

Some revealing highlights from Asian Texans include the chapters discussing the Asian American Underground Railroad, Japanese Texans interned in one of three Texas camps during World War II, and the Gulf Coast Vietnamese battling the Ku Klux Klan. In the final chapter, Tang skillfully ties the groups together through their similar experiences with xenophobia and discrimination. By building bridges between these different Asian Americans, Tang shows how Asian Americans can coalesce in collective social movements and dispels the myth that Asian Americans are politically apathetic or uninvolved. However, there are some weaknesses in Tang's assessments. In Chapter 17, while summarizing the book, Tang's account of Asian Americans coalescing and bridge building parrots some arguments that Asian Americans share a set of values that make them successful in the United States. Through hardship and difficulties, Tang argues that Asian Americans as a group value education as a means to achieve success. Attributing this value to Asian Americans skates dangerously close to the model minority myth that some races value education more than others. Although he intends to celebrate Asian Americans, he winds up perpetuating myths that have been extensively problematized in the decades of Asian American scholarship.

Additionally, Tang discusses race relations with other Americans of color. He compares the appointment of Asian Americans to political offices in Texas to that on the West Coast and East Coast. For example, while New York State's Asian population is twice that of Texas, Texas has seen more Asians elected to public office. Tang attributes this to political momentum built in the 1980s and 1990s and anti-Asian movements on the West Coast and East Coast that have been covered very publicly in the media by prominent leaders like Al Sharpton. Tang's analysis gives a misleading impression of greater racial acceptance in Texas and does not adequately contextualize the racial tensions between African Americans and Asian Americans. While participation in the political process has existed and there are definitely...