Explore the impact of Asian Americans in the United States

Explore the impact of Asian Americans, the fastest-growing racial/ethic group in the United States, on the country’s past, present and future, told through individual lives and personal histories. “Asian Americans” premieres on Monday and Tuesday, May 11 and 12, starting at 7 p.m. 

May 11:

“Breaking Ground”: See how new immigrants from China, India, Japan and the Philippines and beyond, despite anti-Asian laws, still manage to build railroads, dazzle on the silver screen and take their fight for equality to the U.S. Supreme Court. Watch online.

“A Question of Loyalty”: Meet an American-born generation that straddles the U.S. and their parents’ homelands in Asia. Loyalties are tested during World War II, when families are imprisoned in detention camps and brothers find themselves on opposite sides of battle lines. Watch online.

May 12:

“Good Americans”: Learn how Asian Americans are simultaneously heralded as a model minority and targeted as the perpetual foreigner during the Cold War. It is also a time of bold ambition, as Asian Americans aspire to national political office. Watch online.

“Generation Rising”: Follow a young generation’s fight for equality in the fields, on campuses and in culture, claiming a new identity: Asian Americans. New immigrants and war refugees expand the population and definition of Asian America. Watch online.

“Breaking Through”: Revisit the turn of the millennium, when Asian Americans are empowered by growing numbers and rising influence but face a reckoning of what it means to be an American in a increasingly polarized society. Watch online.

A graphic reading: Protect my public media

Protect My Public Media: Add your voice today

A solider playing a trumpet
airs May 25

National Memorial Day Concert 2025

Book cover for We All Live Here with author Jojo Moyes
May 28

Join us for PBS Books Readers Club!

A television with logos from Arizona PBS and Amazon Prime on the screen

Arizona PBS is now free to stream for Prime Video viewers in the U.S.

Subscribe to Arizona PBS Newsletters

STAY in touch
with azpbs.org!

Subscribe to Arizona PBS Newsletters: