1 00:00:08,766 --> 00:00:10,226 CROWD: On strike, shut it down! 2 00:00:10,266 --> 00:00:11,526 MAN: There's a strike going on here! 3 00:00:11,566 --> 00:00:14,126 GORDON: It felt like the world was about to explode. 4 00:00:15,433 --> 00:00:18,003 DAN: Retuning Vietnam veterans were telling us the truth about 5 00:00:18,033 --> 00:00:19,333 what was going on. 6 00:00:19,633 --> 00:00:21,933 SCOTT: How do theseatrocities get to be committed? 7 00:00:22,300 --> 00:00:25,470 BRENDA: It felt great to be a part of this incredible 8 00:00:25,500 --> 00:00:28,230 ground-swell that was just enveloping the country. 9 00:00:29,833 --> 00:00:32,673 LAUREEN: We wanted to start a school of ethnic studies to 10 00:00:32,700 --> 00:00:36,570 tell the true histories of the people who contributed and 11 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:38,000 built this country. 12 00:00:38,366 --> 00:00:40,966 EDILLOR: Filipino's were here, and we made a difference. 13 00:00:41,433 --> 00:00:43,203 ALEX: They create the United Farm Workers and 14 00:00:43,233 --> 00:00:44,673 they became, in a sense, 15 00:00:44,700 --> 00:00:46,630 the west coast civil rights movement. 16 00:00:47,066 --> 00:00:49,666 If a lot of people put their mind to it, they can win. 17 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:53,700 MAN: It was the first time the voices of Asian people in 18 00:00:53,733 --> 00:00:55,773 our generation were coming out. 19 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,430 NOBUKO: It was like a genie coming out of the bottle, 20 00:00:58,466 --> 00:01:00,566 you couldn't put us back in. 21 00:01:01,300 --> 00:01:08,030 ♪ 22 00:01:11,366 --> 00:01:16,366 ♪ 23 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:17,830 MAN: One, two, three, 24 00:01:17,866 --> 00:01:20,066 testing, testing, one, two, three. 25 00:01:24,266 --> 00:01:27,696 NARRATOR: In the 1960s, Asian Americans are looking 26 00:01:27,733 --> 00:01:29,973 at the world through a new lens. 27 00:01:32,933 --> 00:01:34,833 Everything is in upheaval. 28 00:01:35,100 --> 00:01:37,500 And anything is possible. 29 00:01:39,233 --> 00:01:41,573 As the children of immigrants,Asians are trying to 30 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:44,200 understand their role in America's history. 31 00:01:46,233 --> 00:01:48,773 They are claiming their voice. 32 00:01:49,100 --> 00:01:51,870 In the fields, on college campuses, 33 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:55,400 and in the public square. 34 00:01:57,300 --> 00:01:59,530 No one can imagine where thesestruggles will take them. 35 00:02:09,966 --> 00:02:11,696 ♪ 36 00:02:11,733 --> 00:02:14,033 NARRATOR: California's Central Valley. 37 00:02:14,066 --> 00:02:16,126 One of the richest agricultural regions of the 38 00:02:16,166 --> 00:02:20,026 United States and home to some of its poorest workers. 39 00:02:22,833 --> 00:02:25,833 It is here where Asian Americans spark a farm labor 40 00:02:25,866 --> 00:02:29,596 movement that will galvanize the world. 41 00:02:31,766 --> 00:02:35,696 For Alex Fabros, this story begins with World War II when 42 00:02:35,733 --> 00:02:38,533 his family immigrates from the Philippines. 43 00:02:38,966 --> 00:02:40,496 Like many new arrivals, 44 00:02:40,533 --> 00:02:43,203 they rely on farm work to make ends meet. 45 00:02:44,300 --> 00:02:47,070 FABROS: The family came to California in 1948, 46 00:02:48,166 --> 00:02:49,626 so my father's in the military, 47 00:02:49,666 --> 00:02:53,966 but on the weekends my dad would work out in the fields 48 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:56,470 just to earn extra money so he could buy a house in Salinas. 49 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:03,670 Then in 1950, he buys a home in a part of Salinas where 50 00:03:03,700 --> 00:03:06,670 Asians are not allowed to own homes. 51 00:03:10,266 --> 00:03:13,696 And they tell them, we don't want you in this neighborhood. 52 00:03:15,333 --> 00:03:18,273 After we moved in, they would take stones and 53 00:03:18,300 --> 00:03:20,270 they'd break our windows. 54 00:03:20,633 --> 00:03:23,203 My mother had brand new rose bushes. 55 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:25,400 They would come in and they tie ropes around 56 00:03:25,433 --> 00:03:26,773 the rose bushes, 57 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,300 and they do wheelie's on the lawn. 58 00:03:30,466 --> 00:03:33,596 There was this kid that had this dog and he'd sic 59 00:03:33,633 --> 00:03:35,633 that dog on me. 60 00:03:35,666 --> 00:03:38,166 I'm about six years old and I'm running as fast as I can. 61 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:40,070 This dog is barking at my heels. 62 00:03:40,100 --> 00:03:42,630 It's a German Shepherd. 63 00:03:42,900 --> 00:03:46,800 So my father went around the neighborhood. 64 00:03:46,833 --> 00:03:50,703 He had a pistol and he banged the doors and said 65 00:03:50,733 --> 00:03:53,803 the fight's between you and me and not my family. 66 00:03:57,466 --> 00:04:00,766 And nobody bothered us after my father did that. 67 00:04:03,433 --> 00:04:07,333 Years later I enrolled in a local junior college, 68 00:04:07,533 --> 00:04:10,103 but I basically flunked out. 69 00:04:10,433 --> 00:04:12,633 My father said, you're going to go work on your 70 00:04:12,666 --> 00:04:15,026 grandfather's farm until you decide exactly what it is that 71 00:04:15,066 --> 00:04:17,426 you want to do. 72 00:04:17,466 --> 00:04:21,326 You've got to learn what life really is like on the outside. 73 00:04:21,566 --> 00:04:25,396 So I became a migrant farm worker in Delano, California. 74 00:04:27,533 --> 00:04:29,833 NARRATOR: Alex joins the army of farm laborers 75 00:04:29,866 --> 00:04:32,326 that crisscross California harvesting crops. 76 00:04:33,900 --> 00:04:36,230 Working long hours for low wages, 77 00:04:36,266 --> 00:04:38,696 they're not protected by labor laws and can be 78 00:04:38,733 --> 00:04:40,533 fired at any time. 79 00:04:42,333 --> 00:04:44,573 FABROS: You get up at 4:00 in the morning. 80 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:46,730 You're hoeing, you're bent over, 81 00:04:47,266 --> 00:04:48,826 it's cold, it's wet out there. 82 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,730 But these guys are working hard for $1.25 cents an hour. 83 00:04:56,533 --> 00:04:58,173 These are really old Filipino men. 84 00:04:59,700 --> 00:05:02,730 We called them Manongs. 85 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,670 Manongs is a term of respect that we give to people who are 86 00:05:06,700 --> 00:05:08,730 older than us. 87 00:05:09,233 --> 00:05:12,703 In the evenings, these old men would sit outside and 88 00:05:12,733 --> 00:05:14,803 they'd tell stories about what it was like to 89 00:05:14,833 --> 00:05:18,433 grow up in California in the 1930s. 90 00:05:18,733 --> 00:05:21,573 They'd say, "Junior, go back to school. 91 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:24,300 Become something, become someone," you know, 92 00:05:24,333 --> 00:05:25,973 "Don't end up like us." 93 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:32,630 NARRATOR: Very few Filipino women were able to 94 00:05:32,666 --> 00:05:34,666 immigrate to the US, 95 00:05:34,700 --> 00:05:37,800 and Filipino men were barred from marrying white women. 96 00:05:39,333 --> 00:05:42,503 As a result, an entire generation is forced to live 97 00:05:42,533 --> 00:05:45,673 out their lives as bachelors deprived of family. 98 00:05:47,533 --> 00:05:49,403 But there are some exceptions. 99 00:05:50,233 --> 00:05:53,103 LORRAINE: I'm half Filipino and half Mexican. 100 00:05:53,133 --> 00:05:57,133 My father met my mother working in the fields and 101 00:05:57,166 --> 00:06:00,426 he didn't speak Spanish and she didn't speak English. 102 00:06:00,466 --> 00:06:03,326 And so my father learned how to speak Spanish 103 00:06:03,366 --> 00:06:05,626 so that he could get to know her. 104 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,000 Had my father not met my mother, 105 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,000 Had my father not met my mother, 106 00:06:09,033 --> 00:06:11,603 he would have been like the Manongs. 107 00:06:13,433 --> 00:06:15,433 I was born in a labor camp. 108 00:06:15,466 --> 00:06:18,296 It's a mile and a half from Delano. 109 00:06:18,500 --> 00:06:21,330 It was a two bedroom, barrack, bunk house. 110 00:06:21,966 --> 00:06:25,066 There were seven of us and then my mom and dad. 111 00:06:25,766 --> 00:06:27,396 The bathroom was out back, 112 00:06:27,433 --> 00:06:29,803 which we shared with two other families. 113 00:06:30,566 --> 00:06:33,766 So you get to know your neighbors well. 114 00:06:36,533 --> 00:06:38,273 Working in the fields you work in the fields from 115 00:06:38,300 --> 00:06:40,300 when you're a child. 116 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,730 There were no labor laws set that prevents parents bringing 117 00:06:43,766 --> 00:06:45,466 their children to work. 118 00:06:45,700 --> 00:06:47,230 It gives them one less thing to worry about if your 119 00:06:47,266 --> 00:06:49,396 children are out there working with you. 120 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:54,000 FABROS: Lot of Filipino men wanted me to become the person 121 00:06:54,033 --> 00:06:55,633 they could not become. 122 00:06:56,533 --> 00:06:58,903 They're telling me, we'll save money for you 123 00:06:58,933 --> 00:07:00,833 to go to college. 124 00:07:01,566 --> 00:07:04,726 All these old men had that dream of having us young kids 125 00:07:04,766 --> 00:07:06,696 out of the field, not to go through what they did 126 00:07:06,733 --> 00:07:08,873 for the last 20, 30 years. 127 00:07:09,533 --> 00:07:11,633 NARRATOR: By the mid 1960s, 128 00:07:11,666 --> 00:07:14,396 working conditions have gone from bad to worse. 129 00:07:15,333 --> 00:07:17,903 The Manongs reach a tipping point, 130 00:07:17,933 --> 00:07:20,533 and are willing to put their jobs and lives on the 131 00:07:20,566 --> 00:07:22,826 line to establish a union. 132 00:07:23,966 --> 00:07:25,926 FABROS: We didn't have medical benefits. 133 00:07:25,966 --> 00:07:28,866 When one of our guys falls down and he gets hurt. 134 00:07:28,900 --> 00:07:30,700 Someone's got to cover his benefits. 135 00:07:30,733 --> 00:07:33,403 We didn't have a health plan. 136 00:07:33,433 --> 00:07:36,033 When these guys get old, we want to have a pension plan. 137 00:07:39,533 --> 00:07:42,503 EDILLOR: Larry Itliong was president of the 138 00:07:42,533 --> 00:07:46,273 Agricultural Workers OrganizingCommittee known as AWOC. 139 00:07:48,633 --> 00:07:52,433 Summer of '65 he began to talk about organizing, 140 00:07:52,966 --> 00:07:54,466 improving the working conditions and 141 00:07:54,500 --> 00:07:56,630 increasing the salaries. 142 00:07:56,666 --> 00:07:59,626 LARRY: We feel that we farm workers should have an 143 00:07:59,666 --> 00:08:01,826 organization of our own. 144 00:08:02,433 --> 00:08:04,473 FABROS: One of the thingsthat most people forget is 145 00:08:04,500 --> 00:08:08,270 that it was the Filipinos in September, 1965 146 00:08:08,300 --> 00:08:10,800 who started the grape strike, not the Mexicans. 147 00:08:11,733 --> 00:08:16,933 (overlapping chatter) 148 00:08:18,766 --> 00:08:20,896 EDILLOR: The strike happened mainly because of 149 00:08:20,933 --> 00:08:23,703 Larry Itliong's will and determination. 150 00:08:24,566 --> 00:08:26,726 He was a trained labor leader. 151 00:08:26,766 --> 00:08:29,226 He was not a polished speaker. 152 00:08:30,733 --> 00:08:33,803 LORRAINE: I was 13 years old the day that my family 153 00:08:33,833 --> 00:08:35,433 went out on strike. 154 00:08:36,566 --> 00:08:39,726 I remember we were working, when my father says, 155 00:08:40,333 --> 00:08:42,373 "Come on, we're leaving." 156 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:43,600 I said, "We're leaving? 157 00:08:43,633 --> 00:08:44,973 It's 10:00 in the morning." 158 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:46,730 So we left. 159 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:50,770 LARRY: To go on strike,you suffer a lot of hardship. 160 00:08:52,766 --> 00:08:54,196 Maybe you'll get hungry, 161 00:08:54,233 --> 00:08:55,833 maybe you're going to lose your car, 162 00:08:55,866 --> 00:08:58,096 maybe you're going to lose your house. 163 00:08:58,766 --> 00:09:00,566 LORRAINE: And Iremember leaving the field and 164 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:03,200 seeing the strikers, so the Filipinos. 165 00:09:04,233 --> 00:09:06,803 NARRATOR: But the Filipinos face a dilemma. 166 00:09:07,566 --> 00:09:10,426 As they strike for a union, the farmers bring in Mexican 167 00:09:07,566 --> 00:09:10,426 As they strike for a union, the farmers bring in Mexican 168 00:09:10,466 --> 00:09:13,396 workers to replace them. 169 00:09:13,700 --> 00:09:15,300 FABROS: It's one of the things I learned that 170 00:09:15,333 --> 00:09:16,603 the farmers like to do. 171 00:09:16,633 --> 00:09:18,903 They liked to pit the Mexicans against the Filipinos. 172 00:09:19,233 --> 00:09:21,603 You're going to be fighting for the same pot of gold. 173 00:09:24,500 --> 00:09:26,970 NARRATOR: Many Mexican laborers have already joined 174 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:29,600 the National Farm Workers Association, 175 00:09:29,866 --> 00:09:32,266 led by the charismatic Cesar Chavez. 176 00:09:33,933 --> 00:09:36,473 FABROS: I remember meeting at the Filipino community 177 00:09:36,500 --> 00:09:38,700 hall in Delano. 178 00:09:38,733 --> 00:09:41,103 All the labor contractors were there. 179 00:09:41,433 --> 00:09:43,033 A lot of the farm workers were there and 180 00:09:43,066 --> 00:09:44,196 you're trying to decide, 181 00:09:44,233 --> 00:09:47,403 "Are we end the strike or are we going to negotiate 182 00:09:47,433 --> 00:09:49,533 with the Mexicans to join us?" 183 00:09:50,166 --> 00:09:54,726 Then Larry Itliong, he gets up and says, 184 00:09:55,066 --> 00:09:57,526 "I'm going to go talk to the Mexicans." 185 00:09:57,933 --> 00:09:59,603 LORRAINE: When the strike happens, 186 00:09:59,633 --> 00:10:02,803 Cesar Chavez wasn't really quite ready. 187 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:07,830 But Cesar also knew that if theydidn't join Filipinos then, 188 00:10:07,866 --> 00:10:10,366 then it would never happen. 189 00:10:11,266 --> 00:10:13,766 NARRATOR: Larry approachesCesar Chavez and his colleague 190 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:16,530 Dolores Huerta, another powerful organizer. 191 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:19,470 DELORES: Come on out, brothers.We are waiting for you. 192 00:10:19,766 --> 00:10:21,696 NARRATOR: As one of AWOC's cofounders, 193 00:10:21,733 --> 00:10:25,173 her relationship with Larry and the Filipinos goes back years. 194 00:10:26,166 --> 00:10:29,596 FABROS: And then a couple ofdays later we're at this church. 195 00:10:29,633 --> 00:10:31,373 They're talking about the strike. 196 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:32,430 They're discussing, 197 00:10:32,466 --> 00:10:35,266 "Should we go on strike or not go on strike?" 198 00:10:35,766 --> 00:10:37,226 Now all of a sudden it says "huelga." 199 00:10:37,266 --> 00:10:38,766 I said, "What the heck's 'huelga'?" 200 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:40,930 Because I thought they were saying hell no. 201 00:10:40,966 --> 00:10:42,196 They said, "No, It means strike. 202 00:10:42,233 --> 00:10:43,873 We're going on strike." 203 00:10:43,900 --> 00:10:46,370 So the Mexicans joined us. 204 00:10:48,233 --> 00:10:50,603 LARRY: We are your brothers and sisters over here. 205 00:10:50,633 --> 00:10:52,173 Come on. Come on out! 206 00:11:00,466 --> 00:11:02,366 FABROS: They take the Mexican labor movement and the 207 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:03,700 Filipino labor movement, 208 00:11:03,733 --> 00:11:05,903 they create the United Farm Workers. 209 00:11:06,733 --> 00:11:09,803 LORRAINE: They really pushed that the workers eat together, 210 00:11:10,366 --> 00:11:11,766 they have meetings together, 211 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:13,900 that they were at picket lines together. 212 00:11:15,366 --> 00:11:17,996 It was only because they become one union, 213 00:11:18,566 --> 00:11:20,026 that they were able to win the strike. 214 00:11:22,300 --> 00:11:25,930 EDILLOR: Larry knew that his style was not good PR. 215 00:11:27,366 --> 00:11:28,696 He's aggressive. 216 00:11:28,733 --> 00:11:30,973 He wore his emotions on his sleeve. 217 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:34,700 He needed Cesar's charisma, his ability to speak. 218 00:11:36,133 --> 00:11:38,003 CHAVEZ: Was going to be built by farm workers. 219 00:11:38,033 --> 00:11:39,633 It's going to be for farm workers. 220 00:11:40,300 --> 00:11:42,530 EDILLOR: Whereas Larrywanted to get down and dirty, 221 00:11:42,566 --> 00:11:45,366 he wanted to work out in the fields. 222 00:11:46,266 --> 00:11:49,466 FABROS: Delano became more than a farm labor dispute. 223 00:11:49,500 --> 00:11:52,100 It became, in a sense, the West coast civil rights 224 00:11:52,133 --> 00:11:53,773 movement for people of color. 225 00:11:54,366 --> 00:11:57,396 All of a sudden people started equating what's happening in 226 00:11:57,433 --> 00:12:01,273 Delano to the black civil rightsmovement on the East coast. 227 00:12:05,866 --> 00:12:08,626 You started having these politicians coming out there. 228 00:12:08,866 --> 00:12:10,996 You have Robert Kennedy calling hearings as to why the 229 00:12:11,033 --> 00:12:13,903 white growers are not going to get people of color these 230 00:12:13,933 --> 00:12:15,733 benefits that they're asking for. 231 00:12:18,766 --> 00:12:21,526 Not only are you boycotting in Delano, 232 00:12:22,333 --> 00:12:25,833 now you're sending groups and college students and people 233 00:12:26,133 --> 00:12:28,873 who believe in a labor union and equal rights to do a 234 00:12:28,900 --> 00:12:30,970 secondary grape strike. 235 00:12:31,233 --> 00:12:33,273 Now they're boycotting in New York. 236 00:12:33,300 --> 00:12:35,600 They're boycotting in Montreal, in Canada. 237 00:12:35,633 --> 00:12:36,973 They're boycotting in Europe. 238 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:39,100 They're boycotting California grapes. 239 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:44,670 LARRY: The strike and boycott against grapes will continue. 240 00:12:48,133 --> 00:12:51,103 LORRAINE: It took five years to finally get the growers 241 00:12:51,133 --> 00:12:53,273 to sign a contract. 242 00:12:53,933 --> 00:12:56,373 MAN: Boycott grapes! Boycott grapes! 243 00:12:58,366 --> 00:13:00,126 LORRAINE: Growers couldn't sell their products and so 244 00:13:00,166 --> 00:13:01,996 they had to sign. 245 00:13:02,500 --> 00:13:05,330 MAN: Larry Itliong, what do you have to say about seeing 246 00:13:05,366 --> 00:13:07,296 grapes at the stores after all this time? 247 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:12,500 LARRY: Well I think that's it's great and thanks to the 248 00:13:12,533 --> 00:13:16,033 co-op store that have been supporting the grape boycott 249 00:13:16,066 --> 00:13:19,126 to help bring about justice, and dignity, 250 00:13:19,566 --> 00:13:21,566 and help the farm workers. 251 00:13:22,900 --> 00:13:26,100 FABROS: Working in the fields, that's where I realized that 252 00:13:26,133 --> 00:13:28,233 if a lot of people put their mind to it, 253 00:13:28,266 --> 00:13:30,396 they can win. 254 00:13:30,933 --> 00:13:34,403 I left field working behind me completely, 255 00:13:34,633 --> 00:13:37,973 but I never left the memories of these guys. 256 00:13:44,300 --> 00:13:46,430 My decision to leave was made for me, 257 00:13:46,466 --> 00:13:48,526 not because I wanted to leave, 258 00:13:48,566 --> 00:13:51,396 but because I had received my draft notice. 259 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:01,600 NARRATOR: Alex Fabros ships out for Vietnam, 260 00:14:01,633 --> 00:14:03,903 one of thousands of Asian Americans who will serve in 261 00:14:03,933 --> 00:14:06,673 the most polarizing and disruptive global event 262 00:14:06,700 --> 00:14:08,700 of the 1960s. 263 00:14:09,266 --> 00:14:12,196 REPORTER: In South Vietnam, the seemingly endless war 264 00:14:12,233 --> 00:14:14,673 against the communists is once again in the forefront 265 00:14:14,700 --> 00:14:16,100 of world attention. 266 00:14:16,133 --> 00:14:18,173 REPORTER 2: As of today, there are 507,000 267 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:20,500 American troops in Vietnam. 268 00:14:21,333 --> 00:14:23,673 FABROS: I had a lot of nightmares about Vietnam, 269 00:14:23,700 --> 00:14:26,170 that I don't want to talk about. 270 00:14:28,100 --> 00:14:30,170 NARRATOR: This is the fourth war the United States 271 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:32,600 has fought in Asia in only 60 years. 272 00:14:34,100 --> 00:14:37,300 As in Korea, the country's perceived enemy is communism. 273 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:43,630 Many Asian Americans are forced to confront their 274 00:14:43,666 --> 00:14:46,126 racial identity in a whole new light. 275 00:14:48,133 --> 00:14:50,533 SCOTT: I was pretty wild in high school. 276 00:14:50,766 --> 00:14:53,096 I used to get in a lot of trouble. 277 00:14:53,133 --> 00:14:56,473 I decided, you know, I need to get out of LA. 278 00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:59,370 So I joined the Marine Corps. 279 00:14:59,833 --> 00:15:03,373 The idea of Vietnam didn't even cross my mind. 280 00:15:04,266 --> 00:15:05,966 I was 18. 281 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:08,830 At that age, I didn't think past a week in front of me. 282 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:08,830 At that age, I didn't think past a week in front of me. 283 00:15:09,700 --> 00:15:11,830 MARINE: Right face! 284 00:15:12,866 --> 00:15:14,296 SCOTT: Soon as I got to boot camp, 285 00:15:14,333 --> 00:15:16,373 the drill instructors told us, 286 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:18,670 you know all you guys in this platoon are probably 287 00:15:18,700 --> 00:15:21,300 going to end up in Vietnam and half you aren't 288 00:15:21,333 --> 00:15:23,503 going to make it back. 289 00:15:25,733 --> 00:15:28,373 MIKE: When I decided to enlist, 290 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:32,030 it was not, uh, deeply thought out. 291 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:38,470 When I went to boot camp, we had to line up on these 292 00:15:38,500 --> 00:15:41,570 yellow footprints in single file and 293 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:43,870 they instructed us to go tallest to shortest. 294 00:15:45,866 --> 00:15:48,296 Four drill instructors pulled out the two biggest 295 00:15:48,333 --> 00:15:50,473 guys in the front and they beat them. 296 00:15:51,166 --> 00:15:53,996 Beat them down, kicked them, they were bleeding. 297 00:15:54,966 --> 00:15:57,096 I was thinking, "What the f... 298 00:15:57,400 --> 00:15:58,830 "What have I done?" 299 00:15:58,866 --> 00:16:01,466 I mean, this is, like, a big mistake. 300 00:16:03,700 --> 00:16:07,230 During one of these classes, my drill instructor says, 301 00:16:07,266 --> 00:16:09,396 "Private Nakayama stand up." 302 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,000 Stood up at attention and he goes, "Turn around." 303 00:16:14,566 --> 00:16:16,296 So I turned around and he goes, 304 00:16:16,333 --> 00:16:17,433 "All right everybody. 305 00:16:17,466 --> 00:16:20,196 This is what a gook looks like.You remember this, 306 00:16:20,233 --> 00:16:22,573 because they're going to come after you." 307 00:16:26,033 --> 00:16:29,433 SCOTT: I arrived in Vietnam in October of 1967. 308 00:16:30,066 --> 00:16:33,696 I was stationed at Khe Sanh and Hill 881 309 00:16:33,966 --> 00:16:36,426 Tet offensive of 1968. 310 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:40,070 It was the biggest battle of the war. 311 00:16:40,266 --> 00:16:42,396 REPORTER: The pressure atKhe Sanh has lasted a week now. 312 00:16:42,433 --> 00:16:44,373 A bad week for the marines here. 313 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:46,400 A week in which they've suffered under the guns of the 314 00:16:46,433 --> 00:16:48,903 North Vietnamese in these surroundings hills. 315 00:16:50,366 --> 00:16:53,466 SCOTT: The hill I was on, 881, we had 100% casualty rate. 316 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:57,900 That means out of the 400 Marines initially stationed on 317 00:16:57,933 --> 00:17:00,933 the hill, 400 Marines were either killed or wounded in 318 00:17:00,966 --> 00:17:02,666 the three months I was there. 319 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:05,270 (gunfire) 320 00:17:05,566 --> 00:17:08,296 Not a fun place to be. 321 00:17:09,933 --> 00:17:15,533 MIKE: We would go out for 30 to 60 days into the jungle. 322 00:17:16,700 --> 00:17:19,800 We're trying to draw out the North Vietnamese army 323 00:17:20,766 --> 00:17:22,566 into battles. 324 00:17:26,100 --> 00:17:31,200 I was 11 months there and we had set up a perimeter 325 00:17:32,366 --> 00:17:34,126 next to a hill. 326 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:37,070 Boom. We got hit with rockets. 327 00:17:38,166 --> 00:17:41,126 I got hit from a grenade explosion in my shoulder. 328 00:17:43,333 --> 00:17:46,073 And I'm thinking, "I'm going to die here." 329 00:17:47,633 --> 00:17:50,633 I got taken off the helicopter on the stretcher. 330 00:17:51,366 --> 00:17:53,226 The treatment tables are in the back. 331 00:17:53,266 --> 00:17:55,496 There's doctors and they're treating people. 332 00:17:55,533 --> 00:17:57,433 They treated him, they treated him. 333 00:17:57,466 --> 00:18:00,826 They left me and I was the last one. 334 00:18:01,766 --> 00:18:03,866 I said, "Hey man. When you guys are going 335 00:18:03,900 --> 00:18:04,870 to treat me?" 336 00:18:04,900 --> 00:18:06,970 And he says, "Oh you should have told us 337 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:08,130 you were American. 338 00:18:08,166 --> 00:18:10,096 We thought you was a gook." 339 00:18:08,166 --> 00:18:10,096 We thought you was a gook." 340 00:18:12,866 --> 00:18:16,296 NARRATOR: Asian American women also serve in Vietnam. 341 00:18:17,166 --> 00:18:20,396 Lily Adams is Chinese Italian from the Bronx. 342 00:18:20,766 --> 00:18:23,666 When she tells her father she's enlisted in the Army, 343 00:18:23,700 --> 00:18:26,500 it's the first time she sees him cry. 344 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:28,800 LILY: I was in nursing school. 345 00:18:28,833 --> 00:18:32,703 An army nurse recruiter came to visit our school once. 346 00:18:32,733 --> 00:18:36,933 And she made it sound prettygood because it would pay for my 347 00:18:36,966 --> 00:18:38,396 last year of nursing school. 348 00:18:38,433 --> 00:18:40,803 I would have some money in my pocket. 349 00:18:41,300 --> 00:18:43,730 I got orders for Vietnam. 350 00:18:44,066 --> 00:18:46,466 I was 20. 351 00:18:46,500 --> 00:18:50,170 It was the town of Cu-Chi and we had built a 352 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:52,500 giant military base. 353 00:18:53,233 --> 00:18:56,303 We were told it was the busiest hospital in Vietnam. 354 00:18:56,900 --> 00:18:58,770 My first day, it's this guy that said, 355 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:01,130 "Well, I'm Doctor so-and-so. 356 00:19:01,166 --> 00:19:03,866 And we could, like, kind of, pair up, 357 00:19:03,900 --> 00:19:06,570 spend some 12 months together." 358 00:19:07,366 --> 00:19:09,496 And uh.... 359 00:19:09,933 --> 00:19:14,203 I, I, I basically worked to contain my anger. 360 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:17,030 And I said, "Thank you very much. 361 00:19:17,066 --> 00:19:19,696 That's very nice of you, but I'm not interested." 362 00:19:19,966 --> 00:19:22,566 That was my first day. 363 00:19:24,433 --> 00:19:27,733 I was mistaken for a Vietnamese prostitute. 364 00:19:27,766 --> 00:19:29,396 If I wanted to walk around the compound, 365 00:19:29,433 --> 00:19:30,903 I had to be in uniform. 366 00:19:30,933 --> 00:19:33,773 Even when I was in uniform, sometimes these guys would ask 367 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:37,370 me if I wanted to do whatever for so much money. 368 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:43,230 ♪ 369 00:19:44,300 --> 00:19:47,330 I was afraid of American GI's because they 370 00:19:47,366 --> 00:19:50,166 really believed that we were there for them. 371 00:19:51,666 --> 00:19:53,826 I had to be vigilant, very vigilant, 372 00:19:55,466 --> 00:19:58,126 on base, off base or whatever. 373 00:20:03,633 --> 00:20:06,903 SCOTT: When I was there, theVietnamese people would come up 374 00:20:06,933 --> 00:20:09,173 and try to trade for stuff, you know. 375 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:11,500 Some of the Vietnamese people looked at me and said, 376 00:20:11,533 --> 00:20:13,703 "Hey, you, same, same Vietnam," 377 00:20:13,933 --> 00:20:16,533 and for a minute I thought, "What are they talking about?" 378 00:20:16,566 --> 00:20:17,866 Then I got it, you know, 379 00:20:17,900 --> 00:20:20,400 "Hey, you look like me, and you're just like us." 380 00:20:22,233 --> 00:20:23,703 We called them Gooks. 381 00:20:23,733 --> 00:20:25,373 That's what I thought they were, 382 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,100 and then when he said that to me, then I thought, 383 00:20:28,133 --> 00:20:31,603 "Well wait a minute, I must be a Gook also." 384 00:20:36,966 --> 00:20:39,926 FABROS: I'm 22 years old. I'm a Sergeant. 385 00:20:41,133 --> 00:20:43,603 I was assigned to a unit in Vietnam 386 00:20:43,633 --> 00:20:45,773 that required translators. 387 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:49,130 ♪ 388 00:20:50,066 --> 00:20:51,896 One day Sergeant C calls me up and says, 389 00:20:51,933 --> 00:20:54,903 "Al, they think they've got a VC, 390 00:20:54,933 --> 00:20:57,673 that they just captured in the village." 391 00:20:59,033 --> 00:21:01,973 Well, we went out there and the Vietnamese security people 392 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,300 had already worked him over a little bit, 393 00:21:07,366 --> 00:21:08,966 and I squatted down next to him, 394 00:21:07,366 --> 00:21:08,966 and I squatted down next to him, 395 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,200 so we were eye to eye, and I asked him in Vietnamese, 396 00:21:13,066 --> 00:21:15,396 "Why are you fighting us?" 397 00:21:15,766 --> 00:21:18,326 He looks right at me, right in my eyes. 398 00:21:18,633 --> 00:21:22,633 "Why are you here? This is my country. 399 00:21:23,966 --> 00:21:26,866 Why are you here?" 400 00:21:29,466 --> 00:21:33,396 I think right at that moment I realized that, 401 00:21:36,766 --> 00:21:39,896 "Okay, Alex, why are you here?" 402 00:21:43,266 --> 00:21:46,566 GORDON: 1968 is a transformativeyear in American history, 403 00:21:47,233 --> 00:21:49,433 specifically for Asian Americans. 404 00:21:49,700 --> 00:21:53,270 Many of us were deeply affected by gruesome images of 405 00:21:53,300 --> 00:21:55,100 death and destruction. 406 00:21:56,900 --> 00:22:00,270 At the same time, there was upheaval in America, 407 00:22:00,533 --> 00:22:03,503 cities were exploding and Dr. Martin Luther King 408 00:22:03,533 --> 00:22:05,433 would be assassinated. 409 00:22:05,766 --> 00:22:08,126 There were other killings, political murders. 410 00:22:08,366 --> 00:22:11,196 It felt like the world was about to explode. 411 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:18,830 DAN: The younger generations started taking positions, 412 00:22:18,866 --> 00:22:21,196 very strong on what was happening in Vietnam, 413 00:22:21,533 --> 00:22:24,003 and it was because we had so many returning Vietnam 414 00:22:24,033 --> 00:22:26,133 veterans who were telling us the truth about 415 00:22:26,166 --> 00:22:27,496 what was going on. 416 00:22:27,533 --> 00:22:28,873 REPORTER: The war in Vietnam, 417 00:22:28,900 --> 00:22:30,930 the problems of race and the cities, 418 00:22:30,966 --> 00:22:33,966 these are issues facing the citizens of the United States, 419 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,570 and they are issues vividly facing the students 420 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:38,630 on an urban campus. 421 00:22:41,333 --> 00:22:43,203 NARRATOR: As the school year begins, 422 00:22:43,233 --> 00:22:45,303 students are trying to make sense of a world 423 00:22:45,333 --> 00:22:47,303 turned upside down. 424 00:22:47,500 --> 00:22:50,070 At San Francisco State, a college with a mostly white 425 00:22:50,100 --> 00:22:53,500 student body, young people of color question whether their 426 00:22:53,533 --> 00:22:55,633 own education is failing them. 427 00:22:56,766 --> 00:23:00,026 They demand more minority faculty and a curriculum that 428 00:23:00,066 --> 00:23:03,696 reflects their lives andconcerns and they want it now. 429 00:23:04,566 --> 00:23:06,426 Students like Dan Gonzales, 430 00:23:06,466 --> 00:23:09,096 Penny Nakatsu and Laureen Chew, 431 00:23:09,300 --> 00:23:12,170 all of them, 18 or 19 years old. 432 00:23:14,833 --> 00:23:17,873 LAUREEN: I grew up in San Francisco's Chinatown. 433 00:23:18,966 --> 00:23:22,026 Growing up in Chinatown was a very nurturing experience. 434 00:23:22,633 --> 00:23:25,003 You had a community that you interacted with 435 00:23:25,033 --> 00:23:27,133 on a daily basis. 436 00:23:27,533 --> 00:23:30,573 I was accepted into San Francisco State in 1966, 437 00:23:31,300 --> 00:23:34,070 and that's only because my mom refused to have me 438 00:23:34,100 --> 00:23:35,900 go away for college. 439 00:23:37,266 --> 00:23:41,726 She thought the worst, like I would be some wayward woman 440 00:23:42,066 --> 00:23:44,466 having free sex everywhere or something like that. 441 00:23:47,266 --> 00:23:49,526 NARRATOR: Galvanized by the civil rights movement 442 00:23:49,566 --> 00:23:51,926 and the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 443 00:23:51,966 --> 00:23:54,926 student activists organize to have more classes 444 00:23:54,966 --> 00:23:56,696 in black history and culture. 445 00:23:56,733 --> 00:23:58,703 HARE: We're trying to start a black studies, 446 00:23:58,733 --> 00:24:03,203 a program at state college, and I think that it has the 447 00:24:03,233 --> 00:24:05,173 greatest and last hope to solve the educational problems 448 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:07,130 of the black race. 449 00:24:07,633 --> 00:24:09,833 DAN: The demand for black studies was influencing 450 00:24:07,633 --> 00:24:09,833 DAN: The demand for black studies was influencing 451 00:24:09,866 --> 00:24:11,866 Asian Americans. 452 00:24:11,900 --> 00:24:14,430 We started reflecting on our, our own experiences. 453 00:24:14,466 --> 00:24:16,866 And saying, "Yeah, you know, we need to have something like 454 00:24:16,900 --> 00:24:18,300 that for ourselves." 455 00:24:18,333 --> 00:24:21,033 MAN: For your information: Philippines refers to the 456 00:24:21,066 --> 00:24:24,466 country, and Filipino refers to the people. 457 00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:27,300 This is exactly what we want. 458 00:24:27,333 --> 00:24:30,403 To study our Filipino culture and history. 459 00:24:32,533 --> 00:24:35,733 LAUREEN: I was trying to figure out who I was, 460 00:24:37,066 --> 00:24:39,626 and then I met this other Chinese girl who grew up in 461 00:24:39,666 --> 00:24:42,866 South City and she was much more adventurous, 462 00:24:43,700 --> 00:24:47,570 and she was the one that asked me to go to this meeting. 463 00:24:49,100 --> 00:24:51,470 NARRATOR: Laureen joins the impromptu gatherings that are 464 00:24:51,500 --> 00:24:53,470 springing up all over campus. 465 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:56,800 Black and Brown students call for solidarity 466 00:24:56,833 --> 00:24:59,203 with the people of colonized Latin America, 467 00:24:59,233 --> 00:25:03,033 Asia, and Africa,what they call the Third World. 468 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:06,430 MAN: This is the first time in the history of all 469 00:25:06,466 --> 00:25:09,626 existing colleges in the United States that we have 470 00:25:09,666 --> 00:25:11,866 dissolved class barriers between people of 471 00:25:11,900 --> 00:25:13,270 the Third World. 472 00:25:13,300 --> 00:25:16,670 LAUREEN: It was areal "A-ha" for me, saying like, 473 00:25:16,700 --> 00:25:19,970 "Wow, you know, they're not Chinese, 474 00:25:20,233 --> 00:25:22,373 but we have similar experiences, 475 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:26,100 in terms of thedominant culture not validating 476 00:25:26,133 --> 00:25:28,203 who we are." 477 00:25:30,300 --> 00:25:33,100 DAN: African Americans had been here for a long time. 478 00:25:33,133 --> 00:25:36,473 Their civil rights movement was complemented by our 479 00:25:36,500 --> 00:25:38,930 perspective, for example, on internment, 480 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:40,900 and the concentration camp experience of 481 00:25:40,933 --> 00:25:42,473 Japanese Americans. 482 00:25:42,500 --> 00:25:46,270 On the exclusion,almost a century long exclusion. 483 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:52,800 NARRATOR: In 1968 Alex Fabros is serving in the Marines, 484 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:54,770 but he has friends in college who are 485 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:56,870 confronting these issues. 486 00:25:56,900 --> 00:26:00,030 FABROS: Our story was not taught in the classrooms. 487 00:26:00,066 --> 00:26:01,526 The Chinese built the railroads. 488 00:26:01,566 --> 00:26:04,726 Okay. That's it? 489 00:26:05,066 --> 00:26:07,566 They didn't talk about the hardship. 490 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:10,400 They didn't talk about the exploitation. 491 00:26:10,866 --> 00:26:14,126 They didn't talk about theFilipinos working in the fields. 492 00:26:14,166 --> 00:26:17,196 They didn't talk about the farm labor strikes. 493 00:26:17,233 --> 00:26:19,173 Total omission. 494 00:26:20,133 --> 00:26:22,233 LAUREEN: That is what the 495 00:26:22,266 --> 00:26:24,696 Third World Liberation Front was about. 496 00:26:24,900 --> 00:26:29,430 To tell the true histories of the people who contributed and 497 00:26:29,466 --> 00:26:31,026 built this country. 498 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:36,270 PENNY: History? 499 00:26:36,300 --> 00:26:38,600 I never learned anything about the 500 00:26:38,633 --> 00:26:40,233 history of Asian Americans, 501 00:26:40,266 --> 00:26:43,026 or Japanese Americans, or camps. 502 00:26:43,966 --> 00:26:46,726 That eventually led me to involve myself 503 00:26:46,766 --> 00:26:48,966 in political activism. 504 00:26:50,100 --> 00:26:53,230 What we wanted to see was an educational institution that 505 00:26:53,266 --> 00:26:56,426 served the communities, served the people. 506 00:26:56,933 --> 00:26:58,333 NARRATOR: Under the umbrella of the 507 00:26:58,366 --> 00:27:00,166 Third World Liberation Front, 508 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:02,870 Asian, Latino, and Native American students, 509 00:27:02,900 --> 00:27:04,570 as well as progressive whites, 510 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:06,670 join forces with the Black Student Union. 511 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:09,600 DAN: One of the major objectives was to start a 512 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:09,600 DAN: One of the major objectives was to start a 513 00:27:09,633 --> 00:27:11,433 School of Ethnic Studies. 514 00:27:11,466 --> 00:27:14,726 We called it Third WorldStudies that would have the same 515 00:27:14,766 --> 00:27:17,866 status as other established schools on the campus. 516 00:27:19,566 --> 00:27:22,026 NARRATOR: At first, theadministration seems open to a 517 00:27:22,066 --> 00:27:26,296 School of Ethnic Studies, but students grow frustrated with 518 00:27:26,333 --> 00:27:28,433 what they see as empty promises. 519 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:32,200 After months of inaction by the university, 520 00:27:32,233 --> 00:27:33,973 the students call for a general strike on 521 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,230 November 6th, 1968. 522 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:38,700 CROWD: On strike, shut it down. 523 00:27:38,733 --> 00:27:40,633 On strike, shut it down. 524 00:27:40,666 --> 00:27:42,666 On strike, shut it down. 525 00:27:42,966 --> 00:27:45,126 PENNY: The BSU-TWLF demands, 526 00:27:45,166 --> 00:27:48,266 asks that a School of Third World Studies be 527 00:27:48,300 --> 00:27:51,570 formed that was based on a concept of self-determination. 528 00:27:54,233 --> 00:27:57,873 We asked for students and faculty members to boycott, 529 00:27:57,900 --> 00:28:00,470 stop classes, stop business as usual. 530 00:28:05,166 --> 00:28:08,066 LAUREEN: Our main thing on campus was to be disruptive, 531 00:28:08,700 --> 00:28:13,000 to force the administration to be responsive to the demands. 532 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:16,330 NARRATOR: Laureen and others used a variety of 533 00:28:16,366 --> 00:28:18,696 tactics to make their point. 534 00:28:18,733 --> 00:28:21,333 They interrupt classes, form picket lines, 535 00:28:21,700 --> 00:28:24,470 and broadcast their demands by loud speaker. 536 00:28:24,700 --> 00:28:27,130 Their goal, to shut the school down. 537 00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:29,870 LAUREEN: I was with one group where people picked up the 538 00:28:29,900 --> 00:28:31,930 typewriter and threw it across the room, 539 00:28:31,966 --> 00:28:34,696 and students got all freaked out and started running out of 540 00:28:34,733 --> 00:28:37,003 the classroom, you know, because we were that 541 00:28:37,033 --> 00:28:41,073 passionate to start a School of Ethnic Studies. 542 00:28:41,666 --> 00:28:43,726 ♪ No more pigs on our campus ♪ 543 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:46,070 ♪ The revolution has come ♪♪ 544 00:28:47,533 --> 00:28:50,573 NARRATOR: But behind the scenesstudents like Dan Gonzales 545 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:52,700 are doing the hard work of building a brand new 546 00:28:52,733 --> 00:28:54,573 curriculum from scratch. 547 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:56,500 DAN: That was my major task, 548 00:28:56,533 --> 00:28:59,173 understanding how to put the courses together. 549 00:29:01,333 --> 00:29:03,133 The Filipino Americans, Chinese Americans, 550 00:29:03,166 --> 00:29:05,696 Japanese Americans draftedtheir own curriculum proposals, 551 00:29:06,700 --> 00:29:09,130 and then we all met together as Asian Americans 552 00:29:09,166 --> 00:29:12,566 and talked about how we were going to start these courses. 553 00:29:15,066 --> 00:29:18,126 PENNY: In those days the term Asian American didn't exist. 554 00:29:18,166 --> 00:29:20,626 We were all Orientals. 555 00:29:21,466 --> 00:29:24,166 1968, that was the first time that I heard the 556 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:26,870 term Asian Americans. 557 00:29:28,266 --> 00:29:30,166 MAN: There's a strike going on here, 558 00:29:30,466 --> 00:29:32,666 and that means that either you're on our side, 559 00:29:32,700 --> 00:29:34,270 or you against us. 560 00:29:34,833 --> 00:29:37,603 NARRATOR: No one anticipates the magnitude of the strike. 561 00:29:38,100 --> 00:29:40,500 From the start, the police come in force to 562 00:29:40,533 --> 00:29:42,673 shut down the protestors. 563 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:44,670 REAGAN: A little dissident group, 564 00:29:44,700 --> 00:29:46,870 with their 15 non-negotiable demands, 565 00:29:46,900 --> 00:29:48,870 you talk about negotiating. 566 00:29:49,466 --> 00:29:51,796 I would call to your attention that the Black Student Union 567 00:29:51,833 --> 00:29:54,733 has declared that their demands are non-negotiable. 568 00:30:00,433 --> 00:30:02,903 NARRATOR: Soon afterward, the state of California 569 00:30:02,933 --> 00:30:06,073 appoints a new president, S.I. Hayakawa, 570 00:30:06,100 --> 00:30:08,000 an English professor at the college. 571 00:30:08,666 --> 00:30:12,296 DAN: It was really clear to usthat he was being used because 572 00:30:08,666 --> 00:30:12,296 DAN: It was really clear to usthat he was being used because 573 00:30:12,333 --> 00:30:15,833 he was a person of color, and if he could exercise his 574 00:30:15,866 --> 00:30:18,966 authority and power in a manner that was consistent 575 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:22,570 with the Ronald Reagan way of dealing with campus upheaval, 576 00:30:23,566 --> 00:30:25,466 he was going to be very useful. 577 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:26,930 REPORTER: The new president, 578 00:30:26,966 --> 00:30:28,766 renowned as an expert in the meaning of language, 579 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:31,030 decided early in the day to face his critics. 580 00:30:32,900 --> 00:30:34,770 The communication failure was obvious. 581 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:37,170 Hayakawa took that matter, and the sound truck wiring, 582 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:38,870 into his own hands. 583 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:44,230 MAN: Some of the militants have called you and Uncle Tom. 584 00:30:44,266 --> 00:30:46,026 They say they thought that you would identify with the 585 00:30:46,066 --> 00:30:48,096 minority groups, such as the Blacks. 586 00:30:48,133 --> 00:30:49,933 What is your answer to them? 587 00:30:50,300 --> 00:30:53,130 HAYAKAWA: Well, I'm the first Japanese Uncle Tom in history. 588 00:30:53,533 --> 00:30:55,533 I think it's kind of an achievement. 589 00:30:55,833 --> 00:30:59,233 LAUREEN: He forbade any rallies on campus, 590 00:30:59,866 --> 00:31:02,666 that he threatened, "You can have a rally, 591 00:31:02,700 --> 00:31:04,600 I'm going to arrest all of you." 592 00:31:04,633 --> 00:31:07,203 And that was kind of like, a turning point. 593 00:31:08,033 --> 00:31:10,373 PENNY: The rally was going to be called at 12 noon. 594 00:31:11,166 --> 00:31:13,296 LAUREEN: I heard all these people outside 595 00:31:13,333 --> 00:31:15,333 already saying the, "On strike, shut it down." 596 00:31:15,366 --> 00:31:16,826 CROWD: On strike, shut it down. 597 00:31:16,866 --> 00:31:18,666 On strike, shut it down. 598 00:31:18,900 --> 00:31:20,300 On strike... 599 00:31:21,900 --> 00:31:24,370 PENNY: It all happened really quickly. 600 00:31:24,566 --> 00:31:27,226 I saw the police come running up with their batons in hand. 601 00:31:27,566 --> 00:31:29,296 MAN: Go to your classes. 602 00:31:29,333 --> 00:31:31,433 Disperse from the center of the campus. 603 00:31:31,666 --> 00:31:34,926 LAUREEN: Suddenly, there was like a military movement. 604 00:31:36,033 --> 00:31:39,873 The TAC squad on horses, they came out from the gym and 605 00:31:40,233 --> 00:31:42,573 just like surrounded all of us. 606 00:31:45,033 --> 00:31:47,573 (crowd chatter). 607 00:31:59,666 --> 00:32:03,966 (crowd chatter). 608 00:32:07,300 --> 00:32:10,400 But then it just got all quiet, 609 00:32:11,066 --> 00:32:13,396 and then at that point no one could get out. 610 00:32:13,433 --> 00:32:15,003 The TAC squad just surrounded us. 611 00:32:15,033 --> 00:32:17,173 We could not leave. 612 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:20,100 If you were in that circle, you are going to be arrested. 613 00:32:21,466 --> 00:32:23,426 Al: There was over a thousand police, 614 00:32:23,466 --> 00:32:25,796 dogs, horses, Paddy wagon. 615 00:32:25,833 --> 00:32:28,333 We will fight the oppressor on our terms, not theirs. 616 00:32:28,566 --> 00:32:30,926 MAN: This morning, they're going to arraign 10 at a time. 617 00:32:30,966 --> 00:32:33,126 All of those who were arrested out at 618 00:32:33,166 --> 00:32:34,696 San Francisco State College. 619 00:32:34,733 --> 00:32:37,103 LAUREEN: I was not going to cop a plea. 620 00:32:38,233 --> 00:32:41,003 I mean, my mother had a hissy fit. 621 00:32:41,033 --> 00:32:43,933 "What are you doing, you know, getting arrested? 622 00:32:44,666 --> 00:32:47,596 I have one child, whom I thought I raised and 623 00:32:47,633 --> 00:32:50,303 spent money to go to a high end Catholic school. 624 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:53,430 You should be like a saint." 625 00:32:53,700 --> 00:32:55,670 NARRATOR: Laureen and a few other demonstrators 626 00:32:55,700 --> 00:32:58,000 argue their case in court. 627 00:32:58,033 --> 00:33:01,273 But a jury sentences her to 20 days in prison. 628 00:33:01,833 --> 00:33:04,203 LAUREEN: When I finally had to go to jail, 629 00:33:04,233 --> 00:33:06,703 she was devastated. 630 00:33:06,933 --> 00:33:10,033 She came and visited me in jail. 631 00:33:06,933 --> 00:33:10,033 She came and visited me in jail. 632 00:33:10,066 --> 00:33:12,566 I was so scared of being there. 633 00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:15,130 You know when I saw her, I just started to cry, 634 00:33:15,166 --> 00:33:16,996 and then she did also. 635 00:33:17,300 --> 00:33:20,900 You know, basically knowing that I shouldn't be there. 636 00:33:21,666 --> 00:33:23,696 After I finished my 20 days, 637 00:33:23,733 --> 00:33:26,633 for the first time I heard her say something 638 00:33:26,666 --> 00:33:28,566 to defend me. 639 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:32,430 She said, "My daughter was not very smart, 640 00:33:32,466 --> 00:33:34,126 but I'll say this. 641 00:33:34,166 --> 00:33:38,626 She did not hurt anybody, and what she wanted to do 642 00:33:38,666 --> 00:33:41,426 was to make a better world for people." 643 00:33:42,700 --> 00:33:44,500 NARRATOR: The San Francisco State Strike is the 644 00:33:44,533 --> 00:33:47,433 longest student strike in US history. 645 00:33:48,033 --> 00:33:51,103 After five months, the administration finally agrees 646 00:33:51,133 --> 00:33:53,373 to establish a School of Ethnic Studies. 647 00:34:01,633 --> 00:34:04,503 The legacy of the strike defines a generation eager to 648 00:34:04,533 --> 00:34:08,033 change society, and assert a new identity 649 00:34:08,066 --> 00:34:09,896 as Asian Americans. 650 00:34:10,666 --> 00:34:13,296 FABROS: It's just like the, the Filipinos and the Mexicans 651 00:34:13,333 --> 00:34:15,333 getting together to form a labor union. 652 00:34:15,366 --> 00:34:17,296 Asian-American encompasses everybody. 653 00:34:17,333 --> 00:34:19,703 I thought wow that's something. 654 00:34:20,333 --> 00:34:23,703 People are finally starting to realize that we wear 655 00:34:23,733 --> 00:34:25,703 our race on our face. 656 00:34:27,066 --> 00:34:29,426 NARRATOR: The Asian American movement bursts forth 657 00:34:29,466 --> 00:34:31,766 across the country. 658 00:34:31,966 --> 00:34:33,826 In New Jersey, Gordon Chang is one of 659 00:34:33,866 --> 00:34:37,026 only five Asian students in his class at Princeton. 660 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:39,800 GORDON: It was the summer of 1969, 661 00:34:39,833 --> 00:34:43,403 when I came back to the Bay area and met a lot 662 00:34:43,433 --> 00:34:46,533 of the activists who had been at San Francisco State or 663 00:34:46,566 --> 00:34:48,596 at UC Berkeley. 664 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:52,900 It was a stunning moment for those of us, 665 00:34:52,933 --> 00:34:55,073 that we look at each other and all of a sudden 666 00:34:55,100 --> 00:34:58,370 found that we had so much in common. 667 00:34:58,700 --> 00:35:00,870 If we were to transform in society, 668 00:35:00,900 --> 00:35:03,500 we had to move beyond the ivory tower gates, 669 00:35:04,300 --> 00:35:07,070 and to go into where the everyday people lived. 670 00:35:08,666 --> 00:35:12,126 BRENDA: When we moved to New York we were told, 671 00:35:12,166 --> 00:35:14,026 "There's a budding Asian American movement. 672 00:35:14,066 --> 00:35:16,566 You've got to really get involved in that." 673 00:35:16,866 --> 00:35:19,166 JAN: You have to remember that there was not an 674 00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:21,570 Asian American sense before and it was just 675 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:23,930 starting to gel. 676 00:35:23,966 --> 00:35:27,866 The first thing we got involved with were these demonstrations. 677 00:35:29,166 --> 00:35:30,726 GORDON: I remember my mother, 678 00:35:30,766 --> 00:35:33,026 I told her about going in anti-war demonstrations, 679 00:35:33,066 --> 00:35:35,996 and sharing with her my hope for a radical new world, 680 00:35:36,033 --> 00:35:37,403 and she was very upset. 681 00:35:37,433 --> 00:35:39,333 She was almost crying, and she said, 682 00:35:39,366 --> 00:35:40,826 "This is their country. 683 00:35:40,866 --> 00:35:42,926 They're just going to shoot you down." 684 00:35:44,566 --> 00:35:46,926 And I said, "Well this is my country. 685 00:35:46,966 --> 00:35:49,626 This is where I live andthis is what I feel I must do." 686 00:35:52,833 --> 00:35:56,433 BRENDA: It felt great to be a part of this groundswell 687 00:35:56,466 --> 00:35:59,226 of a movement that was just enveloping the country. 688 00:36:00,266 --> 00:36:01,996 We were involved with Black, Asian, 689 00:36:02,033 --> 00:36:04,273 White, Latinos, and that was incredible. 690 00:36:06,666 --> 00:36:09,066 And then there's this duo, Chris and Joanne, 691 00:36:06,666 --> 00:36:09,066 And then there's this duo, Chris and Joanne, 692 00:36:09,700 --> 00:36:11,870 and they're singers, folk singers. 693 00:36:12,100 --> 00:36:14,430 They sing about the Asian American experience. 694 00:36:16,166 --> 00:36:18,066 LENNON: These are two young people that, 695 00:36:18,100 --> 00:36:20,300 they call themselves "Yellow Pearl". 696 00:36:20,333 --> 00:36:22,603 Their grandparents were Japanese, I guess, 697 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:25,900 and they're young singers called"Chris and Joanna" 698 00:36:26,766 --> 00:36:29,066 and they're beautiful singers and they have a story 699 00:36:29,100 --> 00:36:30,870 to tell, and they're going to come on down and do it. 700 00:36:31,233 --> 00:36:32,903 Here they are, Yellow Pearl. 701 00:36:34,466 --> 00:36:38,626 NOBUKO: Usually people know very little about Asians, 702 00:36:39,966 --> 00:36:42,266 and this is a song about our movement, 703 00:36:42,566 --> 00:36:44,826 about our people's plight in America. 704 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:52,330 ♪ BOTH: We are the children of the migrant worker. ♪ 705 00:36:53,666 --> 00:36:57,596 ♪ We are the offspring of the concentration camp. ♪ 706 00:36:58,433 --> 00:37:02,903 ♪ Sons and daughters of the railroad builder who leave ♪ 707 00:37:03,400 --> 00:37:05,630 ♪ their stamp on America. ♪♪ 708 00:37:06,766 --> 00:37:09,626 NOBUKO: It was a very powerful thing to be able to do that 709 00:37:09,666 --> 00:37:13,066 for Asian Americans, for young people to be able to hear us 710 00:37:13,100 --> 00:37:16,630 sing these words because we had never had our own song. 711 00:37:17,633 --> 00:37:20,473 ♪ BOTH: Sing a song for ourselves, ♪ 712 00:37:21,666 --> 00:37:23,896 ♪ what have we got to lose. 713 00:37:25,233 --> 00:37:28,303 ♪ Sing a song for ourselves. 714 00:37:28,866 --> 00:37:30,796 ♪ We've got a right to choose. ♪♪ 715 00:37:30,833 --> 00:37:32,673 NOBUKO: And there's something about music that's 716 00:37:32,700 --> 00:37:33,870 a visceral thing. 717 00:37:33,900 --> 00:37:36,800 It's emotional. You can't do it in a speech. 718 00:37:36,833 --> 00:37:39,673 You can't do it by reading a book. 719 00:37:39,700 --> 00:37:43,300 (Taiko drumming) 720 00:37:48,633 --> 00:37:53,303 ♪ 721 00:37:56,166 --> 00:37:58,566 It was like a genie got me out of the bottle. 722 00:37:58,600 --> 00:38:00,970 You couldn't put us back in. 723 00:38:05,900 --> 00:38:07,330 You can't just have a leaflet, 724 00:38:07,366 --> 00:38:09,166 you can't just have a demonstration. 725 00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:12,300 The art gives flesh and blood to the politics. 726 00:38:13,833 --> 00:38:16,133 People were drawing, people were making posters, 727 00:38:16,566 --> 00:38:21,126 people were making films, people were writing, 728 00:38:21,566 --> 00:38:23,526 people were doing poetry. 729 00:38:23,566 --> 00:38:26,196 LAWSON: I told you so, oh yes. 730 00:38:26,233 --> 00:38:28,833 You take your old name back, Chano. 731 00:38:29,500 --> 00:38:31,300 I told you so, oh yes. 732 00:38:31,333 --> 00:38:33,133 Chano. 733 00:38:41,866 --> 00:38:43,726 GORDON: I really appreciate the visual art, 734 00:38:43,766 --> 00:38:47,366 the poster art, but also the documentary film making that 735 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:50,600 was I think so important in helping craft an 736 00:38:50,633 --> 00:38:52,373 Asian American identity. 737 00:38:59,500 --> 00:39:05,070 ♪ 738 00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:11,900 NARRATOR: Even as AsianAmerican culture is blossoming, 739 00:39:11,933 --> 00:39:14,533 the war in Vietnam continues to rage. 740 00:39:15,866 --> 00:39:18,096 Veterans returning home have to grapple with their 741 00:39:18,133 --> 00:39:20,133 role in the conflict. 742 00:39:21,066 --> 00:39:24,266 SCOTT: Coming home was the biggest cultural shock. 743 00:39:24,300 --> 00:39:26,330 Especially during the '60s. 744 00:39:27,233 --> 00:39:29,933 You kind of went from "Leave it to Beaver" 745 00:39:29,966 --> 00:39:32,896 when I left, to the hippies 746 00:39:32,933 --> 00:39:35,503 and the radical antiwar movement when you get back. 747 00:39:38,066 --> 00:39:40,726 I started going to LA City College. 748 00:39:40,766 --> 00:39:43,266 Since I was a Vietnam veteran, 749 00:39:43,300 --> 00:39:45,330 and there weren't too many around, 750 00:39:45,366 --> 00:39:47,126 that subject came up a lot. 751 00:39:47,166 --> 00:39:50,066 "Hey you were in Vietnam.You know, you're Asian American. 752 00:39:50,100 --> 00:39:51,700 You're a Marine Corps veteran. 753 00:39:51,733 --> 00:39:53,773 What did you think about the war?" 754 00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:57,800 MIKE: Before and during Ididn't have a concept of the 755 00:39:57,833 --> 00:39:59,903 racist nature of the war. 756 00:39:59,933 --> 00:40:02,233 Afterwards I was very aware. 757 00:40:03,500 --> 00:40:06,870 It was such a traumatic and extreme experience I wanted to 758 00:40:06,900 --> 00:40:09,570 be able to understand what happened. 759 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:14,530 ♪ GROUP: Bring em home. Bring our brothers home. ♪♪ 760 00:40:15,033 --> 00:40:17,203 SCOTT: The Winter Soldier Investigation was put on by 761 00:40:17,233 --> 00:40:19,073 the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. 762 00:40:19,100 --> 00:40:22,070 They were trying to get the opinion of the veterans, 763 00:40:22,100 --> 00:40:24,400 the people who actually fought in the war. 764 00:40:24,666 --> 00:40:27,766 MIKE: It was a Holiday Inn with a large auditorium. 765 00:40:29,100 --> 00:40:32,930 And there was tables set up in the front with about 15 chairs. 766 00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:36,030 And then there was the audience. 767 00:40:36,566 --> 00:40:39,196 So different groups of vets would go up and would talk 768 00:40:39,233 --> 00:40:43,933 about what atrocities theyexperienced or participated in. 769 00:40:47,066 --> 00:40:49,696 We were all the non-whites. 770 00:40:50,733 --> 00:40:53,703 And they never asked us to participate. 771 00:40:53,733 --> 00:40:56,873 So when it was almost over we just went up and took 772 00:40:56,900 --> 00:41:01,430 over the tables and chairs and just started talking. 773 00:41:03,966 --> 00:41:06,296 SCOTT: We all spoke and gave the perspective from 774 00:41:06,333 --> 00:41:07,903 each individual. 775 00:41:07,933 --> 00:41:10,233 How did these atrocities get to be committed? 776 00:41:10,266 --> 00:41:11,996 They just don't happen. 777 00:41:12,033 --> 00:41:13,973 There's the whole thing of how they tell you, 778 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:16,970 you know, the people over there aren't really people. 779 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:19,630 But they can't deny the testimony of all these dudes 780 00:41:19,666 --> 00:41:21,366 in the room. 781 00:41:27,733 --> 00:41:31,333 NIXON: We today have concluded an agreement to end 782 00:41:31,366 --> 00:41:34,466 the war and bring peace with honor in Vietnam. 783 00:41:34,866 --> 00:41:37,596 REPORTER: Saigon, April the 30th 8:00. 784 00:41:37,966 --> 00:41:40,096 The last American helicopter on the roof of the 785 00:41:40,133 --> 00:41:42,733 American Embassy prepares to lift off the last of 786 00:41:42,766 --> 00:41:46,766 the evacuees fleeing before the advancing communist army. 787 00:41:47,900 --> 00:41:50,270 Tens of thousands of Vietnamese still struggle to 788 00:41:50,300 --> 00:41:52,770 escape their homeland for a new life elsewhere. 789 00:41:53,433 --> 00:41:56,503 They are always arriving, these so-called boat people. 790 00:41:56,533 --> 00:41:59,273 Sometimes as many as a thousand in one day. 791 00:42:00,866 --> 00:42:03,726 NARRATOR: The war in Vietnam is officially over 792 00:42:03,766 --> 00:42:06,426 but its effects resonate for years to come. 793 00:42:07,066 --> 00:42:10,326 A new generation of refugees from Southeast Asia 794 00:42:07,066 --> 00:42:10,326 A new generation of refugees from Southeast Asia 795 00:42:10,366 --> 00:42:13,766 will soon enrich the American experience. 796 00:42:14,133 --> 00:42:16,273 NGUYEN: Typically when it comes to war we believe that 797 00:42:16,300 --> 00:42:18,570 it is the victors who write the history. 798 00:42:19,900 --> 00:42:21,800 The Americans, for the most part, 799 00:42:21,833 --> 00:42:24,873 have gotten to write the history of this war. 800 00:42:25,500 --> 00:42:28,100 Americans can't completely re-write the past to say 801 00:42:28,133 --> 00:42:29,673 they won the war, 802 00:42:29,700 --> 00:42:32,470 but they've put themselves at the center of the story. 803 00:42:32,733 --> 00:42:35,833 So, even if it's a tragedy, in which they lose, 804 00:42:35,866 --> 00:42:37,796 they're the stars of the tragedy. 805 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:43,270 Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of 806 00:42:43,300 --> 00:42:45,630 people who died were Southeast Asians. 807 00:42:47,833 --> 00:42:50,833 I really don't remember much about Vietnam. 808 00:42:51,633 --> 00:42:55,233 My memory really begins coming here to the United States 809 00:42:55,966 --> 00:42:57,966 as a refugee. 810 00:42:58,900 --> 00:43:01,600 My parents found an opportunity. 811 00:43:01,866 --> 00:43:04,096 They opened a Vietnamese grocery store in downtown 812 00:43:04,133 --> 00:43:06,303 San Jose on East Santa Clara Street, 813 00:43:06,333 --> 00:43:08,703 which is the heart of the city. 814 00:43:10,333 --> 00:43:14,373 My impression of San Jose is inseparable from the 815 00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:17,070 experiences of being a refugee. 816 00:43:17,333 --> 00:43:19,803 I remember, when I was around 10 or 11 years old, 817 00:43:19,833 --> 00:43:21,973 walking down the street and seeing a sign 818 00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:23,770 in another store window that said, 819 00:43:23,800 --> 00:43:26,100 "Another American driven out of business 820 00:43:26,133 --> 00:43:27,933 by the Vietnamese." 821 00:43:28,433 --> 00:43:32,333 And I knew that this was directed at people 822 00:43:32,366 --> 00:43:34,296 like my parents. 823 00:43:35,733 --> 00:43:38,803 My parents worked 12 to 14 hour days in the store almost 824 00:43:38,833 --> 00:43:41,133 every day of the year. 825 00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:44,870 My parents were shot in that store on Christmas Eve... 826 00:43:49,900 --> 00:43:52,270 So, for me... 827 00:43:55,466 --> 00:43:58,126 that sign will stay with me because it was a sign that was 828 00:43:58,166 --> 00:44:02,826 a story that was targeted at my parents and 829 00:44:03,066 --> 00:44:04,726 everybody like us. 830 00:44:04,766 --> 00:44:07,766 So I swore one day that I would have an opportunity to 831 00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:10,870 re-write that sign, to write another story. 832 00:44:14,633 --> 00:44:17,103 TRAN: I was born in 1974. 833 00:44:17,566 --> 00:44:21,596 I was born in District 5, which is called Cholon. 834 00:44:21,633 --> 00:44:24,173 It's like Chinatown in Vietnam. 835 00:44:24,800 --> 00:44:28,130 Then my aunt, who had left in '78, 836 00:44:28,166 --> 00:44:32,466 sponsored our family, so we left in '83. 837 00:44:33,366 --> 00:44:36,366 Grew up in southern California, in Santa Ana. 838 00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:41,370 I had no awareness that the war had just happened. 839 00:44:41,633 --> 00:44:45,073 Probably because my parents protected us from all of that. 840 00:44:45,333 --> 00:44:49,503 And my dad, though he had gone to re-education camps, 841 00:44:49,733 --> 00:44:51,373 we didn't know much about that. 842 00:44:51,400 --> 00:44:53,600 We didn't really talk much about that. 843 00:44:53,966 --> 00:44:56,196 The only education I ever got from the Vietnam War was 844 00:44:56,233 --> 00:44:59,303 "Apocalypse Now," "Deer Hunter," "Platoon." 845 00:45:01,266 --> 00:45:03,866 NGUYEN: Hollywood made literally dozens of movies 846 00:45:03,900 --> 00:45:07,030 about the war in Vietnam through the '70s and the '80s. 847 00:45:08,300 --> 00:45:10,270 And they posed a real problem for me because 848 00:45:08,300 --> 00:45:10,270 And they posed a real problem for me because 849 00:45:10,300 --> 00:45:12,200 I was a war fanatic. 850 00:45:13,133 --> 00:45:15,473 And identifying with American soldiers. 851 00:45:15,500 --> 00:45:18,100 My problem was that they were fighting Vietnamese people. 852 00:45:18,133 --> 00:45:19,803 So, to see movies like, "Apocalypse Now," 853 00:45:19,833 --> 00:45:23,933 when I was 10 or 11, and to watch Vietnamese people being 854 00:45:23,966 --> 00:45:26,196 slaughtered, massacred, 855 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:29,130 or raped in the case of other films, 856 00:45:29,166 --> 00:45:31,166 was really traumatic for me. 857 00:45:33,300 --> 00:45:36,500 Coming to Berkeley as a student in the late 1980s was 858 00:45:36,533 --> 00:45:39,003 really a transformative moment for me. 859 00:45:39,300 --> 00:45:42,000 I remember when I was being arrested and cuffed. 860 00:45:42,033 --> 00:45:43,273 I was thinking... 861 00:45:43,300 --> 00:45:45,230 I was looking at the floor and I was thinking, 862 00:45:45,266 --> 00:45:47,266 "God, this is what Berkeley's all about." 863 00:45:47,300 --> 00:45:49,830 The first class I took there was Ronald Takaki's 864 00:45:49,866 --> 00:45:51,496 Intro to Asian American Studies. 865 00:45:51,533 --> 00:45:53,533 He had just published his book, 866 00:45:53,566 --> 00:45:54,996 "Strangers from a Different Shore," 867 00:45:55,033 --> 00:45:56,773 which was the first major collective history 868 00:45:56,800 --> 00:45:58,670 of Asian Americans. 869 00:45:58,700 --> 00:46:00,870 Most of us, in this classroom, 870 00:46:00,900 --> 00:46:03,400 had never heard of so many of the things 871 00:46:03,433 --> 00:46:05,503 that he was lecturing about. 872 00:46:05,533 --> 00:46:07,173 They were Asian American students back then. 873 00:46:07,200 --> 00:46:09,200 Now they've become the Asian American Studies professors. 874 00:46:09,233 --> 00:46:11,173 I remember them telling us, 875 00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:14,900 "Well the '60s are going to happen again any moment now." 876 00:46:15,133 --> 00:46:16,573 That was the 1990s. 877 00:46:16,600 --> 00:46:18,830 We were convinced that that was going to happen. 878 00:46:19,233 --> 00:46:22,533 They had committed their lives to academic knowledge 879 00:46:22,566 --> 00:46:26,266 but also this idea of the necessity of 880 00:46:26,300 --> 00:46:29,200 Asian American Studies as an activist practice. 881 00:46:30,100 --> 00:46:32,830 And their classes were absolutely fundamental to me, 882 00:46:32,866 --> 00:46:34,696 in terms of turning me into a scholar but also into 883 00:46:34,733 --> 00:46:36,633 an Asian American. 884 00:46:37,633 --> 00:46:39,973 NARRATOR: Ham Tran is also seeking to address the 885 00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:42,930 unspoken trauma experienced by Vietnamese Americans. 886 00:46:44,500 --> 00:46:48,130 He raises $1.5 million from his community to make 887 00:46:48,166 --> 00:46:50,966 a film about the war from a Vietnamese point-of-view. 888 00:46:52,766 --> 00:46:54,526 TRAN: Making "Journey From the Fall" 889 00:46:54,566 --> 00:46:57,996 we had an opportunity to tell its peoples' story. 890 00:46:58,466 --> 00:47:00,066 The people who were involved. 891 00:47:00,100 --> 00:47:04,170 (speaking in native language). 892 00:47:06,400 --> 00:47:08,000 TRAN: Action. 893 00:47:13,800 --> 00:47:16,430 When we were casting I didn't want to cast actors. 894 00:47:16,466 --> 00:47:19,326 I was looking for real people who had had experience, 895 00:47:19,366 --> 00:47:21,896 within the community. 896 00:47:22,200 --> 00:47:24,130 We saw, like, 600 something people. 897 00:47:24,166 --> 00:47:26,196 People would come and then share their stories with us. 898 00:47:40,900 --> 00:47:43,530 TRAN: My education was my audition process. 899 00:47:43,566 --> 00:47:45,396 A lot of people telling me stories. 900 00:47:45,433 --> 00:47:49,173 Hearing 500 stories within two weeks really just... 901 00:47:51,600 --> 00:47:54,870 To some people I felt like they had been waiting years to 902 00:47:54,900 --> 00:47:57,300 get this off their chest. 903 00:47:57,933 --> 00:48:00,633 The woman who came tovisit the re-education camp, 904 00:48:00,666 --> 00:48:03,026 to give the news to our main character, 905 00:48:03,066 --> 00:48:06,996 she shared with us the day that she went to visit him and 906 00:48:07,033 --> 00:48:11,503 how she slid her foot under the table and spoke with him. 907 00:48:07,033 --> 00:48:11,503 how she slid her foot under the table and spoke with him. 908 00:48:11,933 --> 00:48:15,173 The only way they had contact was through that. 909 00:48:15,500 --> 00:48:17,730 It was such a beautiful moment. 910 00:48:17,766 --> 00:48:21,126 I'm like, "Let's try to capture that on film." 911 00:48:25,800 --> 00:48:27,830 NARRATOR: "Journey From the Fall" 912 00:48:27,866 --> 00:48:30,026 is embraced by the Vietnamese American community and 913 00:48:30,066 --> 00:48:32,266 considered a critical success. 914 00:48:33,133 --> 00:48:36,603 Meanwhile Viet Thanh Nguyen is seeking a way to address 915 00:48:36,633 --> 00:48:38,473 the legacy of the war. 916 00:48:39,033 --> 00:48:41,903 NGUYEN: I wanted to confront what had been done to us. 917 00:48:41,933 --> 00:48:43,903 I wanted to be a writer, I wanted to be an activist, 918 00:48:43,933 --> 00:48:45,433 I wanted to be a scholar and 919 00:48:45,466 --> 00:48:47,626 I didn't want to give up any of those kinds of things. 920 00:48:47,666 --> 00:48:50,526 FRANK: Tonight our guest is the author Viet Thanh Nguyen. 921 00:48:50,566 --> 00:48:52,926 NGUYEN: I wanted to write a novel that evoked the fall of 922 00:48:52,966 --> 00:48:55,066 Saigon and the Vietnam War. 923 00:48:55,300 --> 00:48:56,630 And to tell it from a perspective that 924 00:48:56,666 --> 00:48:57,896 we hadn't seen before. 925 00:48:57,933 --> 00:49:01,073 NARRATOR: In 2015, Viet isawarded the Pulitzer Prize for 926 00:49:01,100 --> 00:49:03,300 "The Sympathizer", a darkly comedic tale about an 927 00:49:03,333 --> 00:49:06,633 undercover communist agent whose loyalties are 928 00:49:06,666 --> 00:49:09,896 split between Vietnam and the United States. 929 00:49:10,200 --> 00:49:12,230 MEYERS: Viet Thanh Nguyen, everybody. 930 00:49:15,766 --> 00:49:17,596 NGUYEN: All this success was made possible 931 00:49:17,633 --> 00:49:20,003 by pioneering people. 932 00:49:21,200 --> 00:49:23,500 FABROS: You got these young people, 933 00:49:23,533 --> 00:49:26,403 all under probably age 21, 934 00:49:26,433 --> 00:49:28,403 fighting to make change happen. 935 00:49:29,900 --> 00:49:33,730 A lot of those people went on to become professionals. 936 00:49:34,433 --> 00:49:37,903 Some became judges, some became lawyers, 937 00:49:37,933 --> 00:49:39,733 a few became professors. 938 00:49:41,066 --> 00:49:43,626 NARRATOR: Former student activists Dan Gonzales and 939 00:49:43,666 --> 00:49:45,996 Laureen Chew become professors of 940 00:49:46,033 --> 00:49:48,803 Asian American Studies at San Francisco State. 941 00:49:50,500 --> 00:49:53,900 After retiring from the military Alex Fabros would 942 00:49:53,933 --> 00:49:57,233 also study and teach Asian American history there. 943 00:49:58,600 --> 00:50:01,430 50 years after the Third World Strike there 944 00:50:01,466 --> 00:50:03,896 are now dozens of ethnic studies programs 945 00:50:03,933 --> 00:50:05,503 across the country. 946 00:50:06,166 --> 00:50:09,266 And Asian American Studies courses are taking root 947 00:50:09,300 --> 00:50:12,030 in unexpected places. 948 00:50:16,466 --> 00:50:19,896 Today, volunteers teach a weekly course to inmates at 949 00:50:19,933 --> 00:50:21,833 San Quentin State Prison. 950 00:50:25,766 --> 00:50:28,666 Students learn about Asian American history from 951 00:50:28,700 --> 00:50:33,030 Exclusion, to Civil Rights, to the war in Southeast Asia. 952 00:50:34,166 --> 00:50:35,866 The program's motto: 953 00:50:35,900 --> 00:50:38,800 "If you know history, you know yourself." 954 00:50:41,733 --> 00:50:43,573 On graduation day, 955 00:50:43,600 --> 00:50:45,930 students are recognized for their achievements and 956 00:50:45,966 --> 00:50:47,526 celebrate their gains. 957 00:50:47,566 --> 00:50:51,826 (applause and cheers) 958 00:50:54,666 --> 00:50:56,596 CHUNG: I give to you the graduating class of Roots 959 00:50:56,633 --> 00:50:59,033 Super Cycle 5, cap 35. 960 00:51:00,766 --> 00:51:03,096 Another person we want to celebrate today... 961 00:51:03,133 --> 00:51:06,633 I'm going to bring Thanh Tran up to the stage here. 962 00:51:08,433 --> 00:51:10,433 THANH: This entire ROOTS experience it's been nothing 963 00:51:08,433 --> 00:51:10,433 THANH: This entire ROOTS experience it's been nothing 964 00:51:10,466 --> 00:51:13,866 but love, inclusivity, 965 00:51:14,266 --> 00:51:16,696 and feeling like I finally have a family. 966 00:51:16,733 --> 00:51:19,373 And that's tremendous. 967 00:51:19,566 --> 00:51:22,696 My mother she's Vietnamese and black. 968 00:51:22,733 --> 00:51:25,633 But the problem is I never got to know my mother because when 969 00:51:25,666 --> 00:51:28,326 I was two years old I was placed into foster care. 970 00:51:28,366 --> 00:51:32,426 And I lost more than just my mom, I lost my roots. 971 00:51:34,566 --> 00:51:37,796 I lost my only connection to my roots in America, 972 00:51:38,066 --> 00:51:40,866 because I had no other family here besides her. 973 00:51:45,166 --> 00:51:47,266 I began to notice that it was more than 974 00:51:47,300 --> 00:51:49,270 just the Asian struggle, 975 00:51:49,300 --> 00:51:51,000 the Latinx and black struggle, 976 00:51:51,033 --> 00:51:54,503 these were stories about what it meant to be human. 977 00:51:57,000 --> 00:51:58,830 And that's what ROOTS taught me. 978 00:51:58,866 --> 00:52:02,196 So I want to thank the team for seeing the humanity in me, 979 00:52:02,233 --> 00:52:04,433 for seeing the humanity in our brothers, 980 00:52:04,466 --> 00:52:07,796 for bringing ROOTS to us,dedicating your free time to us, 981 00:52:08,433 --> 00:52:11,003 because for a lot ofus we didn't have a family, 982 00:52:11,033 --> 00:52:13,403 we didn't have hope, and you give us that. 983 00:52:13,633 --> 00:52:15,973 (applause) 984 00:52:23,300 --> 00:52:26,430 NGUYEN: 1968, when Asian Americans came into being, 985 00:52:26,466 --> 00:52:29,066 now that story's no longer new. 986 00:52:30,566 --> 00:52:33,826 There should be a new story beyond that. 987 00:52:37,900 --> 00:52:39,970 I'm committed to the new story. 988 00:52:40,933 --> 00:52:43,373 A new generation will go off and do something that 989 00:52:43,400 --> 00:52:46,270 I might find offensive, or I might disagree with, 990 00:52:46,733 --> 00:52:49,433 or that I may just not understand. 991 00:52:50,400 --> 00:52:52,100 That's fantastic. 992 00:52:52,133 --> 00:52:55,373 That's a logical consequence of what we wanted to 993 00:52:55,400 --> 00:52:57,600 do as a part of an Asian American movement, 994 00:52:58,600 --> 00:53:01,530 to create a situation in which Asian Americans were 995 00:53:01,566 --> 00:53:13,026 free to do anything they wanted. 996 00:53:14,933 --> 00:53:16,773 REPORTER: The verdict stunned everyone, 997 00:53:16,800 --> 00:53:18,000 four officers acquitted of beating Rodney King. 998 00:53:18,033 --> 00:53:19,873 HELEN: Then all hell broke loose. 999 00:53:19,900 --> 00:53:22,130 ERIKA: There was a consiousness that woke. 1000 00:53:22,166 --> 00:53:23,966 CROWD: We want justice! 1001 00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:26,970 ERIKA: But as much as tragedy is a part of our heritage, 1002 00:53:27,000 --> 00:53:28,600 so is possibility. 1003 00:53:28,833 --> 00:53:30,833 JERRY: We were one of the largest websites in the world. 1004 00:53:30,866 --> 00:53:32,626 It was really an incredible time. 1005 00:53:32,666 --> 00:53:34,266 VIET: To transform the system into something more 1006 00:53:34,300 --> 00:53:35,500 just for everyone. 1007 00:53:35,533 --> 00:53:36,833 That's the hope, from which, 1008 00:53:36,866 --> 00:53:38,666 the Asian American movement was born. 1009 00:53:38,700 --> 00:53:40,430 ♪ 1010 00:53:44,433 --> 00:53:50,673 ♪ 1011 00:53:59,400 --> 00:54:01,470 NARRATOR: To order Asian Americans on DVD, 1012 00:54:01,500 --> 00:54:06,400 visit ShopPBS.org or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS 1013 00:54:06,900 --> 00:54:10,570 This program is also available on Amazon Prime Video.