Since the UCLA Asian American Studies Center was established in 1969, Asian American and Pacific Islander students, faculty and staff have been involved in the tumultuous societal and intellectual currents of their times, from the antiwar, civil rights and Black Power struggles to the women's and gay rights movements, anti-apartheid demonstrations, and activities aimed at achieving equality, diversity and parity in higher education.

 

Now "40 Years of Breaking Ground: Asian American Studies at UCLA," on display in the rotunda area of UCLA's Powell College Library, explores this complex and fascinating four-decade history of linking the traditional concerns of UCLA with the broader political concerns of society through speaking out, research and writing, and educating others.

 

The exhibition opening takes place Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 5 to 7 p.m. and will coincide with the Asian American Studies Center's annual open house for new students and the general public at the library. The exhibition runs through Dec 11.

 

For "Breaking Ground," Asian American staff, students and faculty joined forces with the College Library to create a stunning visual exhibition of artwork, reproductions of vintage photographs, books and other materials that trace the history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have taught, studied and contributed to intellectual diversity at UCLA over the past 40 years.

 

Co-curated by UCLA's Mary Uyematsu Kao of the Asian American Studies Center Press, and Marjorie Lee, head of the Asian American Studies Center Library/Reading Room, the exhibition is the first at UCLA dedicated entirely to giving the general public a visual cultural history of one of the premier Asian American studies programs in the nation.

 

"Exhibiting the memorabilia that has been filed away in our archives shows a history that is yet to be told," said Kao, a photo/graphic production artist. "Selecting and assembling from an overwhelming amount of material, we document a history of 'firsts' — the first steering committee that started the center in 1969, the first Tongan American Unity Conference in 1981 and the first Asian American woman to become a tenured professor in UCLA's History Department. We also showcase the Center Press' very popular first book, 'Roots: An Asian American Reader' (1972) and our highly influential Amerasia Journal and AAPI Nexus. A timeline from 1962 to now, with 112 items, illustrates events, people and the culture of each decade of UCLA's Asian American studies."

 

Rare items from two of the renowned archival collections that were donated to the Asian American Studies Center and to the university — the coram nobis papers of Fred T. Korematsu, whose refusal to enter an internment camp during World War II led to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, and the papers of human rights activist Yuri Kochiyama — will be on display, along with more than 200 books written by Asian American Studies Center faculty members, former students and visiting scholars over the years.

Marjorie Lee, who, like Kao, obtained her master's degree in Asian American studies at UCLA and went on to earn a professional degree in library and information studies, is amazed at the idealism, expression and selfless dedication of those who helped found the center in the late 1960s, many of whom went on to become respected scholars, lawyers and civil rights activists. 

 

"The exhibit is a visual display of the many stakeholders who have helped break ground to forge Asian American studies at UCLA," Lee said. "What is at Powell Rotunda is only a sampling of the politics, activism and academic scholarship of the thousands of students, scholars and community leaders who helped to build Asian American studies at UCLA. You can see the passion in their faces in the photographs and realize the extent of their concerns through looking at the books they have written."

 

The exhibition itself, a montage of 10 panels and eight display tables, showcases rare photographs and issues of the decades, as well as a postmodernist tree created by students and alumni of the Asian American studies master's program. The tree is made of entirely recyclable materials on which hang leaves that represent individual graduate students. Undergraduate students have created a poster from the covers of 36 issues of Pacific Ties, UCLA's Asian American and Pacific Islander student newspaper, commemorating more than 30 years of "student voice, empowerment and activism in artistry" at UCLA.

 

There are other surprises as well, among them documentary video projects students have produced through the Asian American Studies Center's ethnocommunications courses. A dedicated computer station will allow the public to view five of these student projects — "$40 on Pump 9: Desis in the Gas Station Business" (2007), "Inside" (2008), "Troqueros: The Life of an L.A. Port Driver" (2008), "Reverse Discri-mission" (2008) and "810LOGY" (2002).  A full listing of ethnocommunications student projects can be found at www.aasc.ucla.edu/ethno/filmography.htm.

 

The exhibition runs from Monday, Oct. 5, through Friday, Dec. 11, in the rotunda area of UCLA's Powell College Library, located in the center of the UCLA campus. Exhibition hours: Monday–Thursday, 7 a.m.–11 p.m.; Friday, 7:30 a.m.–6 p.m.; and Sunday, 1–6 p.m. 

 

There are several programs planned while the exhibition is on display. All are free and open to the UCLA community and the general public:

For more information, contact the UCLA Asian American Studies Center (310-825-2974) or curators Marjorie Lee (marjilee@ucla.edu) or Mary U. Kao (mugao@ucla.edu).

In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the ethnic studies research centers at UCLA, this exhibition is made possible in part through the generous support of UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Block, UCLA Vice Chancellor for Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate Division Claudia Mitchell-Kernan, the UCLA Institute of American Cultures and UCLA Vice Provost for Faculty Diversity and Development Rosina Becerra.

The Asian American Studies Center and the Asian American studies department would also like to acknowledge the UCLA College Library for its generous assistance and support with venue, installation and programming, as well as UCLA Library Communications for valuable guidance, consultation and assistance.

 

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