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Home Videos: Inside the World of Asian Americans

"Memories to Light" brings to life the experiences of Asian American communities across the country that spans through six decades, from the 1920s through the 1980s. Watch the past come to life.
By Carren Jao
May 5, 2020
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What does it feel like to be Asian American? How is the world seen through their eyes? Produced by the Center for Asian American Media, "Memories to Light: Asian American Home Movies" brings to life the experiences of Asian American communities across the country that spans through six decades, from the 1920s through the 1980s. See your experiences from a different point of view. Watch these three home videos and here's how to submit your own to CAAM.

Watch "Asian Americans," a five-hour film series that delivers a bold, fresh perspective on the history of the fastest-growing demographic in the country today. Stream now.

Life Within One Mile of Family and Friends

The Bohulano/Mabalon family home video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjMTAh-gsmI

Listen to Dawn Bohulano Mabalon as she recounts life growing up in Stockton, California, where Filipinos made a home outside of the Philippines through much of the 20th century. Hear her tell the story of her grandparents' restaurant, which served the community by becoming a post office, a bank and a gathering space, as well as the hopes and dreams of her family as they made a new life in a foreign (and very segregated) country.

Visiting 46 out of the 50 states of America

The Gee family home video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srjAgxLlwCQ

Hear Brian Gee recount the epic road trips his family took all around the United States, from Disneyland to Washington D.C. and how that helped them grow as young Asian Americans.

An Asian American Family's Sojourn to India

The Chin family home video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETrOFdHtrEY

Listen to the Chin family's recollections of their incredible, 22-month stay in India. Tom Chin, an engineer with Chevron in Richmond, California, was asked to set up operations in Southeast India. It would require an extended 22-month trip, and he took his wife and four children along with him. Dorothy, an amateur photographer, was able to document their experiences in a totally foreign land. See where their curiosity led them — their encounters with beggars to second-generation missionaries living in the country.

Have videos to share? Submit your own to CAAM. Here's how.
Stream all episodes of "Asian Americans." Click to watch part one, part two and the finale.

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