Asian American Archive tells Vietnamese refugee stories at Rice University

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Asian Americans make up about 7% of Harris County's population, but residents don't often talk about the impact the group has had on the culture of our area.

"We looked around, and there was no archive in Houston of any kind of stories or repositories of Asian American experiences," explained co-founder of the Asian American Archive and Adjunct Faculty at Rice University Dr. Anne Chau. "Even though Houston is the eighth largest city of Asian American population."

Our America: Watch Our America: Asian Voices - The Asian experience in America today

[Ads /]
The Asian American Archive is a collection of more than 300 interviews conducted over the past 11 years to document Asian American stories around us. Both faculty members and students work together on the archive, hoping to preserve stories and experiences for generations to come.

"The idea of us coming from somewhere else, that shouldn't be a point of shame, but should be the point that tethers us to one another. I think there is clearly a human need to tell stories to connect us to one another," explained local poet, Bao-Long Chu, who is part of the project. "Declaring that I am a refugee is a way of beginning my story."
[Ads /]
You can access the archive on Rice Humanities' website.

Follow Pooja Lodhia on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram.