EXPLORE
Kutchi Kitchen: Migration Stories from East African Indians
South Asians have a long history of migration around the world, taking with us our language, dress, and of course food! Culture by definition is always changing, through generations, spaces, bodies, and movements. Omme-Salma Rahemtullah's Archival Creators Fellowship project collected oral histories from Ugandan Asians in South Carolina of their family histories of movement and displacement from India to Uganda to South Carolina. She focused on mapping identities and their movements and changes, and found that food was an informative and fun way trace these histories. In this interactive experience, we learn how to cook East African Asian dishes, and hear the stories of identity this food has to tell.
South Asians have a long history of migration around the world, taking with us our language, dress, and of course food! Culture by definition is always changing, through generations, spaces, bodies, and movements. Omme-Salma Rahemtullah's Archival Creators Fellowship project collected oral histories from Ugandan Asians in South Carolina of their family histories of movement and displacement from India to Uganda to South Carolina. She focused on mapping identities and their movements and changes, and found that food was an informative and fun way trace these histories. In this interactive experience, we learn how to cook East African Asian dishes, and hear the stories of identity this food has to tell.
Our Stories: An Introduction to South Asian America
South Asian American stories are not taught in classrooms, found in textbooks, or reflected in popular media. We can change that. For the last thirteen years, SAADA has worked to document, preserve, and share stories from the South Asian American community. Now, for the first time, South Asian American stories can be on bookshelves in homes, schools, and libraries across the country.
South Asian American stories are not taught in classrooms, found in textbooks, or reflected in popular media. We can change that. For the last thirteen years, SAADA has worked to document, preserve, and share stories from the South Asian American community. Now, for the first time, South Asian American stories can be on bookshelves in homes, schools, and libraries across the country.
"Organizing for Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles" by Hamid Khan
Hamid Khan, reading from Our Stories
Hamid Khan is an organizer and coordinator with the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition. The mission of the coalition is to build community-based power to dismantle police surveillance, spying, and infiltration programs. The coalition utilizes multiple campaigns to advance an innovative organizing model that is Los Angeles–based but has implications regionally, nationally, and internationally. An immigrant from Pakistan, Hamid came to the United States in 1979. As founder and former executive director of South Asian Network (1990–2010), Hamid helped create the first grassroots community-based organization in Los Angeles committed to informing and empowering thousands of South Asians in Southern California to act as agents of change in eliminating biases, discrimination, and injustices. Hamid also serves on the board of May First Technology, a membership organization that engages in building movements by advancing the strategic use and collective control of technology for local struggles, global transformation, and emancipation without borders.
Hamid Khan, reading from Our Stories
Hamid Khan is an organizer and coordinator with the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition. The mission of the coalition is to build community-based power to dismantle police surveillance, spying, and infiltration programs. The coalition utilizes multiple campaigns to advance an innovative organizing model that is Los Angeles–based but has implications regionally, nationally, and internationally. An immigrant from Pakistan, Hamid came to the United States in 1979. As founder and former executive director of South Asian Network (1990–2010), Hamid helped create the first grassroots community-based organization in Los Angeles committed to informing and empowering thousands of South Asians in Southern California to act as agents of change in eliminating biases, discrimination, and injustices. Hamid also serves on the board of May First Technology, a membership organization that engages in building movements by advancing the strategic use and collective control of technology for local struggles, global transformation, and emancipation without borders.
"The Ghadar Party" by Seema Sohi
Seema Sohi, reading from Our Stories
Dr. Seema Sohi is an associate professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she focuses on twentieth-century U.S. history and Asian American studies. Her book, Echoes of Mutiny: Race, Surveillance, and Indian Anticolonialism in North America (Oxford University Press, 2014), examines the radical anti-colonial politics of South Asian intellectuals and migrant workers based in North America during the early twentieth century as well as the interimperial efforts of the U.S. and British states to repress them. A history of radicalism and anti-radicalism, this project also looks at the racial formations of South Asians through the lens of anti-radicalism during the early years of South Asian migration to the United States. She has also published essays and articles in the Journal of American History, Sikh Formations, and an anthology titled The Sun Never Sets: South Asian Migrants in an Age of U.S. Power (New York University Press, 2013).
Seema Sohi, reading from Our Stories
Dr. Seema Sohi is an associate professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she focuses on twentieth-century U.S. history and Asian American studies. Her book, Echoes of Mutiny: Race, Surveillance, and Indian Anticolonialism in North America (Oxford University Press, 2014), examines the radical anti-colonial politics of South Asian intellectuals and migrant workers based in North America during the early twentieth century as well as the interimperial efforts of the U.S. and British states to repress them. A history of radicalism and anti-radicalism, this project also looks at the racial formations of South Asians through the lens of anti-radicalism during the early years of South Asian migration to the United States. She has also published essays and articles in the Journal of American History, Sikh Formations, and an anthology titled The Sun Never Sets: South Asian Migrants in an Age of U.S. Power (New York University Press, 2013).
A Tale of Two Epidemics
In the shadow of the ongoing AIDS epidemic, and with the current backdrop of COVID-19, what are the current lived experiences of South Asian Americans in the US in 2021? SAADA's Archival Creators Fellow Nikhil D. Patil brings his oral history project -- Excerpts from an Epidemic: Documenting South Asian American Narratives from the Early Years of the AIDS Crisis in the United States -- into the present reality.
In the shadow of the ongoing AIDS epidemic, and with the current backdrop of COVID-19, what are the current lived experiences of South Asian Americans in the US in 2021? SAADA's Archival Creators Fellow Nikhil D. Patil brings his oral history project -- Excerpts from an Epidemic: Documenting South Asian American Narratives from the Early Years of the AIDS Crisis in the United States -- into the present reality.
Family Album: How to archive and share your family stories
In this online workshop, we share what you need to know to preserve and archive your own family stories. Whether you’re interested in stories from your biological or chosen family, this video will cover everything you need to get started.
In this online workshop, we share what you need to know to preserve and archive your own family stories. Whether you’re interested in stories from your biological or chosen family, this video will cover everything you need to get started.
A Voter's Guide to South Asian Immigration History
October 3rd is the 55-year anniversary of the 1965 Immigration Act, which for the very first time allowed South Asians (and others from non-European countries) to immigrate to the U.S. in larger numbers. October 3rd is also exactly one month before the 2020 Presidential Election, where the role of immigration in America’s story (past, present, and future) will be decided. It is the perfect time for us to remember the historical context for the debate around immigration today and the lived realities for immigrant communities at the present moment. In this discussion, you will hear both scholarly and personal perspectives on what you need to know about South Asian immigration history one month before the election.
October 3rd is the 55-year anniversary of the 1965 Immigration Act, which for the very first time allowed South Asians (and others from non-European countries) to immigrate to the U.S. in larger numbers. October 3rd is also exactly one month before the 2020 Presidential Election, where the role of immigration in America’s story (past, present, and future) will be decided. It is the perfect time for us to remember the historical context for the debate around immigration today and the lived realities for immigrant communities at the present moment. In this discussion, you will hear both scholarly and personal perspectives on what you need to know about South Asian immigration history one month before the election.
Queer Brown Feelings
Video: Anum Awan Music: Arooj Aftab
The Queer Brown Feelings collection explores feelings, memories, and visions from queer and trans South Asians.
Video: Anum Awan Music: Arooj Aftab
The Queer Brown Feelings collection explores feelings, memories, and visions from queer and trans South Asians.
A conversation with Dr. Amarjit Singh Marwah, a philanthropist and community leader
Panel discussion at History From Different Angles, a symposium at UCLA on February 23, 2019 organized by the South Asian American Digital Archive.
Interviewed by:
• Dr. Sharon Sekhon (The Studio for Southern California History)
Panel discussion at History From Different Angles, a symposium at UCLA on February 23, 2019 organized by the South Asian American Digital Archive.
Interviewed by:
• Dr. Sharon Sekhon (The Studio for Southern California History)
Yogi Wassan Singh, an early yoga practitioner
Panel discussion at History From Different Angles, a symposium at UCLA on February 23, 2019 organized by the South Asian American Digital Archive.
Panelists:
• Lydia Wassan (Yogi Wassan Singh's great-granddaughter)
• Philip Deslippe (PhD Candidate, UC Santa Barbara)
Panel discussion at History From Different Angles, a symposium at UCLA on February 23, 2019 organized by the South Asian American Digital Archive.
Panelists:
• Lydia Wassan (Yogi Wassan Singh's great-granddaughter)
• Philip Deslippe (PhD Candidate, UC Santa Barbara)
Dalip Singh Saund, the first South Asian in U.S. Congress
Panel discussion at History From Different Angles, a symposium at UCLA on February 23, 2019 organized by the South Asian American Digital Archive.
Panelists:
• Eric Saund (Dalip Singh Saund's grandson)
• Dr. Manan Desai (Assistant Professor of American Culture, University of Michigan)
Panel discussion at History From Different Angles, a symposium at UCLA on February 23, 2019 organized by the South Asian American Digital Archive.
Panelists:
• Eric Saund (Dalip Singh Saund's grandson)
• Dr. Manan Desai (Assistant Professor of American Culture, University of Michigan)
Bhagwan Singh Gyanee, a leader of the Ghadar Party
Panel discussion at History From Different Angles, a symposium at UCLA on February 23, 2019 organized by the South Asian American Digital Archive.
Panelists:
• Surinder Pal Singh (Bhagwan Singh Gyanee's grandson)
• Joti Singh (Bhagwan Singh Gyanee's great-granddaughter and Artistic Director, Duniya Dance and Drum Company)
• Samip Mallick (Executive Director, SAADA)
Panel discussion at History From Different Angles, a symposium at UCLA on February 23, 2019 organized by the South Asian American Digital Archive.
Panelists:
• Surinder Pal Singh (Bhagwan Singh Gyanee's grandson)
• Joti Singh (Bhagwan Singh Gyanee's great-granddaughter and Artistic Director, Duniya Dance and Drum Company)
• Samip Mallick (Executive Director, SAADA)
Lavaan
Using the home movies of Sharanjit Singh Dhillonn capturing the life of his interracial family in Oklahoma, musician Zain Alam creates visual connections between the past and present in America.
Using the home movies of Sharanjit Singh Dhillonn capturing the life of his interracial family in Oklahoma, musician Zain Alam creates visual connections between the past and present in America.
Kala Bagai, among the first South Asian women in the U.S.
Panel discussion at History From Different Angles, a symposium at UCLA on February 23, 2019 organized by the South Asian American Digital Archive.
Panelists:
• Rani Bagai (Kala Bagai's granddaughter)
• Dr. Kritika Agarwal (Managing Editor of Perspectives on History, American Historical Association)
• Dr. Michelle Caswell (Associate Professor, Department of Information Studies, UCLA)
Panel discussion at History From Different Angles, a symposium at UCLA on February 23, 2019 organized by the South Asian American Digital Archive.
Panelists:
• Rani Bagai (Kala Bagai's granddaughter)
• Dr. Kritika Agarwal (Managing Editor of Perspectives on History, American Historical Association)
• Dr. Michelle Caswell (Associate Professor, Department of Information Studies, UCLA)
Our Stories Book Club
Chapter 1: Early South Asian American History (pre-1923)
Inviting readers all across the country to join us in a monthly, virtual book club where we will discuss each chapter, hear directly from our authors, and deep dive into the incredible stories shared in the book. Join us in creating a space that explores and uplifts the diversity, vibrancy, and power of the South Asian American community!
Chapter 1: Early South Asian American History (pre-1923)
Inviting readers all across the country to join us in a monthly, virtual book club where we will discuss each chapter, hear directly from our authors, and deep dive into the incredible stories shared in the book. Join us in creating a space that explores and uplifts the diversity, vibrancy, and power of the South Asian American community!
The Gilded Cage
In the last 100 years, South Asian Americans have gone from being denied citizenship to being able to change the course of the election. But that's only if we vote.
In the last 100 years, South Asian Americans have gone from being denied citizenship to being able to change the course of the election. But that's only if we vote.
Building an Enterprise Social Event
Showcasing the stories of 10 Bangladeshi Women Entrepreneurs from Metro Detroit who have found creative ways to own businesses while upholding and celebrating culture and traditions. These women were interviewed by Nargis Hakim Rahman as part of the Archival Creators Fellowship Program with SAADA.
Showcasing the stories of 10 Bangladeshi Women Entrepreneurs from Metro Detroit who have found creative ways to own businesses while upholding and celebrating culture and traditions. These women were interviewed by Nargis Hakim Rahman as part of the Archival Creators Fellowship Program with SAADA.
Kala Bagai
The latest video in our partnership with Timeline features the incredible story of Kala Bagai, one of the very few South Asian women in the U.S. in the early 1900s.
The latest video in our partnership with Timeline features the incredible story of Kala Bagai, one of the very few South Asian women in the U.S. in the early 1900s.
An Archive Unbound: South Asian American Experiences of Incarceration
South Asian Americans have endured incarceration throughout our history in America, but are often erased from data and discussions about mass incarceration. 2020-21 SAADA Archival Fellow Savannah Kumar welcomes you to a panel discussion about the experiences of South Asian Americans who have been affected by incarceration. We explore our community's role in supporting those who remain incarcerated today and imagining a world free of bars.
South Asian Americans have endured incarceration throughout our history in America, but are often erased from data and discussions about mass incarceration. 2020-21 SAADA Archival Fellow Savannah Kumar welcomes you to a panel discussion about the experiences of South Asian Americans who have been affected by incarceration. We explore our community's role in supporting those who remain incarcerated today and imagining a world free of bars.