An exhibit created for the Smithsonian Institution’s Asian Pacific American Center in Washington, D.C. is making a stop Downtown at the Jacksonville Public Library.
“I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story” debuted last year at the Smithsonian and then was adapted as a traveling exhibit to be shown at cultural centers, museums and libraries.
The exhibit is on the fourth floor of the Main Library near the Special Collections area through Feb. 28.
The story begins in 1492 with Christopher Columbus, for whom the idea of a trans-Atlantic voyage to establish a trade route to Asia led to his discovery of what would become the United States.
From there, the exhibit tells the stories of the earliest Asian immigrants through the present.
Asian immigrants panned in the Gold Rush, laid track for the Transcontinental Railroad and fought on both sides in the Civil War. On plantations in Hawaii and farms in California, Asians helped build America’s agriculture.
Contributions made by Asian Pacific Americans in government, arts and culture are highlighted.
The exhibit also details the challenges that have faced Asians in America, such as prohibition on immigration, Civil Rights violations and the detention of 120,000 Asians during World War II in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Asians account for 5.6 percent of the American population. From 2000-10, the Asian population grew by 46 percent, making it the fastest-growing major race group in the U.S.
“We always want to present different cultures and there is a large Asian community in Jacksonville,” said library spokesman Chris Boivin.
According to the census, Jacksonville’s population is 4.4 percent Asian, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders — about 35,000 residents — compared to the state’s Asian population of 2.5 percent.
The library has planned nearly two months of programs around the exhibit, beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday when music and dance from China, Hawaii and India will be performed in the Multipurpose Room in the Conference Center near the Main Street entrance to the library.
New York City-based Shen Yun Performing Arts will present two performances Jan. 16-17 at the Lazzara Performance Hall at the University of North Florida. The ticketed event is sponsored by the Florida Falun Dafa Association.
Two panel discussions are scheduled in the Hicks Auditorium at the Main Library. Members of the local Asian-American community will share their stories of challenges and success related to education, the arts, business and civic engagement.
Asian language courses are on the agenda. Conversational Mandarin Chinese will be offered at the Main Library and a two-part conversational Japanese program will be offered at the Pablo Creek Regional Library.
Programs at the library are free and open to the public.
The exhibit was brought to Jacksonville through a partnership between the Jacksonville Public Library Foundation Cecelia Eckles Learning for a Lifetime Endowment; Friends of the Jacksonville Public Library; and the Mayor’s Asian American Advisory Board.
For more information, visit jpl.coj.net/Smithsonian.
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