Strangers from a Different Shore

“Eurocentric history serves no one. It only shrouds the pluralism that is America and that makes our nation so unique, and thus the possibility of appreciating our rich racial and cultural diversity remains a dream deferred. Actually, as Americans, we come from different shores—Europe, the Americas, Africa, and also Asia.”

In this passage Takaki asserts that neglecting the history of communities of color prevents all Americans from fully understanding their own history. By referring to the “dream” of appreciating what makes the US “unique” Takaki frames diversity and pluralism as a positive attribute which should be fully understood and celebrated. This quotation establishes a context and purpose for his analysis of Asian American history.

“To satisfy their demand for labor, planters scoured the world—mainly Asia, but also Europe—in search of workers. Planters viewed laborers as commodities necessary for the operation of the plantation.”

This passage explains how plantation owners in Hawaii helped to initiate the first wave of Asian immigration to those islands by sending labor agents to Asia. By explaining planters’ perception of Asian workers as “commodities” Takaki foreshadows the stories of dehumanization and abuse which he shares later in the book. This discussion also encourages the reader to consider how local and global economic conditions precipitated immigration from Asia to the US.

“Even if they had to become debtors to get to America, they thought the promise of getting ahead in the new land was worth the sacrifice. Paid ten to fifteen cents a day in India, they were told they could earn two dollars for a day’s work in America. A Sikh migrant later recalled how California seemed ‘enchanted.’”

In this passage Takaki explains the personal and economic situations which prompted farmers from the Punjab region of India to seek work in Canada and the US. This quotation highlights the similarities between Indian migrants and other Asian laborers, as people from India also took financial risks to access new opportunities and also shared a romanticized