Tumblr Love for Asian and Pacific Islander History

Each post is simple: one black and white photo, a short explanation, and there you are

By Julianne Hing Jan 11, 2011

There really is a Tumblr for everything, and a meme to unite them all. The microblogging site has spawned a set of "Fuck Yeah" Tumblrs celebrating nearly anything you can think of. If you love it you can celebrate it: elephants, e.e. cummings, Aretha Franklin, Modernism, Post-Modernism. (The proliferation of Fuck Yeah Tumblrs has even prompted someone to create the handy website isitafyeah.com so you can check beforehand if that thing you so adore is already being celebrated so.)

Today we bring you a new one that we love, fuckyeahAPIhistory. The exquisitely designed Tumblr is delivering small and smart doses of Asian and Pacific Islander history. The blog descriptor is simple: "This Tumblr celebrates A/PI American history and identity. So fuck yeah. Cuz we can’t let history books tell our stories for us (mainly, cuz they’re not doing shit anyways) and we can’t wait for the media to decide when our voices will be heard."

Each post is simple: one black and white photo, a couple sentences by way of explanation, and there you are. Never heard of Dr. Sammy Lee, the first Asian American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States and the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in Olympic platform diving? Did you know about Filipinos who worked in Alaska’s salmon canneries in the 1930s? Asian American women workers in Hawaii picketing during the 1947 pineapple strike? Well now you do.

The photos and stories are as beautiful, rich and varied as Asian and Pacific Islander American history. To which we say: fuck yeah.

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To see other Love posts visit our Celebrate Love page.