Let’s turn the spotlight on some Asian American icons. Asian Americans make up around 5% of the US population and are also one of the fastest growing ethnic groups. According to the U.S. Census Bureau there were 18.9 million Asian Americans at the end of 2012, but the one statistic these numbers don’t address is that Asian Americans are a diverse group with heritage from many countries. This means Asian American icons are a very culturally eclectic bunch.
1 Wat Misaka
Wat Misaka was the Japanese American college basketball star of the 1940s. He was drafted in by The New York Knickerbockers in 1947, and was among one of the most popular Asian American icons. At that time, he was the first non-white basketball player in America. He led the University of Utah to their 1944 NCAA title and 1947 NIT title. He also served two years in the US army during its occupation of Japan.
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2 Dalip Singh Saund
Dalip Singh Saund was born in the Indian province of Punjab to a Sikh family. He travelled to the States to study at the University of California, Berkeley and completed his master’s and PhD in mathematics at the same institute. He became a US citizen in 1949 and was later elected to the House of Representatives in 1956.
3 Ellison Onizuka
The first Asian American to reach space was Ellison Onizuka. He started his flying career as an air force test pilot and engineer however, in 1978, he was selected to the NASA astronaut program. He was a crewmember of the mission Discovery space shuttle however, Onizuka died a tragic death during the explosion in the shuttle Challenger in 1986, which was a major disaster in the history of NASA.
4 Patsy Mink
Patsy Mink was the first ever Asian American woman and also the first woman of color to be elected to the US Congress. She was elected to Congress in the year 1965 after having lived her whole life in Hawaii. She was the principal author of the Title IX Amendment to the Higher Education Act of 1972. Her role in passing this act is a great service to the cause of women and was instrumental in bringing women into the world of sports. That's why she's considered one of the most influential Asian American icons.
5 Angela Perez Baraquio
Angela Perez Baraquio became famous when she was named Miss Hawaii in 2000. She was not only the first Asian American and the first Filipino American to win the competition, but she was also the first teacher to have won the Miss America pageant. She has been living in California since then and is a known public speaker. She is also an active opponent of abortion and uses her public speaking skills to advocate against it. .
6 Susan Ahn Cuddy
The first Korean married couple to migrate to the USA gave birth to Susan Ahn Cuddy, who became the first female gunnery officer in the US Navy. She continued serving by joining Naval Intelligence and later the National Security Agency. She was also the recipient of the Asian American Award from the Asian American Justice Centre in 2006.
7 Michelle Phan
The Vietnamese American Entrepreneur, born in 1987, is one of the products of the recent social media revolution. It all began for her with homemade videos of makeup tutorials in 2005. With constant hard work and devotion, she now ranks among the hottest video bloggers in YouTube. Apart from her efforts on YouTube, she runs a number of websites which are also related to fashion.
Asian American icons lead the way for their culture in fields of sports, politics, fashion, education and technology – of course, in all walks of life. Which icon do you think worthy of a mention?
