Him Mark Lai, known as the "dean" of Asian American history, died on May 21, 2009. Ronald Takaki, a pioneer in the field of not only Asian American history, but multicultural history and just plain old American history, died on May 26, 2009.
I chose this photo of Him Mark Lai because it is emblematic of the work that he did for the field of Asian American studies--behind him is a small fraction of the works he collected over his lifetime--works in both Chinese and English that documented the Chinese in America. Over time his research interests would broaden to include other Asian ethnic groups as well as understanding the roots of racial prejudice against Asians in American and his work to combat this prejudice. There are those in the academy who scoff at "independent scholars"; Him Mark Lai was trained as an engineer but his passion was history and he will be known as an archivist par excellence.
Click here for a Hyphen Magazine piece celebrating his life and here for an article on him on the National Archives website.
I had the pleasure of meeting Ronald Takaki at a book signing in Harvard Square when I was in grad school. It was the only time I've been at a book signing when we had to stop because there was a disturbed person who kept interrupting the author. Throughout the whole strange altercation, Dr. Takaki kept his cool--he even wanted to hear what the guy had to say (when it was clear that the guy was hostile and probably mentally ill). I'll never forget that talk, not only because it was the only talk I attended in which the police had to come and escort someone out of the building but because through it all, Ronald Takaki kept his composure, was gracious, and even funny after the fact, in a self-deprecating way (I think he made a quip about hoping the guy wasn't a reviewer from one of the major newspapers).
I have read, cover to cover, Strangers from a Different Shore. It is a work of both depth and breath, which is a hard feat to manage, especially in a field like Asian American history. He will be sorely missed for his many academic contributions, but he will be remembered as a historian who pushed others to really comprehend the important place of Asian Americans and other people of color as being a crucial but underrepresented slice of American history. Click here on a piece by Asian Week honoring Dr. Takaki's life--they will be running a series of pieces on him throughout the week.
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