A new Kickstarter campaign has launched in order to address the “lack of information and awareness about South Asian American History," according to project organizers.
Entitled "Our Stories: An Introduction to South Asian America," the book’s mission is to capture and share the stories of important South Asian Americans, many of whom exerted incredible influence over 130 years of American history, but who often went unnoticed and unrecorded in history books.
The book, a project of the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA), seeks to highlight stories that like of Dalip Singh Saund, elected to the United States Congress in 1956 after being denied American citizenship for more than 20 years, and Anandibai Joshee, the first South Asian women in the world to receive her M.D. in Pennsylvania in 1886, among others.
“It is incredibly important to us that these stories be available to a younger and broader audience,” said Samip Mallick, SAADA's Executive Director. “By creating and publishing a book that will be in schools, libraries, and homes around the country, we are working to ensure that South Asian American stories are a part of everyone's lives.”
Mallick says the project is even more important for the next generation of South Asian Americans, who don't often see their stories reflected in history lessons, to be aware of the “legacies of individuals who shaped the American narrative.”
SAADA is a grassroots non-profit organization created in 2008 to document, preserve, and share the stories of South Asian Americans. NBC Asian America partners with SAADA for an occasional series called First Days, chronicling the stories of American immigrants.
For more information on the "Our Stories" Kickstarter campaign, click here.
