A 3-Part Bill Moyers Special:
Premiering on PBS March 25-27, 2003 at 9pm.
"What does it mean to become an American?"
"The story of Chinese Americans is part of the great American narrative, and ti has received too little mainstream attendtion. I have been interested in the experience of Chinese immigrants to this country- and what it helps us to understand about American- since back in the sixties when I was a young White House press secretary for President Lyndon Johnson.
"I worked on helping to pass the Immigration Acts of 1965 and then flew with President Johnson to the Statue of Liberty in new York Harbor where he signed the bill into law on October 3rd of that year. That act turned American immigration upside down. It opened the door for Asians and others to come here in record numbers, and it's been fascinating to watch with face of America change.
"Over the last forty years, I've heard Chinese Americans and recent arrivals grappling with the issues that every immigrant group has had to face over time. What does it really mean to become an American? What do you give up and what traditions do you try to preserve? At what moment do you think you are an American? And when do you feel you are accepted as American? These are personal and political issues. Issues of identity and assimiliation. Issues of access and empowerment. And they lie at the very heart of America's future."
-Bill Moyer
3/25 Part One - Gold Mountain Dreams
3/26 Part Two: Between Two Worlds
3/27 Part Three: No Turning Back
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