Crossing East: Our History, Our Stories, Our America

Sweeping in scope, rich in anecdote, Crossing East is the first major radio series about pan-Asian immigration to the United States—or, rather, what became the U.S. In the mid-1700s, we learn, Filipino seaman known as “Manilamen” jumped ship from Spanish galleons and started a settlement in Louisiana. Such details were made possible by executive producer Dmae Roberts’ enlistment of noted Asian-American scholars and creation of an oral-history project for which nearly 1,000 people were interviewed. The milestone series’ eight, 54-minute installments illuminate fascinating individuals such as Ing “Doc” Hay, a Chinese herb and pulse doctor who had a thriving practice in Oregon in the 1800s. Other segments explore larger topics such as exclusionary immigration laws, life on Pacific-island plantations and “war brides.” For bringing diverse facets of the Asian-American experience into the mainstream and creating a reusable historic resource, Crossing East: Our History, Our Stories, Our America receives a Peabody.