Roots: An Asian American Reader

Roots: An Asian American Reader (1971) was the first book published by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Asian American Studies Center and a groundbreaking anthology of Asian American issues written for and by Asian Americans. Roots was intended for use in college classrooms and remained the standard textbook for Asian American Studies courses nationwide for many years. It was also compiled to serve the literary needs of ordinary, working Asian Americans, who desired a convenient anthology that related to their lives and focused on the neglected subject of the Asian American experience. The anthology includes scholarly and political pieces drawing from traditional academic sources, in addition to contemporary works of self-expression like essays and poems. As Franklin Odo explains in the book’s preface, “these are critical times for Asian Americans and it is imperative that their voices be heard in all their anger, anguish, resolve and inspiration.” Roots has sold over 50,000 copies, had twelve printings, and remains a vital text in Asian American history.