I Am America

It's 1916, and Europe is at war. Yet Margaret Singh, living an entire ocean away in California, is unaffected. Then the United States enters the war against Germany. Suddenly the entire country is up in arms against those who seem "un-American" or speak against the country's ally, Great Britain. When Margaret's father is arrested for his ties to the Ghadar Party, a group of Indian immigrants seeking to win India's independence from Great Britain, Margaret's own allegiances are called into question. But she was born in America and America itself fought to be freed from British rule. So what does it even mean to be American? It's the storytellers that preserve a nation's history. But what happens when some stories are silenced? The I Am America series features fictional stories based on important historical events from people whose voices have been under represented, lost, or forgotten over time.

It's 1906, and strict immigration laws have divided Han Liu's family. His mother and sister are in China, while he and his father live in San Francisco, California. Han resists his father's attempts to teach him traditional Chinese values. Han is an American, after all, and he'd rather read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer than study Chinese proverbs. But when a massive earthquake and fire destroy Chinatown and separate Han from his father, those proverbs are all he has left. Can Han use the wisdom of his family to survive the earthquake and fire, reunite with his father, and rebuild their life? It's the storytellers that preserve a nation's history. But what happens when some stories are silenced? The I Am America series features fictional stories based on important historical events from people whose voices have been under represented, lost, or forgotten over time.

It's August 1941 when Sumiko Adachi starts at a new school in Phoenix, Arizona. In spite of her first-day jitters, she finds a friendly face in Emi Kuno. But everything changes after Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, and the United States enters World War II. Suddenly the girls are faced with anti-Japanese sentiment from classmates and neighbors. When an arbitrary dividing line is drawn through Phoenix, the girls find themselves on opposite sides. Can Sumiko and Emi maintain their friendship when one of them is forced into a confinement camp, and the other is allowed to remain free? It's the storytellers that preserve a nation's history. But what happens when some stories are silenced? The I Am America series features fictional stories based on important historical events from people whose voices have been underrepresented, lost, or forgotten over time.

Hattie Jacobs has a secret dream: to go to school to become a teacher. But her parents were formerly enslaved and are struggling to survive in Nashville, Tennessee, after Reconstruction. When the Jacobs family joins the Great Exodus of 1879 to Kansas, their journey in search of a better life is filled with danger and hardship. Will they make it to the Mississippi unharmed? What will be waiting for them in Kansas, and will it live up to their dreams? It's the storytellers that preserve a nation's history. But what happens when some stories are silenced? The I Am America series features fictional stories based on important historical events from people whose voices have been underrepresented, lost, or forgotten over time.

It's 1864, and many have come to seek their fortune in the gold-laden mountains of California. Emma Fong, the booksmart and streetwise daughter of a respected Chinese merchant, is more than able to hold her own in the one-room schoolhouse of the mining town of La Porte. But when the town hires a stiff-necked teacher with staunch views against the Chinese, Emma's life crumbles. As the teacher stokes anti-Asian sentiment among Emma's neighbors, Emma must believe in herself and the strengths of her people to survive the growing hate. Will she be able to stake a permanent claim of her own as an American in the Wild West?

It's 1893, and Lorraine Williams can't wait to attend the Chicago World's Fair and see her idol, the Black opera singer Sissieretta Jones. But when, activist and writer Ida B. Wells urges Black Americans to boycott the fair, Lorraine's father forbids Lorraine from going. After all, there is no exhibition, about the progress that the Black community has made, since Emancipation, and the fair has, lacked Black representation since it was first being planned. But, Lorraine will do anything to see Miss Jones and ensure other Black people can hear Miss Jones sing. What does progress look like if not Sissieretta Jones, who embodies everything Lorraine wants to be? It's the storytellers, that preserve a nation's history. But, what happens when some stories are silenced? The I Am America series features fictional stories based on important historical events about people, whose voices have been, excluded, lost, or forgotten, over time.

It's 1935, and the Great Depression and California drought has left eleven-year-old Joseph McCoy shining shoes to help his family survive. Through his hard work and games with his sister, Joseph has figured out how to get by as one of the few black people in a mostly white community. But the order of the town is disrupted when an all-black Civilian Conservation Corps camp comes to Elsinore, sparking racial tension. It isn't long before prejudice spreads like wildfire and threatens to force the work camp to leave. Could Joseph's secret project save the camp and bring his family hope for the future? If not, the whole town just might go up in flames. It's the storytellers that preserve a nation's history. But what happens when some stories are silenced? The I Am America series features fictional stories based on important historical events from people whose voices have been underrepresented, lost, or forgotten over time.

Budding reporter, Tala Mendoza, thinks life in 1965 Delano, California, is boring. But that's before her father and other members of the local Filipino grape workers' union vote to strike. While the strike brings Filipino and Mexican farmworkers together, it threatens to tear Tala and her best friend, Jasmine, apart. Can Tala and Jasmine's relationship withstand the strain and length of the Delano Grape Strike? It's the storytellers that preserve a nation's history. But what happens when some stories are silenced? The I Am America series features fictional stories based on important historical events from people whose voices have been underrepresented, lost, or forgotten over time.

It's 1951, and workers at the Empire Zinc mine in Alba, New Mexico, have been striking for months. Among them is Ana Maria Garcia's father, who says they may need to sell her vihuela to pay rent. But, her vihuela was a gift from her recently deceased mother, and her dream is to be a corridista, a singer of Mexican ballads. As Ana Maria is, drawn to the picket line, she is inspired to write a corrido about her mother and the other women of the mining community. An upcoming talent show may be Ana Maria's chance to earn money for rent and save her vihuela, if she can give voice to the song of her heart. It's the storytellers, that preserve a nation's history. But, what happens, when some stories are silenced? The I Am America series features fictional stories based on important historical events about people, whose voices have been, excluded, lost, or forgotten over time.

It's 1973, and in Denver, Colorado, Patsy Antoine doesn't usually give much thought to her relatives living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. After all, her classmates don't even know she's part Lakota. Then she learns the tiny town of Wounded Knee has been occupied. Now Patsy's relatives are stuck amid the conflict between American Indian Movement activists and Oglala Lakota tribe members on the one side, and federal marshals and FBI agents on the other. When Patsy visits her relatives on Pine Ridge, she learns more about her heritage and the clashing perspectives on the Wounded Knee occupation. As she connects with her roots, Patsy must grapple with the complexities of the conflict and of being biracial. It's the storytellers that preserve a nation's history. But what happens when some stories are silenced? The I Am America series features fictional stories based on important historical events about people whose voices have been excluded, lost, or forgotten over time.