Proud to be both
For decades, Asian Americans have been caught in a constant balancing act of being either too Asian or not Asian enough. We’ve felt pressured to hide our names, languages, and cultures just to fit in. It’s no wonder most of us feel like we don’t belong.

The truth is, we don’t need to forfeit our Asian or American identity to belong. Our complexity is our superpower. And across the country, people are honoring their roots and showing the world who they are—fully, powerfully, and proudly as Asian+American.

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Asian + American
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Resources
TAAF Asian+American Cookbook
The Recipe for Belonging
For generations, our stories and cultures have been passed down through food. The meals we share, the family recipes we cherish, and the tables where laughter and memory intertwine are the places we inherit identity, resilience, and love. At The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), we believe these stories—and the tables that hold them—are at the heart of what it means to belong.

Imagine a Thanksgiving table here kimchi sits beside mac and cheese, or savory dumplings share space with a roast turkey. This is the Asian+American table—a showcase of heritage, tradition, and reinvention. The Asian+American Cookbook is a reflection of this—recipes and personal narratives from AAPI chefs, artists, and cultural figures who are defining what it means to be #AsianPlusAmerican today. Each page is an invitation to gather, to taste, to listen, and to celebrate the diverse stories that shape our community.
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Download your free copy and share your story and traditions with us @taaforg.
Download Here
BEYOND, TOGETHER
We’re not caught between two worlds, we’re creating a new one.
How have you embraced being fully Asian and American? Are there moments where you’ve felt the complexity, or even tension, of navigating two cultures?
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Share your Asian+American story and tag @taaforg for a chance to be featured.
How can you get involved?
1
Watch and share our PSA,
2
Share your #AsianPlusAmerican story and tag @taaforg.
On Instagram, create a story, tap on the smiley face in a square, and search up “taaforg” to use our “+ American” sticker.
3
Partner with us!
If you’re interested in partnerships, events, collaborations, donating ad space, and more, please email partnerships@taaf.org.
EXPLORE
A love letter to our community.
The Asian+American campaign is a national PSA initiative launched by The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) that aims to encourage Asian Americans everywhere to celebrate the complexity and beauty of their dual identities.

Created in partnership with the award winning global creative agency Wieden+Kennedy New York, the campaign’s centerpiece is a 60-second short film called Beyond, Together. Narrated by award-winning actor/producer Sandra Oh and directed by Academy Award–nominee Sean Wang (Dìdi, Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó), who participated in the inaugural Sundance Institute | TAAF Fellowship cohort in 2022, the PSA is paired with powerful portraits taken by photographer Jingyu Lin that will roll out across digital, social, and out-of-home platforms. Learn more.
What does the “+” mean?

The hyphen, a mark that was used until recently to designate dual heritage, has historically encapsulated the tensions many have felt between being “Asian” and “American.”

We transform the hyphen (which also looks like a negative) into a plus symbol to celebrate Asian American identity as something positive and powerful in its entirety.

We are a massive community, a beautiful blend of so much more. Together, we are more.

TAKE ACTION
Help build safety in your neighborhood.
A leader in anti-harassment education, Right To Be empowers individuals to safely intervene in moments of bias or harm. Since 2020, over 100,000 people have used Right To Be's bystander intervention training workshops to learn how to safely step in during instances of anti-Asian hate and xenophobic harassment.

As part of our commitment to lasting change, TAAF and Right To Be are partnering to expand access to bystander intervention trainings (designed by Right To Be and Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC) that foster safety and belonging, with a goal of reaching up to 10,000 people in our first year. Sign up for a training below to gain the tools to respond, intervene, and heal—so you can take care of yourself and support others.

Learn more about Right To BeUpcoming trainings
GO FURTHER
Explore these resources to learn about, support, and uplift our community.
AAPI History Hub
A centralized, vetted, and interactive platform for K-12 educators to access lesson plans, multimedia, and other learning materials on Asian American and Pacific Islander history.
AAPI History Hub
A centralized, vetted, and interactive platform for K-12 educators to access lesson plans, multimedia, and other learning materials on Asian American and Pacific Islander history.
STAATUS Index 2025
We surveyed 4,909 Americans across the country to uncover the most pressing issues AANHPIs are facing today.
STAATUS Index 2025
We surveyed 4,909 Americans across the country to uncover the most pressing issues AANHPIs are facing today.
The New York Times: A Spotlight on Asian American Culture Today
The New York Times explores how Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the country’s fastest growing demographic, are reshaping the arts — and how we live.
The New York Times: A Spotlight on Asian American Culture Today
The New York Times explores how Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the country’s fastest growing demographic, are reshaping the arts — and how we live.
TAAF Cities
The TAAF Cities initiative will advance safety and economic opportunity in cities with major AAPI populations.
TAAF Cities
The TAAF Cities initiative will advance safety and economic opportunity in cities with major AAPI populations.
Beyond the Surface: Understanding Mental Health Among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Youth
Beyond the Surface is a nationally representative mixed methods study exploring the mental and emotional well-being of young people aged 14-25 in the AANHPI community.
Beyond the Surface: Understanding Mental Health Among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Youth
Beyond the Surface is a nationally representative mixed methods study exploring the mental and emotional well-being of young people aged 14-25 in the AANHPI community.
Fighting to Belong!
A comic book series, in collaboration with Third State Books, LAAUNCH, and AAEdu, for middle schoolers that tells AAPI history in an appealing and accessible way.
Fighting to Belong!
A comic book series, in collaboration with Third State Books, LAAUNCH, and AAEdu, for middle schoolers that tells AAPI history in an appealing and accessible way.
AANHPI Toolkit: Celebrating Our Heritage, Together
Explore the many ways you can honor Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities and cultures.
AANHPI Toolkit: Celebrating Our Heritage, Together
Explore the many ways you can honor Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities and cultures.
The AAPI Nonprofit Database
Providing resources to AAPI orgs long overlooked and disproportionally underfunded.
The AAPI Nonprofit Database
Providing resources to AAPI orgs long overlooked and disproportionally underfunded.
TAAF is a non-partisan 501(c)3 non-profit recognized by the IRS. Your contribution to TAAF is tax-deductible for Federal tax purposes, to the extent provided by applicable Federal tax laws.
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