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A 'Thai American' is an American of Thai descent.

Contents

History in U.S.

Areas of greatest concentration

Cultural Influence on America

Political involvement

Community

Notable Individuals

See also

Sources

External links

History in U.S.

The first people from Thailand who immigrated to the United States were In and Chan, the famous Siamese twins, who came to the United States in 1830. They settled in White Plains, North Carolina, and used "Bunker" as their last name. Their descendants have continued to use "Bunker" as their last name until recently.
The first student to immigrate from Thailand was Mr. He Thien (original name "ThienHe"), who came with an American missionary, and graduated from a New York medical college in 1871.
He was the father of former Prime minister of Thailand Pote Sarasin.

★ From 1961-1970, about 5,000 Thai immigrated to the United States.

★ From 1971-1980, about 44,000 Thai immigrated to United States.

★ From 1981-1990, about 64,400 Thai immigrated to United States.
In 1993, there were an estimated 120,000 persons of Thai descent living in the United States. [1]

Areas of greatest concentration

Los Angeles, California has the largest Thai population outside of Thailand. Roughly 66% percent of all Thai Americans live in Los Angeles. It is also home to the world's first and only Thai Town. In 2002, there was an estimated 80,000+ Thai immigrants living in Los Angeles. Thai Chinese are also included in the population. Because of this, Los Angeles is sometimes referred to as Thailand's 77th province.
Note that both Bangkok and Los Angeles are known as the ''City of Angels''.
However, there are Thai communities spread throughout the US. Other cities with sizable Thai populations include Houston, Texas and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Cultural Influence on America

Thai Americans are well known for bringing the cuisine of their native Thailand to America. Thai cuisine is popular in many American cities. It is currently popular for American restaurants to offer Thai influenced dishes.
Thai culture's prominent popularity in the United States is somewhat disproportionate to the percentage of Thai Americans in the total population. This is largely due to the U.S. presence in Thailand and Laos during the Vietnam War, which exposed American soldiers to Thai culture, and to the subsequent influx of Thai Americans and Laotian Americans. According to the 2000 census there were 196,893 Laotians and 150,093 Thai residents in the United States. Thai and Lao cultures and language are very similar especially in the northern Isan region of Thailand.

Political involvement

Traditionally, political involvement in the Thai American community seldom exists. However, with the recent events in Thailand with the controversy over former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, activity in the Thai community has increased. Prior to his overthrow, there have been protests at the Thai consulate in Los Angeles.
On November 7, 2006, Gorpat Henry Charoen became the first and only US elected official of Thai descent. He was elected to the La Palma City Council in California. In the Asian American mainstream, Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, Filipino Americans, Vietnamese Americans, and Korean Americans have been elected to political offices. Two Thai Americans ran in municipal elections in 2003, one in Anaheim, California and the other in Houston, Texas (the candidate who ran in Houston was a native Houstonian); both candidates lost.
Tammy Duckworth, a Thai American Iraq war veteran, ran for election under the Democratic ticket to Congress in Illinois's sixth district in the 2006 mid-term election. Had she not been narrowly defeated, she would have been the first Thai American in Congress.

Community

Buddhist temples (Wat) often serve as a civics center for Thai Americans. Many offer classes in Thai language, music and culture for Thais who grew up in America. They also serve as a meeting place for cultural festivals like Songkran (Thai New Year, best known to foreigners as a water festival) and Loy Krathong.



Besides Buddhist Temples, there are many Thai Christian Churches in most of the states wherever Thais reside, though they mostly are very small. Aside from Thai churches, Thai Christians can also be found among other mainstream local and other inter-cultural churches in general.

Notable Individuals

★ Chang and Eng Bunker

★ Mike Chat

★ Tammy Duckworth

★ Porntip Nakhirunkanok

★ Brenda Song

★ Tiger Woods

★ Tata Young

★ Lada Engchawadechasilp

★ Johnny Damon

See also

★ Thai people

★ Asian Americans

Sources

#We the People Asians in the United States Census 2000 Special Reports
#Vong, Pueng. Unrest in the Homeland Awakens the Thai Community IMDiversity March 29,2006
#Asian American Action Fund 2006 endorsed candidates

External links

★ ThaiNewYork.com

★ Thaitown USA News

★ Asian Pacific Newspaper

★ Siam Media Newspaper

★ Sereechai Newspaper