Where Are The Asian Americans in Austin History?

Asian American Heritage
Written By Preservation Austin

BY HANNA HUANG

A common refrain that you will hear from Asian Americans who visit, move to, or grew up in Austin is “Where are the Asians in Austin?” Those familiar with more densely populated Asian ethnoburbs on the East and West coasts may be surprised not to run across the iconic Chinatown neighborhoods or spaces like the infamous Dun Huang Plaza off Bellaire Boulevard in Houston’s Chinatown–which is truly a Taiwanese boba drink shop lover’s paradise.

During my 19 years in Austin I’ve realized just how different and precious our Asian American history is. Although the city’s Asian American population has grown dramatically, this growth is only starting to become more visible with developments like the 2018 openings of Asian grocery giants H-Mart and 99 Ranch. Asian Americans now make up just over 8 percent of the total Austin population, a high proportion in comparison to the state and larger cities like Houston and Dallas (6.9 percent and 3.7 percent respectively; it is worth noting that, like in Austin, the majority of these populations reside in the central city). 

Austin’s Asian American history is of course made up of a multitude of individual experiences and stories–several of which are documented thanks to our Austin History Center’s Community Archivist Program. Established in 2000, this program includes an Asian American Community Archivist who aids us in collecting, preserving, and interpreting a growing record of our heritage. The following are a sampling of histories drawn from this valuable resource.

References to Chinese in Austin are found as early as 1874 in the Daily Statesman and Democratic Statesman. The 1875 census notes 20 Chinese men, primarily male laborers who did railroad construction in California and Mexico. It was still a rare occurrence for Asians to live in Austin from 1875 to the 1910s, with local papers detailing merchant services provided or noting the community’s progress through headlines. In 1903, Captain John August Hulen adopted Rudolpho Fernandez, a young Filipino boy who was his interpreter in the Philippines. The Austin American-Statesman wrote about his impending move to Austin and even provided updates like “He Entered the First Grade Two Years Ago and This Year Finished the Fifth” (Austin American-Statesman, June 3, 1903).

One of my favorite pictures is of the Lung Family who ran several restaurant and food businesses in downtown Austin from 1906 to 1974. Joe Lung Cafe was located on 204 Congress Avenue. One of his sons, Sam Lung, is pictured with two of his own children, Joe Michael and Sandra, in front of a livestock display. Showcasing livestock corrals like this was a common practice used by restaurants to attract customers back then. Lung was a community pillar who often provided loans of up to $1,000 for local Chinese, Black, and Latine individuals who were unable to receive loans due to discrimination from financial institutions of the era. 

In 2016, when I was the education coordinator for youth summer camps at the City of Austin’s Asian American Resource Center, we showed our campers a video about the Lung family from Austin Revealed: Pioneers from the East, commissioned by Austin PBS. For our camp trip that session, we arranged a tour of the Texas Capitol including an appearance from Joe’s great grandson, Joe Michael Lung (1940–2018), who is featured prominently in the video and came in on his day off from the Capitol Gift Shop to surprise our campers. It was a heartfelt moment to hear  the children scream “It’s JOE!” from across the Capitol extension as we approached the gift shop at the end of our tour.

Joe Lung Cafe, ca. 1945, PICB 21512 AF-BIOGRAPHY-Lung, Joe & Family, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library

United States immigration laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 largely kept Asians from immigrating into the country until reform with the Hart Cellar Act of 1965. One of the most intriguing examples of that barrier being skirted is documented by the Austin American-Statesman. During a goodwill mission to Karachi, Pakistan, Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson met camel driver Bashir Ahmed Sarban. He then casually suggested that Bashir come to the United States. Bashir jumped at the opportunity and through the People-to-People Program, established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to enhance international understanding, was able to visit New York City, Washington, DC, Kansas City, and the LBJ Ranch in Texas.

Bashir Ahmed at LBJ Ranch. October 1961. © Austin American-Statesman, AS-61-33531-001

A little closer to home for me is an image from 1978 of 100 Taiwanese students of the University of Texas at Austin marching from campus to the Federal Building in downtown Austin to voice their opposition to President Jimmy Carter’s formal recognition of the People's Republic of China—a declaration that severed a longstanding diplomatic and military tie to Taiwan. As a local community leader in various Taiwanese American groups since my university years, I have rarely seen black and white photos of my community in Texas. This image likely includes the aunties and uncles who I continue to run into at our Taiwanese Association meetings today. Seeing them participate in protest during a time when it was dangerous to identify yourself as Taiwanese due to Taiwan being under martial law from 1949 to 1987 reinvigorates my passion for advocating and serving as a leader in my community.

[Taiwanese Student Protest]. December 20, 1978. Photograph by Lon Cooper, AS-78-101708.

While the visibility of Asian Americans in Austin may not be immediate, I can confidently say that the power of our community organizing is stronger than ever. Together we were able to fight for the oldest Asian American Studies undergraduate program in the U.S. South, the result of protests and sit-ins by UT students, faculty, and staff in the late 1990s. Together we asked for spaces like the Asian American Resource Center, opened in 2013 following two decades of advocacy as the only City-funded and -staffed Pan-Asian American facility in the nation. Together we continue to write, build, and live our history. 

Hanna Huang is a 1.5-generation Taiwanese American immigrant who grew up along the Texas—Mexico border far away from the comforts of boba tea shops. Along with being Executive Director of the Austin Asian American Film Festival, she is Chair of the Austin Asian American Quality of Life Commission, and a longtime Asian American cultural arts program curator. In 2023–2024, she worked with the Austin History Center staff to co-curate In/Visible A: The Making of an Asian American Film Community, an exhibition spotlighting 20 years of the Austin Asian American Film Festival’s community-building and -organizing.

This article appeared in Preservation Austin's Spring 2025 newsletter. View our newsletter archive and become a member to receive issues straight to your door!

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