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History buffs in New Jersey: May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (now known as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month).
How much do you know about the group’s rich history in the Garden State?
Here are 10 questions to celebrate that heritage and test your AAPI knowledge. (Play fair! No Googling.)
Can’t see the quiz above? Grab a sheet of paper and a pencil and do it the old-fashioned way below.
1) In what New Jersey town were Indian Americans attacked by assailants calling themselves “Dotbusters” in the late 1980s?
A. EdisonB. West WindsorC. Jersey City
2) What year did New Brunswick-based Manavi, the first organization in the U.S to address the needs of South Asian female victims of violence, start its operations?
A. 1993B. 1985C. 2000
3) The BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, the largest Hindu temple in the world, is located where in New Jersey?
A. RobbinsvilleB. Cape MayC. Paramus
4) When New Jersey became the second U.S. state to require Asian American history to be taught in public schools, it followed what state?
A. CaliforniaB. IllinoisC. New York
5) Ellen Park, the first Korean American woman to be elected to the New Jersey Legislature, represents what legislative district?
A. 37th District (Bergen County)B. 33rd District (Hudson County)C. 29th District (Hudson and Essex counties)
6) Which of these New Jersey cities do not have a Koreatown?
A. Fort LeeB. HackensackC. Palisades Park
7) What year was Upendra Chivukula elected to the New Jersey General Assembly as the first Indian American to fill a state legislative seat?
A. 2009B. 2005C. 2001
8) Lisa Hou, the first Asian American and the first woman to lead the New Jersey Army National Guard, grew up in what county?
A. BergenB. HudsonC. Monmouth
9) Zahid Quraishi, the first Asian-American federal judge in New Jersey, is a graduate of what law school?
A. RutgersB. Seton HallC. John Marshall
10) What New Jersey town was home to the first Chinese community on the East Coast?
A. BellevilleB. Fort LeeC. Passaic
Quiz Answers
- 1 – C. Jersey City. From June to December of 1987 and continuing into 1988, attacks against Indian Americans were carried out in state’s second largest city by a group of assailants who called themselves “Dotbusters.”
- 2 – B. 1985. Manavi was formed by Shamita Das Dasgupta, Radha Sarma Hegde, Shashi Jain, Rashmi Jaipal, Vibha Jha, and Kavery Dutta.
- 3 – A. Robbinsville. The BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham campus is located in the township just east of Trenton and occupies 180 acres.
- 4 – B. Illinois. The Midwestern state in 2021 was the first in the U.S. to pass a law requiring schools teach Asian American history.
- 5 – A. 37th District (Bergen County). Park represents a district that includes Bogota, Englewood, Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee, Hackensack, Leonia, Palisades Park, Ridgefield Park, Teaneck and Tenafly.
- 6 – B. Hackensack. The county seat for Bergen County has a much smaller Korean American population than nearby towns of Palisade Park and Fort Lee, which each has the largest populations in the state.
- 7. – C. 2001. Chivukula served in the State Assembly from 2002 to 2014, where he represented the 17th Legislative District, which covers parts of Somerset and Middlesex counties.
- 8 – C. Monmouth. Hou grew up in the Monmouth County towns of Middletown and Rumson and resides in Belmar.
- 9. – A. Rutgers. Quraishi received his Juris Doctor from the school in 2000. Since June 2021, he has served as a judge on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
- 10. – A. Belleville. 68 boys and young men first settled in the Essex County town in 1870 and organized what was considered the very first Chinese New Year celebration on the East Coast.
Ricardo Kaulessar covers race, immigration, and culture for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com
Twitter: @ricardokaul