Every 4th of July, we celebrate what Alexis de Tocqueville observed in the early 19th Century: the birth of America’s improbable and fascinating experiment in democratic life. Aim High: Teens playing a game of basketball. - Khrystal Phoenix

On July 4th, 2014, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center presented an experiment in cultural democracy – the first crowdsourced gallery of the Asian Pacific American experience around the world as lived on one day. A young girl flashes a peace sign at Duoc Su Temple. - Dean Wong

We chose the 145th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railway; an unprecedented national project that relied heavily on Chinese labor, but whose Asian history was excluded from its visual documentation in the iconic picture of the Golden Spike ceremony at Promontory, Utah. Connecting America by rail is an integral part of the Asian American story. In Hemet there are still several Asian American businesses near the old rail lines. - Bryan Thao Worra

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center issued a call to populate the online world with Asian Pacific American representations of life on a day when Asian Pacific American experiences were historically spectral. City Super: Shopping for fresh food is an activity that takes place every day. In Chinatown of San Francisco, this scene is a reminder of the active nature on a busy street. - Wilton Wong

Asian Pacific America is without borders. It exists after your flight has left the gate, when you are in unfamiliar land, and beyond the digital grid. Seeking bird self. -Dao Strom

Our heritage informs our lives – from the life-changing instances to the mundane. Even when it’s not at the front of our minds, it lies deep in our souls.

We express our passion through the way we fill our days – whether we are running toward our dreams or struggling to survive.

We engage in ritual to be larger than any individual self. Together, we celebrate, mourn, and give thanks.

Community is convergence. We are defined by those who surround us. We are reflections of each other.

What does Asian Pacific America look like? We find strength not only in our aesthetic diversity, but in how we transcend societal standards. Our beauty flourishes outside the margins.

During childhood, I often took family trips to Little Saigon during my summer vacations, trips that used to cause me anxiety due to the overwhelming crowds. -Trinh Mai

Joe Tsai cares for his chickens on his farm. - Kin Man Hui

In this Seattle International District parade photo: Puget Sound in the background and bus headed to 98118, one of the most diverse zip codes in the nation. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen monks and a ’62 Impala in the same photo. - Dennis Wtpho

Friends and family gather at Windward Mall in Kaneohe, Hawaii on Mother’s Day weekend. Boy plays with his kendama, a very popular Japanese toy. - Lenore Chinn

Waiting Around – Honolulu Chinatown is a major stop for those catching the bus. Chinatown is not the nicest or cleanest place in Honolulu, witness the graffiti on the wall. While waiting for the bus, everyone is in their own world. - Cliff Kimura

TrafficGod - Walt Louie

The new and the old – Amazon Danbo chillin in front of the Japanese American Museum in San Jose. - Jeff Sera

Learning about how American soldiers (11th Armored Cavalry Regiment) served at the Inner-German border during the Cold War. - Lovely Umayam

Locke is an historic Chinese town in the California Delta. A view of Main Street from the Locke boarding house. - Joe Chan

Biggest surprise about Paris: I can’t turn a corner without seeing a Filipino person. Bless the Filipina who sells lumpia in Parc Monceau in the 17eme! - Ruby Veridiano

David waiting to go upstairs for his Nihon Buyo lesson. - Christy Ishimine

Felted sculpture-EATING CULTURES – Photo shot during AAWAA’s May 10th Panel Discussion during EATING CULTURES art exhibition. Little girl popped her head up when I shot this. - Cynthia Tom

First Visit. Has been to Chinese restaurants in Kansas, Chicago, Washington, and Texas. Favorite dish: shrimp egg foo young. - Wing Huie

Tai Khuai Wah, 78, bottom left, plays mahjong with her friends at her friend Zhuojuan Mei Liang’s apartment in Chicago’s Chinatown on May 10, 2014. - Junru Huang

2014 Boy Scouts Makahiki Festival - RK

Fellows attending the Advanced Security Cooperation Course at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies are challenged to a “dance off” by two year-old Alana Louis, daughter of employee Copernick Louis at the “Taste of Asia-Pacific” celebration. - Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies

Reading together at Seoul Street; Korean Fried Chicken at Seoul Street (Authentic, Bold, Korean) after an APA Heritage Month and Taiwanese American Heritage Week event with writer Frances Kai-Hwa Wang and students from Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan (AACCOM) and Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors (FASCA). - Frances Kai-Hwa Wang

Walking by the Capitol building in Honolulu, came across this lady adorning the statue of the last Monarch and only Queen of Hawaii, Liliʻuokalani with leis.- Cliff Kimura

First Communion Day at Saint Andrew. - Kim Nguyen

Sam is a newer monk at the Wat Lao in Winchester off of Leon Rd. He took his vows four months ago and previously lived in Hemet. He came from Vientiane before that. - Bryan Thao Worra

Beauty pageant contestants wait patiently. Shot at the 22nd Annual Filipino Fiesta. -Kristin Kouke