Under the Dragon:
California’s New Culture

Lonny Shavelson and Fred Setterberg
Foreword by Andrew Lam

Paperback, ISBN: 978-1-59714-045-4, $24.95
160 pages (9 x 11), with 84 color photographs

Published in collaboration with the Oakland Museum of California.

It’s happening right before your eyes—the new American mix.

When photographer Lonny Shavelson was viewing a Saint Patrick’s Day parade in San Francisco, he was surprised to see a Chinese dragon. He was even more surprised when he lifted the flaps and discovered that an African American man was carrying the puppet.

The old paradigm of the melting pot and phrases like “ethnic diversity” can no longer describe the freedom with which more and more Americans are modifying and assimilating cultural elements across ethnic lines. Under the Dragon is a fascinating look at the way individuals are building their own identities from an increasingly diverse pool, whether they are African American Buddhists, Latino Muslims, or a group of Mien students who invented their own cultural dance in order to celebrate an ethnic “heritage.”

Pay attention to the stories behind the photographs—they will inspire you to look a little closer.

For more information, please go to www.underthedragon.com.

Exhibit: Oakland Museum of California, January 12–April 6, 2008

Advance Praise:

“Under the Dragon documents the decreasing relevance of ‘race’ and the growing importance of community as we continue to mix, mingle, marry, and migrate.”—Kip Fulbeck, author of Part Asian, 100% Hapa

“Ambitious and marvelously vibrant, Under the Dragon provides a captivating and astutely documented take on California’s changing cultural and ethnic intersections. It offers, by arresting photographic example, a fresh lesson in the things that divide and unite us all.”—Chandra Prasad, editor of Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience

“Under the Dragon is a joyful celebration of diversity and a compelling case for stretching beyond our own assumptions about our differences.”—Janice Mirikitani, San Francisco Poet Laureate, 2000

Sample Photos:

About the Authors:

Lonny Shavelson (left) [hyperlink underlined to www.photowords.com] is a writer, photojournalist, radio journalist, and physician whose articles and photographs have appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, People, Mother Jones, Der Spiegel, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Baltimore Sun, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and others. Shavelson is the author of several books, his most recent being Hooked: Five Addicts Challenge Our Misguided Drug Rehab System.

Fred Setterberg (right) is the author of The Roads Taken: Travels through America’s Literary Landscapes, coauthor with Lonny Shavelson of Toxic Nation: The Fight to Save Our Communities from Chemical Contamination, and the editor of Travelers’ Tales America. His work has been featured in the New York Times, The Nation, the Utne Reader, the Columbia Journalism Review, and scores of other national and regional magazines.