Showing Records: 1 - 9 of 9
Oral History Interview with Billy and Duyen Chang, March 4, 2021
Item
Identifier: 2020.020.034
Abstract
Billy and Duyen Chang are originally immigrants from Hong Kong and Vietnam respectively who grew up in the U.S. and now live in the D.C. Metro area. They both faced challenges while assimilating to American life and culture, most notably in learning English, but they were both able to fully adjust to life in the U.S. after their initial transition periods. When their families immigrated to the U.S. (Duyen’s family moved to the suburbs of Chicago, while Billy’s originally moved to Miami) they...
Dates:
March 4, 2021
Oral History Interview with David Chen, Part 2, 2004-07-13
File
Identifier: 2014.036.015
Abstract
In this interview, David Chen discusses his work at Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) as an activist in New York City's Chinatown. Chen is the director of CPC, a private organization started in 1965 serving the public and focusing on low-income immigrant families, mostly Chinese. Services offered include language classes, translations, daycare centers, job training for adults, senior citizen care, childcare, and Meals on Wheels. Prior to his work at CPC, Chen worked for the mayor in...
Dates:
2004-07-13
Oral History Interview with Jami Gong, 2004-04-26
File
Identifier: 2014.036.004
Abstract
Jami (Jameson) Gong is a Chinese American comedian and local Chinatown resident. Born August 23, 1969 in New York City, Jami is the son of immigrant parents from Hong Kong and Southern China. His parents immigrated to the United States in 1967 with a desire for better opportunities and a better life for their children. He reminisces about his time growing up and living in Chinatown, the pollution problem, the changing demographics over time, and the education he and his siblings received....
Dates:
2004-04-26
Oral History Interview with Jefferson Li, October 20, 2020
Item
Identifier: 2020.020.028
Abstract
Jefferson Li’s family owns and runs the New York Chinatown butcher shop 47 Division Street Trading Inc. Like many Chinatown businesses, his family business took a huge economic hit due to the pandemic. Li took to the popular social news aggregator website Reddit to try and drum up business by publicizing their low prices to New Yorkers who wouldn’t normally be their primary demographic, becoming a pseudo celebrity in the process. As someone who has been in the Chinatown community prior to...
Dates:
October 20, 2020
Oral History Interview with Marcella Dear, May 24, 2013
Item
Identifier: 2013.022.006
Abstract
Marcella Dear, a longtime friend of MOCA and a generous donor of over 900 objects, joins us to discuss her exciting life and her memories of Chinatown. Marcella goes into depth about many of the objects she donated, and discusses not only their significance as sentimental objects but also how these objects were used in their original setting, at the Rice Bowl restaurant on Mott Street. Marcella’s father founded the Rice Bowl, and she discusses her childhood growing up in and around the...
Dates:
May 24, 2013
Oral History Interview with Mirian Yau Oyola, 2003-10-17
File
Identifier: 2014.036.011
Abstract
In this interview, Mirian Yau Oyola recounts her family’s migration from Guangdong, China to Panama and reminisces about her childhood growing up on a ranch and in a large Asian community in Panama. She chronicles her family’s eventual move to New York City, familial dynamics within a mixed family, the difficulties of cultural assimilation into American life with a Chinese stepmother, and the stark contrasts between life in Panama and America. Growing up in Brooklyn, she recalls how her...
Dates:
2003-10-17
Oral History Interview with Tony Wong, 2004-04-01
File
Identifier: 2014.036.013
Abstract
Tony Wong, General Manager at Sino Television, was born and raised in Hong Kong. He immigrated to the United States to study broadcasting at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Tony recalls his initial struggles as a student coming from a poor economic background and how he eventually moved to New York City, receiving a job offer at NBC right after graduation. During his time at NBC and in Sino TV as a part-timer, Tony would learn a myriad of skills including production, directing,...
Dates:
2004-04-01
Oral History Interview with William Chiu, 2004-03-30
File
Identifier: 2014.036.017
Abstract
William Chiu, born in 1952, begins this interview recalling his childhood growing up, learning and working in Hong Kong. He talks about his father’s work as a chef and his father’s fateful opportunity to immigrate with his family to the United States. He describes his education and reasoning for desiring to go to the United States. William recounts his first job working as a waiter in training before beginning to work with his father in the restaurant business. He also describes the working...
Dates:
2004-03-30
Oral History Interview with Wing Ma, 2003-11-07
File
Identifier: 2014.036.016
Abstract
Wing Ma (Ma Wing Guo) was born in China to a poor farming family who moved to Hong Kong as refugees when he was age two. Wing talks about his life growing up in Hong Kong with his mother working in the garment industry and his father working as a chef in Manila. He studied until post-secondary school before moving to the United States to train and work as an engineer. Wing would eventually join the garment industry as a factory owner, and describes the industry’s decline over time due to...
Dates:
2003-11-07
Filter Results
Additional filters:
- Subject
- Chinatown (New York, N.Y.) 8
- Immigration 8
- September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001 6
- Chinese American business enterprises 4
- Community organization. 4
- Chinese Americans 3
- Family history 3
- Asian Americans--Cultural assimilation 2
- Chinese restaurants 2
- Education 2
- Family-owned business enterprises 2
- Immigration & society 2
- Language and languages 2
- Social workers. 2
- COVID-19 (Disease) 1
- Chinese American businesspeople 1
- Chinese American entertainers 1
- Chinese American journalists 1
- Clothing trade. 1
- Collections and legacies 1
- Community Service (Education) 1
- Entrepreneurship 1
- Fund raising. 1
- Gentrification 1
- Housing. 1
- Labor unions. 1
- Mutual Aid Societies 1
- Racism. 1
- Radio broadcasting. 1
- Stand-up comedy. 1
- Television 1
- Television--Production and direction. 1 ∧ less
- Language
- English 8
- Chinese 1
∨ more