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Showing Records: 1 - 10 of 10

Oral History Interview with Anne Ho, 2013-02-15

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Identifier: 2013.022.001
Abstract Anne Ho is a longtime resident of Chinatown in New York City. Ho reflects on how her family moved to the United States and her early childhood growing up in Chinatown. She discusses the garment factory her mother worked at along with her daily routine living in Chinatown. She continues the discussion of garment factories by stating their importance of Chinatown during her childhood along with how Chinatown has changed overall. She then goes to discuss the development of Confucius Plaza and...
Dates: 2013-02-15

Oral History Interview with Billy and Duyen Chang, March 4, 2021

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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 1, 2003-07-10

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Identifier: 2014.036.014
Abstract During the interview, David Chen discusses his experience as a Chinese American activist and director of the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), and his theory of activism. When Chen was younger, he rarely spoke. He would always wait for someone else to say the right thing, to which he would then agree. One time, as a younger student, he was forced to present a project because two of his partners did not show up. One of his classmates expressed how well-spoken he was and at that moment,...
Dates: 2003-07-10

Oral History Interview with Jenny Ye, 2008-02-22

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Identifier: 2008.040.002
Abstract Jenny Ye was born in Manhattan in 1991, and has been a resident of Chinatown her whole life. She actively volunteers and coordinates for community-oriented organizations such as Chinatown Youth Initiatives, Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence (CAAAV), Chinatown Literacy Project, and Asian Pacific American Youth Alliance (APAYA). Ye first became aware of gentrification at a Chinatown Tenant Union meeting. She visualizes Chinatown as having aged low-rise buildings, fire escapes, no...
Dates: 2008-02-22

Oral History Interview with Joseph Chu, 2004-04-24

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Identifier: 2014.036.008
Abstract Joseph Wah Chu is a Chinese immigrant from Toishan County, Guangdong Province, China born in 1933. He grew up in Guangzhou and Hong Kong before eventually moving to the United States in 1965. In the United States, he worked in different cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City as a waiter and office worker. Joseph would eventually settle in New York City’s Chinatown, citing better job opportunities and existing friendships in NYC. In 1978, Joseph started working at the New...
Dates: 2004-04-24

Oral History Interview with Kayo Ong, 2007-12-16

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Identifier: 2008.040.012
Abstract Larry Goodman, today’s owner of his familys corporation Grand Machinery Exchange, Inc., recounts how his first generation Polish grandfather founded the company in 1927. Goodman’s father Jerry and uncle Isidore took control of the business in 1947, and Larry Goodman later succeeded his father in 1983. According to Goodman, Centre Street machinery dealers were predominantly Jewish and were often afraid of non-Jewish “outsiders.” These business men were concerned with gaining respect and...
Dates: 2007-12-16

Oral History Interview with Marcella Dear, May 24, 2013

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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 William Chiu, 2004-03-30

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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

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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

The Family Journey of The Kung Family, 2016-09

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Identifier: 2016.033.006
Abstract

Various members of the Kung family recount their journey to the US and how they adapted to American culture. They further explore the changes in the Chinese community from when they first arrived to current day.

Dates: 2016-09