Abstract In this interview, David Eng and Ming Mui reflect on the rich history and challenges faced by their family business, Fong Inn Too, a retail and wholesale shop specializing in freshly made traditional Taishanese staples. Davids grandfather, a Taishanese native who immigrated from Cuba, founded the shop in 1931 with several partners. Managed later by Davids parents, the shop became known for its unique family recipes, which required extensive preparation and drew a loyal customer base. David...

Abstract Dr Ee Tay sits down with MOCA to discuss her childhood, upbringing, and influences in her personal life that made her decide to choose a career in medicine. She remembers her time spent in hospitals and nursing homes with her mother that influenced her to choose a career in medicine, specifically as a pediatrician. She has helped the underserved and underprivileged elders in her community through her various projects. She helped her hospitals overcome barriers of communication and distance...

Abstract Capturing daily life during the COVID-19 pandemic, Asian American Photojournalist Eric Lee roamed the streets of Washington D.C and New York recording his experience through street photography. Selected shots from the project have been put together for his photo series “a distanced memory” which explores his feelings of despair, isolation, loneliness and hope. In this interview, he discusses graduating from Corcoran College of the Arts and Design during the pandemic and his thesis exploring...

Abstract Frank Liu, former Director of Technology at MOCA, sits down with Tomie Arai to conduct an oral history recounting his experience growing up in Chinatown during the ‘90s and early 2000s. Liu discusses his family’s history and their experience immigrating to the U.S. from Fuzhou, Fujian when he was seventeen years old, in 1998. He discusses how his uncle was able to sponsor his family to come to the U.S. and how his family moved to Chinatown initially upon their arrival. He discusses how even...

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In this oral history interview, Genia Blaser shares her experience working as a staff attorney at the Immigrant Defense Project and how her work informs contemporary immigration laws and policies. She talks about how she is connected to the Golden Venture story and what must be done to bring about meaningful change to help at-risk immigrant communities in the United States today.

Abstract In this interview, husband and wife, George and Ruth Wong, talk about how they were both performers at the China Doll Night Club. George Wong describes how he was born in China and trained in acrobatics there. When he was 9, he was in an acrobatic troupe that toured Europe. Ruth Wong was born in the United States but was sent back to China with her mother and siblings to get an education during the Depression Era. She talks about growing up in a neighborhood where she was picked on for being...

Abstract Mr. Tran emigrated from Vietnam and settled in Brooklyn, New York in 1990, three years after which he opened a family grocery business. Even though he had contracted a five-year lease that was projected to last until 2003, a new landlord took over the building in 1999 at which time Tran received an eviction notice. Ultimately, after seven years of successfully running his grocery business, Tran lost his grocery store—and with it his source of income—over a rent dispute. According to Tran and...

Abstract This oral history focuses on Jeff Lobach, who was the President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association at the time of the Golden Venture. He organized the lawyers who were trained for the purpose of defending the detainees of the Golden Venture. He speaks to his experience as a lawyer at the time, and how he faced frustrating rulings and resistance from the Justice Department. He worked to spread awareness about the Golden Venture at the time and discusses the significance of art and the...

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...

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...