Scope and Contents From the Collection: 9/11 Chinatown Documentation Project includes oral history interviews of people who lived or worked in the Lower East Side during the events on September 11th, 2001. The individuals whose stories were collected are of diverse immigrant, educational, age and socio-economic backgrounds. The interviewees reflect on the tragedy and discuss how their lives and the lives of others in the community were affected by it. The interviews help to paint a portrait of how the New York Chinatown we know...

Abstract Anna Sui is an internationally acclaimed fashion designer. Her hip, exuberant, original designs take you on a creative journey and mixes vintage styles with her current cultural obsessions. Whether inspired by Victorian cowboys, Warhol superstars or Finnish textile prints, her depth of cultural knowledge is always apparent. “When I’m interested in something, I want to know everything about it,” she says.Sui shares the memory of her first trip to visit her grandparents in China,...

Abstract As the Co-Director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, Cynthia Choi and her organization has played an integral role in running the Stop AAPI Hate task force during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout her career, Choi has been working extensively in non-profit sectors focusing on issues ranging from immigrant rights to gender-based violence and reproductive justice. According to Choi, her current organization CAA advocates for systemic changes in the fields of educational equality, immigrant...

Abstract Father Raymond Nobiletti has served as Pastor of the Church of the Transfiguration in Manhattan’s Chinatown since 1991 and speaks Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese. Previously, he spent 15 years as a missionary priest in Hong Kong, where he had the opportunity to learn the language and be with the people on many levels through their problems and difficulties. Recently celebrating its 175th anniversary, Transfiguration, over the years, has welcomed waves of new immigrants. “We’re known as The...

Abstract Jeannie Lee Jackson is a Chinese American and native New Yorker. She recounts the origins of her seemingly unusual surname for her ethnicity. She recalls her childhood in Brooklyn, growing up as the only Chinese person in her school, working in the family's laundry business, and the role Manhattan's Chinatown played in her life. As a former member of the Ging Hawk Club, she remembers the social activities she engaged in and how it led to her serendipitous meeting of her husband. Jeannie...

Abstract Karen Hsin, born in 1982, was a college student living in Chinatown with her mother, a unionized garment worker at the time of the September 11th attacks. In the interview, Karen begins by describing her family and childhood experiences living with just her mother in Chinatown after her parents divorced in 1984. She reminisces about her school life and trips back to Hong Kong as an American Born Chinese and shares her thoughts about her cultural identity and her relationship with her mother....

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In this interview, May Ling discusses her life as a Chinese immigrant in Brooklyn, New York. Ling talks about her personal life, family, job, 9/11, Chinatown, New York City, and cultural barriers that she faced when coming to America. She talks about her Chinese and American identity as well as her occupation as a teacher.

Abstract Mengyu Dong sits down with MOCA to discuss her work documenting the Black Lives Matter protests and presenting them to a Chinese audience through WeChat. As a journalist and photographer, Dong started following the Black Lives Matter movement shortly after moving to Washington D.C. and witnessing the protests that erupted in response to the death of George Floyd. In publishing her photo essay that featured stories from Chinese and Chinese American activists, she wanted to challenge the...

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In this interview, Winifred Chin discusses the garment industry in New York Chinatown before and after 9/11. Chin talks about Chinatown and how it has developed over the years. Chin’s mother worked in the garment industry in the 1950s. Back then, the garment industry was flourishing. However, Chin talks about how the garment industry has declined due to clothes being manufactured overseas.

Abstract Yun Xing Huang was interviewed by MOCA to talk about his immigration and living experiences in New York City’s Chinatown. As a professional singer, Huang owned a nightclub in Fujian before coming to the US during the prevalent immigration wave in China. He worked as a food delivery person before opening a floral shop on his own, singing songs for wedding parties, and acting in films. He praised the brave spirit of Fujianese people but touched upon the geographical discrimination between...