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...

Abstract In San Francisco’s Chinatown, Clara Hsu and Cynthia Yee are channeling their passion for the arts to support the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the President of the Clarion Music Centre, Clara teaches music, acting and Chinese poetry while producing plays, directing comedy skits and pursuing her own love for writing. Through her involvement in Chinatown she met Cynthia, a seasoned performer who has travelled the globe and is also the founder of the Grant Avenue Follies, a senior...

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...

Abstract Henry Ye of True Light Church is the Director of Immigrant Services at New Life Center, a Lutheran social service organization started shortly after 9/11. Henry was born in Canton in 1979 and moved from China in 1982 to live in Panama for a period with his sister and her family. Henry would eventually move to New York City to attend Lower East Side Preparatory High School and CUNY City College to become a psychologist. He began his career as a social worker with the Chinatown YMCA and a case...

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....

Abstract Jeanie Chin has been a resident of Park Row for over twenty years. Her parents were from Toisan, China. Her mother was the main caretaker and a garment factory worker in Chinatown, while her father is a World War 2 veteran who returned to work as laundry worker, restaurant owner and landowner. Jeanie recalls her childhood living in the Bronx and spending time in Chinatown during the sixties and seventies and describes Chinatown as smaller and populated mainly by people from Toisan and...

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 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...

Abstract Jenny Ye is a college student at Harvard University and spent her childhood in Chinatown. In this oral history Ye focuses on her childhood and experiences attending public schools in the New York City Chinatown area. She recounts spending time with her family and her cousins and growing up in Chinatown. Ye attended PS 124 and shares her autograph book as she recounts fond memories during elementary school. She also discusses her time in middle and high school with her involvement in CCAV and...

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...