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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Abstract In this interview, Yee Ming Leung describes his teenage assimilation to American culture; a childhood of "Chinese" activities such as catching crabs on Coney Island or stealing nuts from neighbors trees, as well as playing baseball and watching football or movies with his new American friends. Leung recalls his life as a businessman and, later, a restaurateur. He discusses his campaign and motivations for running for a seat on the School Board, Chinese attitudes towards voting, and his...

Scope and Contents

This collection consists entirely of paper documents, including a copy of Tan's proposal for the Chinatown program; a postcard for a photography exhibition; some handwritten notes about a 9 1/2 year old girl; an Asian Americans United fact sheet from 1993 or 1994; and a 1996 newsletter from the Coalition for Asian-American Children and Families.

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.

Abstract Edwin Wong and his father has been involved with community work in their personal and professional lives for almost four decades combined. Mr. Wong was born in Burma and has family roots in China, Hong Kong and Canada. When he arrived in New York City he became involved with the Department of Social Services, working as a case worker in neighborhoods in the Bronx and the Lower East Side. On his own time he became involved in local community boards in Queens and also spent his time in...