chineseinamerica-blog

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11 Films & TV Series Featuring LGBTQ Chinese American Characters

In celebration of Pride Month, here are 11 films and TV series with positive representations of LGBTQ Chinese American characters. 

Post by Areerat Worawongwasu, Exhibitions Intern at the Museum of Chinese in America.

1. Saving Face (2004), directed by Alice Wu

This cute and poignant romantic comedy tells the story of Wilhelmina "Wil" Pang (Michelle Krusiec), a young Chinese American surgeon, as she deals with her unwed mother's pregnancy and the obligations of her dancer girlfriend Vivian Shing (Lynn Chen). 

2. The Wedding Banquet (1993), directed by Ang Lee

The Wedding Banquet is a family comedy about Wai-Tung Gao (Winston Chao), a gay Taiwanese immigrant man who marries a mainland Chinese woman to placate his parents and get her a green card. His plan backfires when his parents arrive in the United States to plan his wedding banquet and he has to hide who his true partner is. 

3. Eat With Me (2014), directed by David Au

This heartwarming family drama is about a young gay Chinese American man, Elliot (Teddy Chen Culver), and his estranged mother, Emma (Sharon Omi), who unexpectedly moves in with him. Together, the pair must learn to reconnect through food when words fail to save their family's Chinese restaurant from closing down.

4. When We Rise (2017), created by Dustin Lance Black

This miniseries about the American LGBTQ rights movement starting from the 20th century features Cecelia Chung (Ivory Aquino), a real-life a civil rights leader and activist for LGBT rights, and HIV/AIDS awareness. Cecilia was born in Hong Kong in 1965 and later immigrated to Los Angeles in 1984. She was the first transgender woman and first Asian person to be elected to lead the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Celebration, and the first transgender woman as well as the first person living openly with HIV to Chair the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. In When We Rise, African American gay activist Ken Jones seeks Cecelia Chung’s help to support his church, a testament to the legacy of solidarity between LGBTQ people of color.

5. Front Cover (2015), directed by Ray Yeung

Front Cover follows the love story of Ryan (Jake Choi), a Chinese American fashion stylist in New York, and Ning (James Chen), a film star from China. Funny and poignant, it explores the intersections of Chinese Americana and mainland China as well as what it means to be a gay Chinese person.

6. White Frog (2012), directed by Quentin Lee

White Frog is a dramatic comedy that features 16-year-old Nick Young (Booboo Stewart), a neglected teen with Asperger’s syndrome whose life is changed forever when tragedy hits his family. Nick idolizes his older brother Chaz Young (Harry Shum, Jr.), while also feeling like he is living in his perfect sibling’s shadow. Chaz, however, is also dealing with his own problems as he is in the closet and afraid of coming out for fear of disappointing their parents. Together, the brothers bond in their grief and journey together towards self-acceptance.

7. Conrad Boys (2006), directed by Justin Lo

Charlie Conrad (Justin Lo), a nineteen-year-old Jewish Chinese American, is ready for college but the sudden death of his mother turns his life upside down and he is left with the adult responsibility of raising his nine-year-old brother (Booboo Stewart) while also exploring his own identity.  

8. Mr Robot (2015 - ), created by Sam Esmail 

Now on it third season, this dramatic thriller is about Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), a cybersecurity engineer and hacker who suffers from social anxiety disorder and clinical depression. Alderson joins a group of hacktivists to erase all debts by attacking the megacorporation, E Corp. It features Whiterose (BD Wong) as the brilliant leader of the world’s most dangerous hacking collective. She is not defined by her transgender identity, but more so her intelligence and genius hacking skills.

9. Baby Steps (2015), directed by Barney Cheng

Danny, a Taiwanese American man, and his partner Tate, embark on the journey of becoming surrogate parents, but things get more complicated when Danny's well-meaning but overbearing mother wants to control every aspect of the process.

10. In The Family (2011), directed by Patrick Wang

Patrick Wang writes, directs, and stars in this poignant family drama set in Martin, Tennessee. Six-year-old Chip Hines (Sebastian Brodziak) lost his mother at birth, and his father, Cody (Trevor St. John), later enters a loving relationship with a man called Joey Williams (Patrick Wang). Tragedy strikes when Cody gets in a fatal car accident and Joey is stuck in a custody battle.

11. Underemployed (2012), created by Craig Wright

This comedy-drama follows the stories of five recent college graduates in Chicago as they navigate adulthood. The lead character, Sophia Swanson (Michelle Ang), is a young aspiring novelist and part-time doughnut shop worker who is slowly coming to terms with her sexuality.

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8 Fiction Books for APA Heritage Month

MOCA is celebrating APA Heritage Month! Check out these great books by the new wave of Chinese American authors. (Ranked in no particular order).

All of these books are available at the MOCA Shop. Members get 10% off!

1. Accomplice to Memory by Q. M. Zhang

Q.M. Zhang pieces together the mystery of her father’s exodus from China to the US during the two decades of civil and world war leading up to the 1949 revolution. But after a lifetime of her father’s secrets and lies, Zhang’s efforts to untangle the truth are thwarted by the distance between generations and her father’s growing dementia.

2. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

From a 5 Under 35 winner, comes a razor-sharp, hilarious, and touching story of a son searching for his father . . . through quantum space-time.

3. The Border of Paradise by Esmé Weijun Wang

“The Border of Paradise is shaped by darkness and the kind of delicious story that makes for missed train stops and bedtimes, keeping a reader up late for just one more page of dynamic character-bouncing perspective… It is the author’s stunning introduction to the literary world.”  —The New York Times

4. Kinder Than Solitude by Yiyun Li

Moving back and forth in time, between America today and China in the 1990s, Kinder Than Solitude is the story of three people whose lives are changed by a murder one of them may have committed. As one of the three observes, “Even the most innocent person, when cornered, is capable of a heartless crime.”

5. The Boat Rocker by Ha Jin

From the award-winning author of Waiting and War Trash: an urgent, timely novel that follows an aspiring author, an outrageous book idea,and a lone journalist’s dogged quest for truth in the Internet age.

6. The Fortunes by Peter Ho Davies

Sly, funny, intelligent, and artfully structured, The Fortunes recasts American history through the lives of Chinese Americans and reimagines the multigenerational novel through the fractures of immigrant family experience.

7. The Wangs vs. the World by Jade Chang

The Wangs vs. the World is an outrageously funny tale about a wealthy Chinese-American family that “loses it all, then takes a healing, uproarious road trip across the United States” (Entertainment Weekly). Their spectacular fall from riches to rags brings the Wangs together in a way money never could. It’s an epic family saga and an entirely fresh look at what it means to belong in America.  

8. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

A thrilling new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa See explores the lives of a Chinese mother and her daughter who has been adopted by an American couple.

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8 Non-Fiction Books for APA Heritage Month

MOCA is celebrating APA Heritage Month! Here are our top picks in looking into the personalities and personal histories of the APA experience. (Ranked in no particular order).

All of these books are available at the MOCA Shop. Members get 10% off!

1. Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People by Helen Zia

Helen Zia examines the transformation of Asian America against the backdrop of more recent flash points, such as the murder of Vincent Chin, the Rodney King riots, and the working conditions of Filipinos in Alaskan canneries.

2. The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee

Asian Americans have had a role in American history right from the beginning. Erika Lee provides a far-reaching history of Asian America.  

3. Fresh Off the Boat by Eddie Huang

Eddie Huang’s colorful memoir touches on cooking, discrimination, and family. It served as the inspiration for the first Asian American starring sitcom in twenty years.

4. Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans by Ronald Takaki

This powerful classic in Asian American history presents the stories and struggles of Hmong, Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian Americans.

5. The Good Immigrants: How the Yellow Peril Became the Model Minority by Madeline Y. Hsu

The model minority stereotype is in part the result of US immigration policy. Madeline Y. Hsu's thorough study of these “good immigrants” examines what affect these perceptions have had on Chinese Americans and Asian Americans overall.

6. The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston

This evocative collection of memoirs blends Kingston's autobiography with Chinese folk tales and the greater Chinese American experience. Incisive, insightful, and utterly unique, it has become a  classic of Asian American literature.

7. Living for Change by Grace Lee Boggs

Grace Lee Boggs devoted her life to the advancement of civil rights through protest, deep conversation, and community service. Her autobiography serves as a guide on how to fashion a life of contemplative resistance.

8. International Express: New Yorkers on the 7 Train by Stéphane Tonnelat and William Kornblum

Anyone who has taken the 7 Train through Queens has experienced the tremendous diversity of the borough. Tonnelat and Kornblum analyze the train through gender, racial disparities, and the anecdotes of student commuters.

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8 Children’s Books for APA Heritage Month

MOCA is celebrating APA Heritage Month! Here are some book picks for your kids that feature Chinese and Chinese American characters and stories. (Ranked in no particular order). 

All of these books are available at the MOCA Shop. Members get 10% off!

1. The Ugly Vegetables by written and illustrated by Grace Lin 

This book teaches kids that all vegetables can taste good. It even includes a recipe for a delicious ugly vegetable soup! Ages 4-8.

2. Uncle Peter’s Amazing Chinese Wedding by Lenore Look, illustrated by Yumi Heo

This uniquely illustrated story touches on family, customs and traditions, and accepting new people into your life. Ages 4-8.

3. Mountain Chef: How One Man Lost His Groceries, Changed His Plans, and Helped Cook Up the National Park Service by Annette Bay Pimentel, illustrated by Rich Lo

The amazing true story of a Chinese American mountain man who cooked for adventurers in the wilderness and helped inspire the creation of the National Park Service. Ages 6-9.

4. Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story by Paula Yoo, illustrated by Lin Wang

An inspiring and informative biography of Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American movie star, geared toward kids ages 6-9.

5. Nim and the War Effort by Milly Lee, illustrated by Yangsook Choi

1943 San Francisco. Nim wants to bring in the most newspapers for her school’s paper drive. This is a thought-provoking book about growing up Asian American while the country is at war with Japan. Ages 6-9.

6. Landed by Milly Lee, illustrated by Yangsook Choi

Through nostalgic oil paintings, Landed tells the story of Sun as he goes through Angel Island, trying to make a new life for himself in America. Ages 7-11.

7. Pie-Biter (English, Chinese and Spanish Edition) written and illustrated by Ruthanne Lum McCunn

A trilingual tale (based on a true story) about a Chinese immigrant who has to find something new to do once the Transcontinental Railroad is completed. He starts making pies. Ages 8-12.

8. The House Baba Built: An Artist’s Childhood in China written and illustrated by Ed Young

Artist Ed Young reminisces about his childhood home in Shanghai through gorgeous illustrations. Ages 8-12.

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Dialogue and Response: History and the Present at MOCA

How do we navigate an extremely troubling present without obfuscating the past?

Constellations of brightly colored note cards adorn a large grid on the wall at the end of With a Single Step: Stories in the Making of America, MOCA’s core exhibition, each handwritten response placed individually, intentionally. Fear is juxtaposed next to hope next to anger, side by side with tempered ambivalence, penned in multiple languages, all in response to the prompt:

“How do you feel about America’s future?”

This question is posed against the ominous mood resulting from Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election. It is a continuation of With a Single Step, MOCA’s permanent core exhibition, which takes a broad yet pointed look at the history of Chinese people in the United States, telling stories of diaspora and struggle, and of celebration and community. With a Single Step presents a thematic and chronological overview of the Chinese American experience, using personal narratives and cultural documents to examine the relationship between China and the U.S., the perception of Chinese Americans in American society, and the impact of Chinese Americans on American life.

The response wall was installed on January 6, 2017 as a way for the museum to dialogue with the present political climate. Visitors are invited to select a color of note card that corresponds to their feeling about the current moment, and to place their response on the grid in relation to their age and generational status. Blue note cards correspond to feeling hopeful, pink to fearful, yellow to uncertain, and white to other responses.

The wall carves out a space for the emotional to exist in a museum and co-mingle with the collection, fulfilling the mission of a dialogic museum, one that, in the words of MOCA co-founder John Kuo Wei Tchen, means “…engaging with our audiences in mutually exploring the memory and meaning of Chinatown’s past,” and seeking “…to become an ever more resonant and responsible history center in which scholarship and public programs can help make critical historical awareness a powerful factor in improving New York and the community for the future.”[1] MOCA’s work as a dialogic museum includes both providing visitors with a counter narrative to dominant versions of American history and offering visitors ways to engage with the museum’s presentation of that narrative. As of April 2017, the wall has solicited over 1000 visitor responses, ranging from:

“My father came here illegally and ended up loving FOX NEWS. What goes around comes around,” to

“I am hopeful because I see people moving to activism to work for what is just, and truly American…”

One interesting phenomenon that occurs through the clustered, nonlinear collection of responses is the purposeful juxtaposition of notecards that ideologically oppose each other:

“Ashamed to be an American for the first time in 2016,” is newly contextualized by

“Really? Think again!” with an arrow pointing toward the former card.

Response projects have appeared in multiple public places post-November 8, most notably at the Union Square subway station, where a mass of post-it notes adorned the grimy tile walls, offering a communal site for processing the aftermath of the election. However, when situated in a museum space, certain elements of a response wall become an argument, speaking to more than the isolated incident of the present moment, and in a history museum, drawing connections to previous eras of political crisis. The political climate of the present we inhabit is not normal but stands to be normalized.

Although the Trump presidency announces itself as being merely a productive type of split from previous policy agendas, it seems to be a destructive break from political progress to sections of the left, activists and organizers, and immigrant or other marginalized communities. The conclusion of the election inaugurated a distinctly foreboding mood in the U.S., appearing to be a singularly effective event, a definitive fissure in the lineage of American democracy, containing the potential to bury its historical precedents. Here, the response wall acknowledges this break while highlighting historical continuity. An acute experience of the present interfaces with evidence of the past. The most prescient example is the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, referred to in many of the responses, which was the first piece of legislation that restricted immigration, making it illegal for Chinese laborers to enter the U.S. Its aftereffects were felt by generations of Chinese Americans in political, social, and economic terms. In the context of the Trump administration’s attempt to close the U.S. borders to immigrants or visitors from majority Muslim countries, the notecards, in some instances, trace the residues of previous political turmoil, acting as documentation of the history of political sublimation of minority groups in the U.S.

“I Am Fearful for America because the hate has always existed for minorities. Yet, there are forces that pit us against each other by those in charge.”

As an ongoing project, the wall invites visitors to reconsider present public policies as having a relationship to the past. In a productive way, the response wall collapses the distance between past and present, while anticipating what events have not yet occurred and which relations have not yet been enacted.

“I AM HOPEFUL BECAUSE I SEE A FUTURE OF SOLIDARITY. #ASIANSFORBLM #POCSOLIDARITY”

As illustrated by the combination of the response wall and With a Single Step, the policies, sentiments, and lived experiences we deem “contemporary” coexist with historical documents. In this dialogic space, objects relegated to function as historical documents are able to speak to the present moment, given agency beyond their performance as documents, becoming activated for informing and sustaining new understandings of both past and present.

[1] Jack Tchen, “Creating a Dialogic Museum,” p. 285-326.

Post by Manion Kuhn, Exhibitions Intern at the Museum of Chinese in America. 

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6 Ways to Learn about Food at MOCA

What is Chinese food? We all may have a different idea based on where we come from and who we are. As a suburban-raised second-generation Taiwanese American, I grew up on a hearty diet of all-you-can-eat Chinese buffets, where hibachi and Mongolian barbecue were thrown in the mix. I also remember then curious ingredients, like taro, Chinese-style pickles, and dried pork floss, that appeared throughout my family life. What was authentic and inauthentic Chinese food was a confusing mish-mash for my younger self. But I still loved growing up around all kinds of Chinese dishes and ingredients that helped form my love for both healthy and tasty cuisines around the world.

With our current exhibit Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy: Stories of Chinese Food and Identity in America on view through September 10, 2017, the Museum of Chinese in America’s Education Team strives to get kids excited about all the vital customs and rituals around food - from grocery shopping, to cooking, to tasting. Here are 6 interactive ways that your kids can learn about culture through food at MOCA this season!

1. “Remarkable Recipes” Kitchen

Chinese food doesn’t just appear at the dining table! At our miniature kitchen, kids can explore a whole variety of essential Chinese ingredients, kitchen tools, and wares in a fun, safe way. By following along with actual recipes from some of the 33 chefs featured in our exhibition, kids can discover how their favorite dishes are prepared. They can also come up with their own recipes and decide what they think makes a tasty, balanced dish. Bilingual labels will help kids of all backgrounds explore the language of Chinese cooking.

2. MOCACREATE Arts & Crafts

Every 1st and 3rd Saturday afternoon, come by for our inventive, drop-in arts & crafts! From making watercolor prints out of Chinese veggies, like lotus roots and enoki mushrooms, to playing with the beauty of Chinese ceramics with your own nature-imprinted clay plates, kids can be inspired by healthy food customs to express themselves! On February 4th and 18th, kids can reflect on their favorite meals and be inspired to embellish an apron of their own design or draw a restaurant menu incorporating all their favorite meals!

Learn more about MOCACREATE >> 

3. Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy Exhibition Tour

How does the food we love help to tell the story of who we are? We offer guided group tours of Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy, an in-depth look at the diversity of food cultures among Chinese Americans and an intimate telling of personal stories in Chinese food service, happy and sad. Our educators moderate a discussion between you and our exhibition, asking you some of the same questions we asked our 33 featured chefs. If you could go back to your childhood, what food would you eat? When do you eat sweet foods, and when do you eat bitter foods? Check out some responses below!

Book your tour today >> 

4. “Follow Your Nose” Spices & Sauces Cart

Learning doesn’t just happen through facts and figures, but through playing and sensing. With a topic as playful as food, we wanted to make sure there was plenty to see and smell. MOCA educators have prepared more multimodal approaches to learning with our “Follow Your Nose” cart. See if your sense of smell can match the right scent to the right sauce or spice! In the process, you can discover Chinese food’s rich diversity of flavors, like five spice powder, and complex food preparations, like fermenting and braising. With all the rage around probiotic foods, this activity is a great game for your kids to explore soy fermentation, a craft that has been millennia in the making.

5. Healthyville® 

From January 5th to March 26th, check out a little town known as Healthyville®, where your kids can learn to fall in love with picking produce and turn exercising and healthy eating into a game. Generously provided by the Stepping Stones Museum for Children, this exhibit is the premiere show for our new exhibit space on the basement floor devoted to young visitors.

Learn more >>

6. Lunar New Year Family Festival 

It’s the coming of spring all over again! On February 11th, save the date for our annual Lunar New Year Family Festival. “Strut on over” for Year of the Rooster themed activities. The day-long outing will be a great chance for your kids to play, learn, and eat. We’ll have a Festive Foods tasting station where you can sample dumplings, sesame balls, and other bite sized treats, as well as a dumpling folding station, where you can learn to make your own.

These are just the first 6 ways for your kids to explore food and culture through fun and creativity at MOCA! Keep in touch with us at our website and Facebook.

Learn more >>

Post by Alex Ho, Visitor Services associate and educator at the Museum of Chinese in America. 

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Kam Wah Chung & Co.

Deep in eastern Oregon between the Strawberry and Blue Ridge Mountains lies John Day, a small city surrounded by stunning landscapes and national parks. Although it may not look like it, John Day’s typical mining town roots are also firmly entangled with that of Chinese American history.

John Day neighbors Canyon City, a major mining town that saw its fair share of fires throughout the late 1800s. With each disaster, a wave of displaced residents relocated to neighboring John Day; among these settlers were the local Chinese community after a fire destroyed Canyon City’s Chinatown in 1885.

The Chinese community was a mish mash of miners and laborers, and despite the language differences, they had much in common with their non-Chinese counterparts-- after all, they were all seeking opportunity and fortune in the wild western frontier. Two of these new John Day residents, both young men in their early 20s, would go on to found one of the longest-running Chinese American general stores in the Country. “Leon” Lung On was an amiable and well-educated man who spoke fluent English and had an insatiable curiosity for new technology and adventure. His business partner, Ing Hay, was only 24, but was already well-trained in Chinese medicines and herbs. Together, they decided to buy an old two-story trading post in John Day around 1887 and run a general store. They called it Kam Wah Chung and Company, or “Golden Flower of Prosperity.”

Kam Wah Chung was much more than a typical grocery store today-- like many other Chinese American general stores of that age, Kam Wah Chung became the center of the community, serving both Chinese and non-Chinese equally. Under the savvy guidance and community leadership of Lung On, the store sold groceries and dry goods, acted as a post-office, and even housed a Buddhist shrine. Chinese laborers and miners came to the store to socialize as well as to get assistance from Lung On, who also became a labor contractor. Over the years, Kam Wah Chung expanded to include dormitories and even a small library. Lung On was also a skillful adapter with the times-- as John Day moved into the 20th Century, Lung On had no trouble diversifying his business ventures, and set up one of the first automobile dealerships in the area.

Ing Hay soon became better known as “Doc” Hay, operating a clinic and apothecary out of the store. He treated Chinese and non-Chinese alike, earning the trust of the non-Chinese community by successfully diagnosing and treating such illnesses from influenza to blood poisoning, to infertility. His skills with pulsology-- using the pulse to diagnose illnesses-- and herbology drew patients from as far away as Alaska and Oklahoma! And while he never received his medical license, his ability to treat illness was matched only by his generosity-- after his death, his papers included several uncashed checks that had been written during the Great Depression.

Neither men were strangers to hostility and xenophobia. In 1905, a mob nearly drove Lung On out of town when he was accused of opium possession, and Ing Hay was charged three times for not holding a medical license. However, such were the reputations of both men that these charges were dropped, or they were acquitted shortly thereafter.

Lung On died in 1940 in his beloved store. He’d amassed a significant fortune for the time, about $90,000, which he left to Ing Hay and his family in China. Ing Hay continued running Kam Wah Chung for another eight years afterwards with help from his nephew, Bob Wah, and only retired after breaking his hip in 1948. He passed away in 1952 in a Portland nursing home. His nephew inherited Kam Wah Chung and donated the building and the lands to the city of John Day, where it was locked up and promptly forgotten for nearly 20 years.

When the city began scouting sites for a new park in 1969, the store was rediscovered. Inside it seemed as if no time had passed at all. The store’s goods and furniture were untouched, colors unfaded and even Ing Hay’s apothecary-- consisting of over 500 different herbs--  was in good, if dusty condition, thanks to the dark and dry environment of the store.

Today, Kam Wah Chung has been restored and opened to the public as a museum and a National Historic Landmark. Its interiors are largely unchanged from what it would have looked like in its heyday, allowing visitors and scholars a remarkably preserved window into a vital but lesser-known aspect of American history.

On Tuesday, November 15, 2016, MOCA will honor Doc Hay and his descendants for their contribution to American Society at our Legacy Awards Gala.

Post by Mindy Chen, Senior Visitor Services Associate at the Museum of Chinese in America. 

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Rock Springs Memorial B-Ball Tournament

Why is a New York City basketball tournament named after a town in Wyoming? 

Location: Rock Springs, Wyoming

“The year was 1885. In the Chinese quarter of the mining town of Rock Springs, Wyoming, 28 Chinese settlers were killed and 15 were wounded in the aftermath of a dispute between white and Chinese laborers. This occurance, which has become an obscured if not deleted part of American History, was to be known as the Rock Springs Massacre.”

In the mid-1800s, like many from around the world and across the United States, thousands of Chinese answered the call of America’s western frontier. Many met the country’s growing need for cheap labor, particularly in mining, farming, and building the Transcontinental Railroad.

By 1870 there were approximately 63,000 Chinese living and working in the United States.

At the time, America experienced an economic downturn, which meant jobs became scarce. Some people pointed their finger at the newest group of immigrants at the time: Chinese workers. And, unwelcomed them. 

Some powers that be in the government couldn’t agree more.

“I do not know what the persecution of the Chinese will end in. They have passed a decree to shave all their heads if committed to prison, and they are constantly committing them for all sorts of things which they don't notice in any other people.” ~Letter from Catherine Hubback (who employed a Chinese domestic servant), Oakland, CA, May 21, 1876 (Bodleian Library, Oxford.)

On September 2, 1885, what started as a fist fight between a white worker and a Chinese worker in the coal mines of Wyoming ended with 28 deaths and 15 injuries. The entire Chinese settlement in Rock Springs was also burned to the ground.

By naming a community basketball tournament after one of the most violent anti-Chinese riots in the U.S., the Basement Workshop, a collective of Asian American artists and activists in the 1970s-80s, creatively raised awareness of this historical event.

What are other ways to creatively raise awareness about issues and events that matter to you? 

---

Special thanks to one of our favorite authors Henry Chang for the donation to our collection. The poster was part of our exhibition, Waves of Identity: 35 Years of Archiving, which has closed but the catalog is still available for purchase at the MOCA store.

The illustration of the massacre appeared in Harper's weekly, 1885 Sept. 26 Vol. 29 (Library of Congress)

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Mei Lai Wah Tea Parlor/Coffee House

It’s the first day of school for New York City public school students, and what better time to start a blog column than today. Throughout the school year, we will travel back in time to places in America and maybe abroad that matter to the Chinese American experience.

Location: 64 Bayard Street, NY, NY 10013

Our first stop is Mei Lai Wah Tea Parlor/Coffee House, located in the historic core of Manhattan’s Chinatown, not far from the Museum of Chinese in America. And, of course, it is food-related!  Because as our curator and director of exhibition Herb Tam likes to point out, “food is immensely important to the Chinese, especially those in America.” Why is that?, you ask. Come find out at our new exhibition, Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy: Stories of Chinese Food and Identity in America, opening on October 6, 2016.

Back to Mei Lai Wah…Tea parlors and coffee houses were one of the earliest types of eateries in Chinatown catering to its residents. They were gathering spots for the Chinese community to catch up on news in China and in Chinatown.  

Two men who had immigrated from Toisan in China’s Guangdong province opened this eatery in 1968, at a time when Chinatown was still known as the “Bachelor Society”. (Eh? Check back next week for the story behind Chinatown’s “Bachelor Society”.)

Longtime Chinatown resident Mel Young recalled in an oral history interview from MOCA’s collection:

“This old-style tea parlor/coffeehouse has been around [for decades]. The owners have never changed their winning formula − cheap, delicious pastries, dim sum (nothing fancy, but all freshly steamed), and strong, old-fashioned coffee. There is always a mob of people getting take-out at the counter. Roast pork buns are especially popular among the Filipino customers − I have often seen them buying 6 dozen buns at a time to go. The tables and counter stools look like they have seen much wear over the decades. The Formica tabletops are well-patinated and the stools have been "reupholstered" with vinyl tablecloth material strapped down with metal wire. This place has a distinctly masculine feeling to it; you won't see many women eating here on their own. There always used to be a haze of cigarette smoke in there until smoking in restaurants was banned. Mei Lai Wah is famous for their egg custard tarts. The crust is light, slightly oily and deliciously flaky, setting them apart from the characterless ones sold at some of the modern Chinese bakeries. They were a nice treat after Chinese school on Sundays.”

Do you have memories of Mei Lai Wah or a Chinese bakery in America you’d like to share? Tell us @mocanyc! 

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The Hate Crime Against Vincent Chin, 33 Years Later

Carmen Lin and Tammy Cheng, MOCA interns

June 19, 1982, Detroit, Michigan: Vincent Chin, a 27-year-old Chinese American man, was beaten by Ronald Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz. Ebens and Nitz followed Chin out of the bar after his bachelor party and beat him with a baseball bat in the parking lot.

Ebens and Nitz had been laid off from their jobs in the auto industry earlier that month. They blamed their job loss on the Japanese. They believed that the rise of the Japanese auto industry was causing the demise of Detroit, known as Motor City of the USA at the turn of the 20th Century. They blamed Vincent Chin for losing their jobs and the plight of the Detroit auto industry.

Chin died from severe head injuries on June 23, 1982.

For Chin’s death, Nitz and Ebens were eventually sentenced to three years of probation with a $3,000 fine. They did not serve a single day in jail.

"Oppose Racist Violence. Justice for Vincent Chin." button. Courtesy of Rocky Chin, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection.  

…..

MOCA asked two of our new college interns, Tammy Cheng and Carmen Lin, to reflect on the death of Vincent Chin, the verdict, its aftermath and impact.

…..

The conversation surrounding the case of Vincent Chin in college classrooms, especially nowadays, became an eye-opener primarily because it reveals a stark history that is not frequently discussed. Racial discrimination is often related back to segregation in a “black and white” context, though hardly ever of Asians and Asian Americans. As a Chinese American myself, I find this case particularly frustrating in the fact that the law at the time did not extend justice towards Vincent Chin due to the what seems like racial discrimination. Although it was clear that Ebens and Nitz had performed a hate crime directed at Chin solely on the reason they thought he was Japanese, it was later informed to the public that the judge who lessened their sentences to simple probation and a fine claimed he did so because they were employed citizens, had no prior records, and were therefore not seen as a threat to society. This immediately sparked anger in many communities and brought together Asian Americans of various backgrounds to a unified community.

The death of Vincent Chin, the inaction of the justice system, as well as the initiatives and civil rights movements taken after, are seen as an important milestone in giving the Asian Americans a voice in the United States. Up until this event, Asians were seen as passive bodies that were easy targets of racial slurs and social, cultural, and economic discrimination. For decades, Vincent Chin has been a driving force for Asian American activists in many civil rights movements. The outrage and protest that ensued after the court ruling against Nitz and Ebens made it clear not only to Asian Americans that they should no longer act immune to racially directed crimes, but also to the nation as a whole that anti-Asian violence will no longer be tolerated.

--Tammy Cheng, SUNY Binghamton (’16)

This week, I had the opportunity to examine the Who Killed Vincent Chin collection at MOCA’s Collections and Research Center. I saw the film five years ago and remember it evoking strong feelings of sadness and anger. In fact, the film has been circulated around several social justice communities reminding us of a time when the United States turned a blind eye to the maltreatment of their Asian Pacific Americans (APAs). This case of Vincent Chin ultimately started a pan-ethnic Asian American movement that still exists today.

When sorting through the ten boxes in the collection, I came across audio recordings, hand-written production notes, letters between the directors and Chin’s mom, pictures from the actual case, and magazines with articles slandering Asians. But the item that really brought back the feelings of sadness and anger in full force was a folder containing letters from Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) and the U.S. Commission on Human Rights.

Growing up in Chinatown I am familiar with work of OCA and their relevance to the APA community, especially their ongoing fight over the death of Private Danny Chen in 2011. Chen, a 19-year-old Chinese American born and raised in Manhattan’s Chinatown, was serving in the U.S. Army when he committed suicide on October 3rd, 2011. During his time in training, Chen was the target of verbal and physical abuse from both his peers and superiors for being the only Chinese American in his unit. These events escalated to his unjustified death. Although 29 years apart, I cannot help but find similarities between the two cases: both young men dying simply for being Asian. It has been 33 years since OCA’s letters to the U.S. Department of Justice regarding Chin and if I were to make a guess, these letters might sound similar to the ones written for Chen today. Though the murder of Vincent Chin remains an iconic benchmark for the APA community, the majority of society seems to have forgotten this blemish in US history. Despite the decades of progress we have made in solidifying our voice in the American dialogue, we still see setbacks today like the case of Danny Chen. Have we really honored the death of Chin when we allow another young man to die a similar death just four years ago?    

Closing the boxes, I took to heart the three decade-old slogan of “Remembering Vincent Chin”. We learn at a young age that in order to not repeat the mishaps of the past, we have to remember. We need to treat Vincent Chin and Private Danny Chen with as much fervency as we do other events in civil rights history. And by forgetting to do so, we as a society would naively wonder “how could this have happened?” when it occurs again.

-- Carmen Lin, Skidmore College (’16)

Interns Carmen Lin and Morgan O’Mara in MOCA’s Collections and Research Center, June 16th, 2015.

About the Vincent Chin collection at MOCA The Vincent Chin collection was donated to MOCA by documentary filmmaker Renne Tajima-Peña after she finished making the film “Who Killed Vincent Chin?” (1987). The collection is housed at MOCA Collection and Research Center.   

Views expressed by the authors are their own and do not necessarily represent those of the Museum of Chinese in America.

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What does it mean to be Chinese? Reflections from MOCA's visitors:

          Our special exhibition, Waves of Identity: 35 Years of Archiving, poses questions in order to engage with individuals, encouraging personal reflections on their cultural identity. We collected our visitors' responses and found them to be very diverse and simply fascinating! Here are a couple of responses to "What does it mean to be Chinese?" below:

Being Chinese in America means: embracing that you are composed of two very beautiful cultures, and making that central to who you are––not emphasizing the importance of one over the other. It means eating McDonald’s for lunch, duck for dinner. But most importantly, it means being passionate about being different. It means loving all the nooks of your culture. –– Anonymous Visitor

Citizen by choice is sometimes more meaningful than by birth. ––Wellington

You don’t have to be born in China to be Chinese. –– Shelly

You don’t have to be born in America to be American. –– Lucy

Being Chinese means you have over a billion other people who know what being Chinese means. –– Mei Guo Lan

I am Columbian with a U.S. passport and yet I feel home here in NYC Chinatown. After living some years in China and learning its culture, food and people, China stays in your heart. I am a little Chinese. –– Anonymous Visitor

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Five Films to Look Out for at AAIFF ’14

By Eric Lee for MOCA.

Starting July 24th, Asian CineVision (ACV) will kick off its 37th Asian American International Film Festival in New York City. Running until August 2nd, AAIFF '14 will be showcasing a number of awesome films, spanning four different film categories. MOCA is also proud to partner with ACV for four unique AAIFF events here at the Museum.

Check out these five films at AAIFF'14:

  (Photo from AAIFF’14 Awesome Asian Bad Guys)

1.  Awesome Asian Bad Guys (2014)

Directed by Stephen Dypiangco and Patrick Epino

Have you ever watched a Hollywood movie and thought, “Hey, a lot of these bad guys are Asian!” In the end, they always lose the battle in a gruesome way. In Dypiangco and Epino’s new screwball comedy, Awesome Asian Bad Guys, a cast of “Awesome Asian Bad Guys” from old classic movies return to “seek revenge, and kick butts.” What’s not to love in this film: iconic movie bad guys, the tribute to the Kung Fu greats, or the total kick-ass comedic action? The film will be screened on July 25th, 6pm at City Cinema Village and July 26th, 2pm at Made in NY Media Center by IFP.

Watch the trailer here.

  (Photo from AAIFF’14 Fred Ho’s Last Year)

2. Fred Ho’s Last Year (2014)

Directed by Steven de Castro

Fred Ho was, without a doubt, an Asian American trailblazer. The film, directed by Steven de Castro, follows an “unapologetic Fred Ho in an unbelievable year.”  Filmed in 2013, the documentary provides an intimate glimpse into Ho’s life as a musician, activist, mentor, and pioneer, while “he fights cancer, leads orchestras, holds lectures, leads protests, publishes books, and even produced his magnum opus: an elaborate, manga-inspired samurai opera on a New York Stage.” Another exciting feature of the film is its preview screening at the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) on July 31st at 7pm. Following the screening, there will be a discussion with director Steven de Castro, playwright Ruth Margraff, and Ho’s life-long friend Anne T. Greene. This is surely an opportunity that I – you, definitely don’t want to miss. The film will also be screened on August 2nd, 5:30pm at City Cinema Village.

Watch the trailer here.

  (Photo from AAIFF’14 The Rice Bomber)

3. The Rice Bomber (2014)

Directed by Cho Li

When someone asks you about a film, not many first responses are about the cinematography. However, The Rice Bomber directed by Cho Li, is one of those films that will make audiences talk about its visual qualities. The film features breathtaking imagery ranging from a variety of breathtaking landscapes and intimate portraits, while following a young man named Yang Rumen, a son of a farming family. He takes matters into his own hands as he watches Taiwan enter the World Trade Organization, an act that greatly affects Taiwan’s agricultural industry and the farming life. Based on true events and characters, I am excited to watch Li’s emotional and action packed story, check out Cho Yong-kyo’s camerawork and listen to Peyman Yazdanian’s score. Watch The Rice Bomber on July 26th, 7:30pm City Cinema Village and July 27th, 2pm Made in NY Media Center by IFP.

Watch the trailer here.

  (Photo from AAIFF’14 Pull Over to Kill)

4. Pull Over to Kill (2014)

Directed by Robbie Ikegami

Last semester, I took a course called FILM 262: Hong Kong Cinema. We learned about the influence of Japanese cinema on not only Hollywood’s Spaghetti Westerns, but Hong Kong’s epic Kung Fu battle sequences. This 16 minute short follows two Japanese hit men in the 60’s as they roam a desert to finish a job, only to find that things aren’t as they seem. While watching Pull Over to Kill, I immediately thought of Johnnie To and Quentin Tarantino, two cinematic greats in East Asian cinema. To is known for his gritty gangster films, while Tarantino is a huge fan of Asian art and action cinema. The film boasts a beautiful texture and color grade, while adding a bit of humor to the somewhat stationary scenes. Ikegami takes you on an incredible journey in just 16 minutes, so buckle up. Catch this terrific film preceding Awesome Asian Bad Guys July 25th, 6pm at City Cinema Village East and on July 26th, 2 pm at Made in NY Media Center by IFP.

Learn more here.

  (Photo from AAIFF’14 Made in Chinatown)

5. We Are What We Wear Short Series

Directed by Jess Dela Merced, Jihye Ku, Kevin Lau, Beyon, Jess X. Chen, Quan Zhou, Yulin Liu

This isn’t necessarily one film to look out for, but six short films. The shorts range from 1 minute up to 23 minutes covering a diverse range of stories. I’m reminded by a quote my friend told me from Louis C.K., “I like making short films. They are always fun to do and you can do anything you want to (in) a short film. It doesn’t have the weight of a feature, where every moment has to serve the entire film… it’s the one thing in film you can always do.” Short films allow directors, cinematographers, and actors to produce quality work because it’s work that they love. Surely, these films give a small insight into traditional, contemporary, and personal moments of the clothing industry we see every day. I cannot wait to watch and embrace these six. Watch the shorts July 27th, 5pm at City Cinema Village.

Learn more here.         

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"Sik Fan Ah!"

By Eric Lee for MOCA

The Hsien Hsien and Bae Pao Lu Chow Cultural Programs Center resides on the Lafayette Street side of the Museum of Chinese in America. A large window reflects across the framed portraits of the Asian Pride Project’s exhibition, Our Families, Our Portraits. The Selection Committee included, the International Center of Photography, Queens Museum, and The New York Times Magazine. The project celebrates family, love and understanding in the Asian Pacific Islander (API) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ)community. As the Asian Pride Project puts it so eloquently, “Family is not static; it is ever-evolving in the face of unpredicted revelation and change."

There are many difficult discussions between parent and child. For first generation Asian Americans, being gay is a challenge that tests family bonds and cultural expectations. Mashuq Deen’s experience is very relatable to many Asian Americans: “I don’t come from a family that talks about things, so nothing has ever been resolved. We just muddle past the hard bits and into the next bits and hope for the best.” But how do families open a line of communication after their child has come out?

  (Photos of Mashuq Deen, Elizabeth Clark, Marilyn Clark, Mark Clark, by Alexis Padrigal Lim)

For Asian Americans, food brings people together in their homes. In this series, each individualis photographed in their home, a sanctuary of safety. It is where one may sleep, relax, and eat. The inviting warmth of a meal may be taken for granted, but for many of these individuals, it is where openness and acceptance radiate.

For Ka-Man Tse, “Food is the language we share in our family. Growing up in Schenectady in the 1980s, we would pile into our little blue Honda every month to make the 3.5-hour pilgrimage to buy groceries in New York City Chinatown (and go to dim sum!). The rituals of selecting the right meats and produce, preparing food, and sharing meals, continue to be an obsession and a joy. In this space between and during meals, my parents let loose and we bond.” The youngest daughter of three, Ka-Man describes the reconnecting process as “long and often painful,” and “still remains a work in progress.” But time and food have welcomed Cheryl, Ka-Man’s wife, into her parent’s home, a determination that Ka-Man has hoped for since 16 years old.

  (Photos of Cheryl Gladstone, Mikwan Tes, Yuk-hong Tse, by Ka-Man Tse)

Stealing a yam in Khmer Rouge labor camp was a crime punishable by death, but that did not stop Akara Seung from taking it for himself. His mother had bartered expensive jewelry for a single chicken to feed her family, while Akara secretly kept his yam to himself. At the age of 14, Akara came to the United States with nothing but a refugee ID card. He knew he was gay at the age of 18 when he was attracted to images of men, but was pressured into an arranged marriage at the age of 24. He eventually left his wife and told his mother he was gay. “His mother accepted his coming out with neither open arms nor resentment; she simply understood he would be better off not being married to a woman,” said Peter Pin. Today, Akara stays in Stockton to care for his mother. Now, his secret, his yam, is shared between themselves, just like the chicken his family once shared in a meal before coming to the United States.

Photographer Nelson Chan captured Navin Dargani and Navin Manglani’s visual narrative in Manhattan, New York. The two have described their relationship’s journey as a “series of firsts,” from the stories about when they first came out to the legalization of gay marriage in New York. Over time, their families have become more supportive due to the honest and open communication. The process for Navin ‘Squared’ has made them realize “how brave and unconditional” their parent’s love and support to them has been over the many years. Through Nelson Chan’s eyes of their story, “Navin M. opened the door and let me into his mother’s home, an apartment 28 stories up looking out onto the East River in New York City. As I bent down to take off my shoes I noticed the aromatic smell of Indian spices.” A mix of spices and culture that had brought these two families together, igniting a story filled with pairing of “firsts.”

(Photos of Navin Dargani, Navin Manglani, Sunita Manglani, Meeta Manglani, by Nelson Chan)

  For these individuals and their families, preparing, cooking, and eating their meals are gestures of intimacy and understanding. It is at those times that parent and child are simply together. As Ka-Man Tse’s family puts it, “Sik Fan Ah!” Just eat.

    The exhibition is on view until July 13th at The Museum of Chinese in America on 215 Centre Street, New York, NY 10013.

  On Thursday, June 19th, 2014 from 6:30pm – 8:30pm, join MOCA and Asian Pride Project for a behind-the-scenes conversation with the photographers and families behind Our Portraits, Our Families. Hear from both the artists, Nelson Chan and Alexis Padrigal Lim, and the families, Navin Dargani, Navin Manglani and Mashuq Deen, featured in the exhibit.  

  The contributed stories and quotes were from Our Portraits, Our Families catalogue from The Asian Pride Project, featuring Nelson Chan, Alexis Padrigal Lim, Justin Maxon, Peter Pin, Chiu-Kai Shih, Ka-Man Tse, Akara Seung, Navin Dargani, Navin Manglani, and  Mashuq Deen.

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Our Portraits, Our Families

Presented by MOCA and The Asian Pride Project.

MOCATALKS: Join us for a behind-the-scenes conversation with the artists and their families. June 19th, 2014 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

REGISTER HERE

On view from June 13th, 2014 to July 13th, 2014.

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Spotlight on Marcella B. Chin Dear, Honoree of MOCA's 2014 Third Annual Celebration of Community Heroes

MARCELLA B. CHIN DEAR

Marcella B. Chin Dear is a native daughter of Manhattan’s Chinatown as she was born and bred in New York City. The Chin family’s businesses including the restaurant Rice Bowl, Rice Bowl Realty, Cathay Hardware, Walter’s Sandwich Shop on Mulberry and Marcella B. Chin Dear’s brother Dr. Newton Chin's ophthalmology practice were all well-known in the community. The Chins of Mott and Mulberry Streets have touched many individual lives through their various businesses and professions. Marcella played an important role in working and shaping all these entities as she always maintained that "she was happy to help out her family."

Mrs. Chin Dear attended P.S. 23 in Chinatown, New York and the Pui Ying School in Guangzhou, China. She graduated from Washington Irving High School and attended New York University's School of Commerce where she was the only female majoring in International Trade studies. She met her husband Walter Dear at the legendary Lonnie's Coffee Shop and they lived in the community throughout their marriage.

Both longtime supporters of MOCA since its beginning as the Chinatown History Project, Marcella and Walter Dear decided to donate their personal family archive of articles, signage and photographs which is the largest individual contribution to MOCA's permanent collection. Marcella's energy and enthusiasm for the preservation of the Chinatown community's rich history serves as an inspiration to many. Marcella B. Chin Dear is an honoree of MOCA’s Third Annual Celebration of Community Heroes. This year, Marcella B. Chin Dear is 89 years old and she is an active member of the Chinatown community.

A Collective History: The Marcella Chin Dear Collection

The staff’s archival gloves left imprints of white on the otherwise dusty surfaces of the large, ceramic vessels they were lifting. The vessels, three feet high by one and a half feet in diameter formally used to store dried goods, were much lighter than they seemed. Almost instinctively, the staff formed a chain line, passing the containers from one to another up three flights of stairs until they had removed all of them. After over a week of this routine – carrying, photographing, cataloging, and packing over 1,000 items – the staff was almost finished accessioning one of the most fascinating and complete collections ever donated to the Museum, in 2006.

A Welcome to USA Citizenship Booklet, On the occasion of Chin Suey Bing's naturalization, 1953, Courtesy of Dear Marcella, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection.

While Chinatown has been home to numerous immigrant groups that have since moved out of New York or to the suburbs of other boroughs, the Chin family have remained in the neighborhood for five generations straight. Marcella’s grandfather first arrived in New York in the late 1800s, settling in Chinatown and working as a laundryman. Before resettling in Hong Kong, he sent for his 19-year old son, Chin Suey Bing. Living most of his adult life apart from his immediate family, Suey Bing relied on the support of the Chin Family Association and other business networks. He would later establish himself as a community leader and successful local businesses, whose enterprises located mostly along Mott Street, included an import-export company, hardware store, liquor store, and the famed Rice Bowl restaurant. Suey Bing’s other roles were as husband and father. He married Tsui Chun Guey in China, returning with her to the United States and raising a family of six children.

A photograph of the Chin family taken circa 1955. Marcella is seated on the far right.

The family kept close ties with Asia and the Chin children were sent to China for their early schooling at Guangdong’s prestigious Pui Ching boarding school. However, with the advent of World War II, the Chin family resettled in Chinatown. In 1945, they moved into the Mulberry Street apartment which held invaluable reminders of the family’s incredible story – now part of MOCA’s permanent collection.

Shanghai Pathe Record - The Phantom Lover Disc 1, Courtesy of Marcella Dear, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection

The objects reconstruct the daily domestic and business activities of the family and their connection to both Chinese and American cultures. Dozens of textiles, hundreds of imported books, old vinyl records, posters, game sets, instruments, family photographs, store signs, ceramics, and furniture were all treasures capturing one Chinese family’s life in America.

Rice Bowl Restaurant Postcard (Interior), Courtesy of Dear Marcella, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection

Many of these items come from the family’s businesses, including a large selection from their Rice Bowl restaurant. Considered one of the fanciest restaurants in Chinatown during its operation from 1939 through 1970, the Rice Bowl required men to wear a jacket and tie for meals and was one of the first banquet halls in the neighborhood to have air conditioning. The restaurant attracted everyone from locals to celebrities like silent-film star Mae Murray and Alan Alda.  

Print Block, Rice Bowl Restaurant, Chinatown, Courtesy of Dear Marcella, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection 

The objects are invaluable in illustrating the moments from the Chinese community in America’s past through the story of the Chin family from late 1800s to late 1970s. Paired with Marcella B. Chin Dear’s oral narratives and taped interviews, the Marcella Chin Dear Collection is rich in depth and diversity. It offers a glimpse into the cultural life of Chinatown and what it took for a Chinese family to build a life in America.

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This spring, Museum of Chinese in America will present a contemporary Chinese ink exhibit featuring the works of Qiu Deshu, Wei Jia, and Zhang Hongtu. Stay tuned for updates!