NYC CHINATOWN ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
HISTORY OF THE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
Gateway to a Toisan Village, Guangdong Province, China
"They will uncover a goldmine of talent and people who have made a significant impact on this country!"
The one thing missing in the literature is the NY Chinatown story. The story of the Toisanese Chinese generation that immigrated to this nation in the 1900’s, the 1920’s, the 1930’s, and their offspring: “The Jook Sing generation”. Our cohort, our achievements and our experiences in America are generally invisible by and large to the American public.
What was it like growing up in America? What was going on in our families in the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s? What did we do then? How did we survive? What were our challenges? How did our parents make it, and more importantly, what are the contributions of our generation? So, who cares about us? We care.
Florence Ho, owner of the Port Arthur Restaurant, said this once at a wedding banquet at her restaurant: “Someone should explore the archive at PS 23 and follow-up on all its graduates. If they did, they will uncover a goldmine of talent and people who have made a significant impact on this country! People need to know about that.” We include PS 130, PS 1 and PS 65. (Quoted by James Moy)
OUR PHILOSOPHY
WHERE WE STARTED
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Many lived within the 1 mile radius of New York City's Mott Street of Chinatown in 1940s-1960s. Others came from the boroughs, from greater NYC, and from New Jersey for Chinese School or social networking. Today, many have had successful lives and productive careers despite the discrimination and poverty that surrounded us, and the limited opportunities and access to the mainstream. Our Chinese value system and Chinatown community kept us strong.
OUR LEGACY
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As time moves on, we need to capture the valuable memories and stories of survival and success for our children, ourselves, and for history. Each of us has had some life altering experience; each has had some fond memory that sustained us. We need everyone's participation and contributions. You have the stories. You are the network. Let's use this group to gather interested individuals to do it together.
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ORDINARY CITIZENS
We were all ordinary Chinese immigrants; together we made extraordinary strides as a community. We need to ask the questions: What was it that brought us together? What is it that brings us back ? These were connections, bonds, and support that have lasted a lifetime.
OUR HISTORY
Despite many oral histories of the Chinese in America, there have been few of those from NYC Chinatown. Many of the Chinese in NYC were Cantonese or the original pioneers from Toisan.
Our parents or ancestors were largely Toisanese farmers coming here to find their fortune and achieve the American dream.
They become mostly laundrymen and restaurant workers during a time of hostile anti-Chinese sentiment but welcoming of “coolie” labor.
OUR ROOTS
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Toisan Village peanut farmer
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HISTORY OF THE PROJECT
After the 2010 NYC Chinatown Reunion, a group of us planned to begin an Oral History Project to commemorate the narratives of those from the Reunion of NYC Chinatown that grew up during the 40s, 50s and 60s. We combined our efforts with an earlier effort to do the same to create a Facebook Page to house these narratives. Our purpose was to capture these stories lest they be forgotten. We believed there is a story to tell about Chinese American immigrant families of NYC.
Growing up between 1940s and 1960s, we were sandwiched between World War II 1941-1945 and the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s. Anti-Chinese sentiment and McCarthyism was rampant in 1949 especially with the takeover of mainland China by communism
Many of the Chinese immigrants during this period became laundry owners or restaurant workers. The rise and fall of Chinese laundries was a remarkable statement of the struggles of the Toisanese Chinese.
Garment workers and the “sweat shops” were both the source of an income for many, but also a source of exploitation because of low piecework wages without benefits or job security. Restaurants were no different.
Rock and Roll was the musical rage of the times culminating in the assassinations of John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King while President Johnson’s Family Reunification Act of 1965 reunited many Toisanese with their now Cantonese families.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
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