Asian American / Asian Research Institute
The City University of New York
Born 1941 in Oakland, California’s Chinatown, William Gee Wong is the only son of his father, known as Pop. Born in Guangdong Province, China, Pop emigrated to Oakland as a teenager during the Chinese Exclusion era in 1912 and entered the U.S. legally as the “son of a native,” despite having partially false papers. Sons of Chinatown is Wong’s evocative dual memoir of his and his father’s parallel experiences in America.
Economic and structural inequality, racial scapegoating, and anti-Asian xenophobia all played a role in violence against Asian Americans, then, and continue unabated to today in 2021. Against the backdrop of the continuing global Covid-19 crisis and anti-Asian violence and hate in the United States, we present to you the reader some signals of hope and reclamation on the local and national level: Asian Americans recognizing and reclaiming their place in the larger civil society despite immense institutional and ideological barriers.
AAARI is hosting a day-long symposium to build connection and community, and collectively vision the future possibilities and directions for Asian American studies at CUNY.
Participants will learn about the importance of creating a platform for collaboration and synergy among AAPI leaders who have reached the position of president/chancellor in higher education, and a sustainable pipeline to support ascending AAPI leaders.
Covid-19 has sparked an increase in racism against East Asians in America, whether immigrant or native born. However, racism against all groups of Asian descent has been around for much longer, with racist stereotypes and the model minority myth. Join Queens Memory and our partners for an online discussion about the current higher educational experience for Asians in America, who are facing the continuously evolving challenge of racism. We will also discuss how Asians in America can provide ally-ship and solidarity to other groups that are experiencing racial oppression.