mae ngai – Asian American / Asian Research Institute

Celebrating Our Roots – Panel Discussion to Honor the 40th Anniversary of the 1982 Chinatown Garment Worker Rallies

October 24, 2022October 19, 2022 By AAARI

Panel speakers will share personal stories about growing up with sewing mothers and grandmothers during the decades when practically every Chinese immigrant family in New York City included garment factory workers – the hard work and long hours, the social environment and friendships, union benefits and programs, and the strength, solidarity and activism of the immigrant women workers. Speakers will discuss how they teach this history and legacy to new generations.

The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes and Global Politics

April 1, 2022March 28, 2022 By Mae Ngai

Drawing on ten years of research across five continents, prize-winning historian Mae Ngai narrates the story of the thousands of Chinese who left their homeland in pursuit of gold, and how they formed communities and organizations to help navigate their perilous new world. Out of their encounters with whites, and the emigrants’ assertion of autonomy and humanity, arose the pernicious western myth of the “coolie” laborer, a racist stereotype used to drive anti-Chinese sentiment.