Bulletin CHINESE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA | SPRINGFALL 2009 2009 | VOL. | VOL. 45, 45,NO NO. 2 1 CHSAHistory Annual Alive! Gala “Uncle Voice Toisan” & Vision 2009 Premieres to Grand Reception Showcases an Extraordinary Year Photo LelandWong by Phil Choy, Jeanie WC Low, Jennie Lew, Connie Young Yu, Sue Lee, and SF Supervisor Bevan Dufty gather together onstage during the gala awards ceremony. he Chinese Historical Charlie Chin asCHSA “Uncle BoardToisan” Emeriti on the streets Phil ofChoy San FranciscoMaker Chinatown. Award. Society of America presented and Board VicePhoto President by Dr. Don Connie Cheu. Congresswoman Jackie Speier its annualhe Chinesefundraising Historical gala Voice Society of Youngtion Station Yu rounded at Angel out Islandthe evening existed also Uncleoffered Toisan a congratulatory is then drafted message & VisionAmerica 2009 on proudly Saturday, presents the byfrom presenting 1910 to honorees 1940 as aJennie detention Lew & into 1942CHSA to viaserve a pre-recorded in Europe during greeting. SeptemberTpremiere of12 anat 6original pm History Alive! Jeaniecenter WC for immigrants—largelyLow, Communication Co- WorldSan Francisco War II, returningAssessor-Recorder from the Intercontinentalperformance of Mark “Uncle Hopkins Toisan” by chairsChinese, of SONA but also (Save Japanese, Our National Russian, battlefieldPhil Ting welcomedto face discrimination the crowd at HotelArtist-in-Residence in San Francisco. Charlie Chin Archives)and many coalition, others. with the History while Assemblymember Paul Fong CONTINUEDGALA continued ON PAGEon Page 2 2 thisA spring.capacity crowd of nearly 400 peopleThis Chautauqua representing-style a storytell- UPCOMING EVENTS grand mix of society—political ing presentation features a Chinese Upcoming “Uncle Toisan” Events figures,American professionals, immigrant’s corporate unique life Celebrate the Lunar New Year! andin foundationthe United States.sponsors, Highlighting and Saturday,Saturday, March May 6, 16, 2010 12:15-12:45 from 2-4 pmpm, Asian Heritage Street Celebration, communitythe Chinese leaders—were Exclusion Act, present Angel CHSA200 LarkinMuseum St, &(in Learning front of theCenter Asian Art Museum), San Francisco forIsland, the evening’s World War festivities. II, and the civil 965 Clay St, San Francisco rightsPresiding movement, as Master “Uncle of Toisan” is a (415)Sunday, 391-1188 June 7, 3-4 pm, Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St Ceremoniespowerful, affecting,for Voice &and Vision educational (@10th St, one block from Lake Merritt BART), Oakland* 2009experience was San for Francisco all audiences. Saturday,Come celebrate June 13, the 2:30-3:30 Lunar New pm, Year San with Francisco a Public Library, SupervisorUncle Bevan Toisan Dufty, enters who the country receptionChinatown & open Branch, house 1135 at CHSA! Powell This St special presentedas a 17-year-old CHSA’s “paperartistry son” and (immi- occasion will also feature the grand opening of the accomplishmentgrants who purchased through legal multi- immi- Sunday, June 14, 2-3 pm, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, 150 E. newSan exhibit: Fernando “The St, Architecture San Jose of San Francisco’s mediagration presentations status as a “paperof Artist- son” of an Chinatown.” in-ResidenceAmerican citizen), Charlie then Chin’s perseveres Tuesday,“Present-day June visitors23, 6:15-7:15 to Chinatown pm, Dr. see Martin it Luther King, Jr. Library, Historythrough Alive! a two-month performances detention and a at only150 as E.an San unassimilated Fernando St,foreign San Josecommunity where cultural traditions are the U.S. Immigration Station at An- Tribute to Him Mark Lai. Musical preserved* All programs and where are FREE the to architectural the public with forms the exception are mere of transplants June 7th, when from performancesgel Island on by the Pianist eve of Jon its Jangclosing in China.“Uncle Transfixed Toisan” is presented by cultural as part exotics, of OMCA’s few seeFamily that Explorations! the social Thehistory of the 1939. Often called the Guardian of performance is free with OMCA museum admission. & Saxophonist Francis Wong community is intimately interwoven with its architecture.” - Phil Choy accompaniedthe Western the Gate, videos. the U.S. Immigra- UPCOMING EVENTS continued on Page 7 GALA continued from page 1 CHSA BOARD OF CHSA Congratulates the History Maker Awardees! DIRECTORS (D-Cupertino) presented a framed format of the ACR 42 bill passed by Jeanie W. C. Low & Jennie Lew Paul Fong, President the California legislature in July that st Connie Young Yu, 1 Vice President apologizes to Chinese Americans for For Saving the Alien Registration Files, thus Doug Chan, Esq., 2nd Vice president past discrimination and unjust laws preserving an invaluable primary resource of Chinese American immigration heritage. Linda Cheu, Treasurer enacted by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Virginia C. Gee, Secretary Working ten years on behalf of the Save Our Voice & Vision 2009 rounded National Archives Coalition, Steve Adams out the evening with a spectacularly Cedric Cheng successful raffle & silent auction. Your Voice could not be silenced, Mike Cheng Items up for bidding included: Your Vision could not be dimmed. Barre Fong 5-day/4-night stay at Hilton Waikiki Prince Kuhio Hotel; 2-night resort Cindy Hu Chinese America is forever indebted to you stay in South Lake Tahoe; 1-night and Jennie Lew. Elsie Lam stay at Four Seasons Hotel, San th Sandy Lee Francisco; Yao-Ming autographed Presented this 12 day of September 2009 Ty Lim basketball; James Bond 007 Russell Leong Collection Special Edition DVD Paul Tsang set; a dinner for ten by Google Chef Olivia Wu; specialty wines; and Gift Alisa Yee Certificates to Medjool, Namu, Tru Brian Yee Spa, Avra Organic Spa, plus passes to California Academy of Sciences, Bay Jeffrey P. Woo, Legal Counsel Area Discovery Museum, American Conservatory Theatre, Asian Art BOARD EMERITI Museum, and more! Assemblymember Paul Fong (D-Cupertino) presented a framed format of the ACR 42 bill Him Mark Lai (deceased) Philip P. Choy FOUNDERS Thomas W. Chinn C.H. Kwock Chingwah Lee H.K. Wong Miss Chinatown 2007 Betty Hsu and SF Supervisor Bevan Dufty & Thomas W.S. Wu, DDS Miss San Francisco Chinatown 2008 Illysa Lu CHSA Executive Director Sue Lee grin flank Phil Choy during the reception happily during the festivities STAFF Sue Lee, Executive Director Francis Wong, Special Projects Consultant Judy Hu, Communications Director Lenora Lee, Operations Manager Michelle Louie, Administrative Executive Pam Wong, Programs Coordinator The capacity crowd at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Charlie Chin, Artist-in-Residence enjoys the dinner gala. Photos by Leland Wong Fall 2009 Page 2 Him Mark Lai (1925-2009) The Dean of Chinese American History im Mark Lai, an internationally renowned archivist and historian of Chinese America and a highly respected leader of the community, died peacefully on Thursday, May 21, after a long struggle with cancer and other complications. For his immense contributions to Chinese American history, The Chronicle of Higher Education deemed him “the Scholar who legitimized the study of Chinese America.” He was 84 years old. Photo LelandWong by Born on November 1, 1925 Him Mark and Laura Lai leave CHSA after in San Francisco’s Chinatown, to the Civil Rights Suite reception in May 2008 immigrant parents, Him Mark grew up an avid reader and collector of His most significant contribu- tory of Communities and Institutions books in both Chinese and English. tions to Chinese American history (2004). Under his editorial leadership, Upon graduation from high school, fall in three broad categories: research the annual journal of CHSA Chinese he completed his mechanical and publications; archival collections; America: History & Perspectives, has engineering degree at the University and nurturing and mentoring of been published each year. of California, Berkeley, in 1947 young Chinese American historians. Besides being a historian and and settled into a job at Bechtel In all, he published and edited archivist, Him Mark taught occa- Corporation shortly afterwards. ten books and more than one hun- sional courses in Chinese Ameri- In late 1949, he started dred articles on all aspects of Chinese can history in the Asian American volunteering for the Chung Sai Yat American life. His East/West arti- Studies Programs at San Francisco Po, the first daily paper to support the cles—revised and annotated—became State University and the University new People’s Republic of China. He the basis for the classic A History of of California, Berkeley. He provided also joined the Chinese American the Chinese in California, A Syllabus, help to hundreds of graduate students Democratic Youth League, also coedited with Thomas W. Chinn and and scholars across the globe. Virtu- known as Mun Ching, where he met Philip P. Choy, as well as for the first ally every dissertation and book on Laura Jung, a young new immigrant, Chinese American history course in the subject in the past thirty years is whom he eventually married in the United States, which Lai team indebted to him. 1953. Laura became his life-time taught with Choy at San Francisco A memorial service and celebra- companion and steadfast supporter State College in Fall 1969. Their tion of Him Mark Lai’s life was until he died. joint teaching resulted in another attended by nearly 500 people at In 1960, Him Mark enrolled classic Outlines: History of the Chinese the Chinese Culture Center at 750 in a course, “The Oriental in in America. Kearny Street in Chinatown on June North America,” at the University Lai’s first scholarly essay, “A His- 20. His family asked that in lieu of of California Extension in San torical Survey of Organizations of the flowers, donations be sent to CHSA Francisco, which exposed him for Left Among the Chinese in Ameri- or the charity of one’s choice. the first time to the histories of the ca,” published in the Fall 1972 issue For more information on this Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos in of the Bulletin of Concerned Asian remarkable figure, please visit CHSA’s America.