Chinese Immigrants in Milwaukee: A Collective Case Study by Judy King A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Education at Carroll University Waukesha, Wisconsin December 2008 A thesis entitled CHINESE IMMIGRANTS IN MIL WAUKEE: A COLLECTIVE CASE STUDY submitted to the Carroll University Library in partial fulfillment of the expectations and academic requirements of the degree of Masters of Education by Judy King Date ( I Date (t) I /olo~ I • Graduate Support Library Liaison, Allison Reeves Grabowski Date I wish to thank Dr. Wilma Robinson for her inspiration in launching this research and for her continued support throughout the project. I wish to dedicate this to the wonderful members of Community Baptist Church in Milwaukee, who are my family in Christ. Last but not least, I wish to thank my husband Robert King, for his support, not only through the process of obtaining my Masters of Education, but for all of his love and support in our 37 years together. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 THE BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................... 2 THE PURPOSE ................................................................................................................... 7 THE SIGNIFICANCE ........................................................................................................... 8 THE OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................ 11 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .................................................................................................. 13 DEFINITIONS .................................................................................................................. 14 DELIMITATIONS ............................................................................................................. 15 LIMITATIONS .................................................................................................................. 16 OVERVIEW ..................................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................. 19 HISTORY OF CHINESE AMERICANS ................................................................................. 20 CHINESE CULTURAL ATTITUDES ..................................................................................................... 32 CHINESE CULTURAL TRADITIONS ................................................................................................... 38 FAMILY LOYALTY AND RELIGION ................................................................................................... 46 THE CHURCH’S INFLUENCE IN CHINA ............................................................................................ 47 THE CHURCH’S INFLUENCE ON CHINESE IN AMERICA ............................................................... 49 CURRENT RESEARCH ON CHINESE CHURCHES IN AMERICA ..................................................... 54 LEARNING TO ADAPT .......................................................................................................................... 59 BARRIERS TO LEARNING .................................................................................................................... 66 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY .................................................................... 70 RESEARCH DESIGN .............................................................................................................................. 70 PARTICIPANTS ....................................................................................................................................... 72 INSTRUMENTS ....................................................................................................................................... 75 PROCEDURE ........................................................................................................................................... 77 DATA ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................................. 80 CHAPTER FOUR: CASE STUDIES ........................................................................... 82 JENNIE ..................................................................................................................................................... 83 LILLIAN .................................................................................................................................................. 93 CHARLES ................................................................................................................................................ 98 DAVID ................................................................................................................................................... 106 PEARL ................................................................................................................................................... 113 MINAH .................................................................................................................................................. 124 CHAPTER FIVE: FINDINGS, ANALYSIS & DISCUSSION ................................ 134 WHEN DID THEY COME? ................................................................................................................. 137 WHAT ATTITUDES AND TRADITIONS DID THEY BRING? ........................................................ 141 HOW DID THEY COME TO FORM A CHINESE CHURCH IN MILWAUKEE? ............................. 149 HOW DID THEY ADAPT? .................................................................................................................. 155 WHAT WERE THE BARRIERS TO THEIR ADJUSTMENT? ............................................................ 164 iii DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................................................... 167 CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS ................................................... 180 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ADULT EDUCATORS .......................................................................... 182 QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY ................................................................................................. 185 TRENDS FOR THE FUTURE ................................................................................................................ 187 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 189 APPENDIX A: PARTICIPANT CONSENT FORM ..................................................... 198 APPENDIX B: RESEARCH CONSENT FORM .......................................................... 199 APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ................................................................. 200 APPENDIX D: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE ............................................................. 202 APPENDIX E: FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION QUESITONS .................................... 203 APPENDIX F: TIMELINE OF CHINESE IMMIGRATION ........................................ 204 iv ABSTRACT Chinese Immigrants in Milwaukee: A Collective Case Study by Judy King Carroll University, 2008 Under Supervision of Dr. Wilma Robinson The stories of 6 immigrants of Chinese ancestry, who arrived in Milwaukee from 1912 to 1973, are captured through extensive interviews. They reveal the reasons why they left their homeland, in spite of the risks, and explain how they came to make their home in the Midwest. They detail the difficulties they encountered in this strange new land and remember how they came together as members of a Chinese church. They tell how they learned to adapt to a new culture and what role the church played in that process. Captured in first person narratives, the research compares their stories with those of other cohorts in the literature as well as ten other members of the same church, who were asked to respond to a questionnaire about their immigration experiences. These accounts of tenacious people, who learned to construct new meaning and create new identities, have important implications to educators and others who work with multicultural populations. v LIST OF TABLES & APPENDICES Interview Responses from Six Case Study Participants ………………………… p. 176 Questionnaire Responses from Ten Participants ………………………………… p. 177 APPENDIX A Participant Consent Form………………………………………… p. 198 APPENDIX B Research Consent Form………………………………………….. p. 199 APPENDIX C Interview Questions………………………………………………. P. 200 APPENDIX D Survey Questionnaire ……………………………………………. P. 202 APPENDIX E Focus Group Discussion Questions……………………………….. p. 203 APPENDIX F Timeline of Chinese Immigration to the United States…………… p. 204 1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION The population of Chinese Americans in Midwestern cities is relatively small compared to the concentration in larger cities, and information is scarce. According to the United States Census 2000, over half of the Asian population lives in only three states: California, New York, and Hawaii (Barnes & Bennett, 2002). There have been various studies done about Asians in these states, as well as in Seattle and in a few Canadian cities. Most of these studies concentrated on the Chinese living in Chinatowns