NACA - National Association of Chinese-Americans

09/30/2011
Dr. John Jung Presents: A Case Study of History of Chinese Immigration to the U.S. in the 1920s

As part of the Halle Institute’s Speaker Series at Emory University, Professor Emeritus of Psychology of California State University, Dr. John Jung, held a lecture on the evening of September 29th discussing the history and challenges faced by Chinese-American during the early 20th century. Dr. Jung searched for the story of his own parents’ immigration which led to further research on the history of other Chinese immigrants across the U.S. and the publication of four books related to his findings.

A native of Macon, Georgia, Dr. Jung was born to Chinese immigrant parents from the province of Guangdong and who operated a laundry for more than 20 years. He discussed his personal experiences growing up in the Deep South. As the only Chinese family in Macon, Dr. Jung did not share similar experiences to other Chinese-Americans who lived in close knit Chinese communities in other parts of the U.S. such as San Francisco. He discovered this first-hand when his family eventually moved to California where he eventually went on to pursue a degree in Psychology at U.C. Berkeley and went on to earn a Ph.D. at Northwestern University in Chicago. Dr. Jung’s first book and memoir, Southern Fried Rice: Life in a Chinese Laundry in the Deep South, published in 2005, details the unique and challenging life his family faced while living in the segregated South and living in isolation from other Chinese. Dr. Jung also spoke about discovering his "Paper Son" history which allowed his family to travel to Georgia during the Chinese Exclusion Era during Jim Crow in Georgia as well as his personal journey from psychologist to historian.

Never inspired to write more than one book about Chinese-Americans, he met many other Chinese-Americans who had very unique, but similar stories to other Chinese. While doing so, he also discovered the history of anti-Chinese prejudices and the negative treatment of Chinese people. He eventually came to write his other books which focused on Chinese-Americans who worked in the grocery and restaurant business. Each of his books explores how Chinese immigrants from the late 1800s through the middle of the 20th century overcame the hostile societal prejudices against Chinese and worked to succeed in running businesses such as laundries, grocery stores and restaurants across the U.S. and Canada. The goal of Dr. Jung’s books were to inspire, educate and preserve the many contributions of the Chinese to American history.

To learn more about anti-Chinese immigration policies, please visit: www.1882project.org.

This event was co-sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Historical Society, the National Association of Chinese-Americans and the U.S.-China People Friendship Association-Atlanta.

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09/30/2011Dr. John Jung Presents: A Case Study of History of Chinese Immigration to the U.S. in the 1920s

09/30/2011
Dr. John Jung Presents: A Case Study of History of Chinese Immigration to the U.S. in the 1920s