Saturday, May 26, at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, was a fabulous success.
CGS board member Chris Pattillo was among those who volunteered at the event, and she sent us
this report:
Next time you see Maureen Hanlon, make
a point of thanking her for planning another tremendously successful CGS event!
 |
| Speakers Grant Din and Felicia Lowe |
Keynote speaker Felicia Lowe started
the day with flair, showing an 18-minute clip of her documentary “Chinese
Couplets”—just enough to leave us wanting to see the film in its entirety.
Lowe’s journey to uncover her immigrant mother’s past was heartbreaking and
heartwarming at the same time. It also introduced the day’s theme: the impact
of the Chinese Exclusion Act on Asian American families to this day.
CGS member Grant Din gave a
well-illustrated, clear and concise introduction to doing Chinese family
history research. Grant is an engaging and exuberant speaker with 35 years of
experience, and he shared ample anecdotes from his work.
| We enjoyed lunch and socializing |
The delicious lunch provided by Peony
Restaurant was
worth the price of the event on its own! There was plenty of food–even enough for seconds of yummy sesame balls.
After lunch we heard from Marisa Louie
Lee, a former archivist at NARA. She served as an advisor on the PBS
documentary “The Chinese Exclusion Act,” which aired this month. I was
impressed with how easily Marisa moved between presenting and answering questions.
She is a pro speaker. Marisa’s talk was also well illustrated, to the point and
included a five-page handout with helpful information and links to other
sources.
Finally, we heard from John Wong, a
volunteer with the Roots Plus program who has led several tours for Chinese
Americans to visit their ancestral villages in China’s Guangdong Province. John
showed four videos that showcased the incredible experiences of four different
families. The stories that John shared have universal appeal. No, I have no
ancestors from China, but I still felt the shivers and warm glow these families
experienced as they saw their ancestor’s graves and rural townships for the
first time.
Much of the information being presented
was not directly relevant to me personally, but I am so glad Maureen invited me
to volunteer because I learned so much about things I knew nothing about. Do
you know what a “paper mother” is? That is something I learned—if you weren’t
there, you’ll just have to ask me.
 |
| CGS volunteers Kathryn Doyle and Linda Okazaki |
productive networking was happening throughout the day. At our CGS table, we
had two people join as new members and 18 added their names to our e-News list.
Our table was next to that of the California Historical Society, where
volunteer Frances Kaplan reported that she is grateful for CGS because she
refers people with questions to us on a daily basis.
The event was sponsored by the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, California
Genealogical Society, the California Historical Society, and the Angel Island
Immigration Station Foundation. Our
thanks to OACC for providing the beautiful venue and to OACC staff member Terri Kaley for being such a gracious host.
Copyright © 2018 by California Genealogical Society
MAY
2018