Monthly Talk Story Series Uncovers Chinese American Histories

By Mary Tablante

From discussing what makes D.C.’s Chinatown ‘Chinese’ to telling the stories of people whom the Chinese Exclusion Acts affected, the Talk Story series provides a venue for the community to share its histories.

Every month, the free event takes place in Chinatown and allows for an open discussion to engage the Chinese American community and the general public.

Event organizers and facilitators Stan Lou and Ted Gong believe the foremost goal of these events is to strengthen the community.

“We’re interested in the Chinese American experience,” Gong said. “How did they make it when they got here in the U.S.? … All I want to do is be with people who like to share stories.”

The idea behind the Talk Story events is to continue the oral history traditions of storytelling and pass it on to different generations of Chinese Americans.

“There’s more to history than we kind of think there is,” Gong said. “We shouldn’t rely on others to interpret that history for us.”

Since the Talk Story series began in May 2011, a variety of guests and speakers have shared their personal stories. Major Kurt Lee, the first Chinese American to lead combat troops in war, spoke at a Talk Story event in July 2012 and talked about his experiences in the Marine Corps and how he became a hero in the Korean War.

In the latest Talk Story event on Oct. 27, educator Ting Yi Oei spoke about how to better integrate the Chinese Exclusion Laws into American education, focusing on grades 6-12.

Gong said the emphasis on incorporating Chinese Exclusion into school systems is not to seek reparations for the past, but rather to look forward and be optimistic about how the U.S. can change for the better. The idea is that adding this law to the curriculum should be used as an example of taking these struggles and reaffirming the strengths and values of the nation.

For Lou, who grew up in Mississippi, the talks are an opportunity for him to explore his Chinese-American identity.

“For a long time I didn’t know what it meant to be a Chinese American and how to accept my identity. I ran away from my identity, so this series helps me and I feel like it helps others to discover our own identities as Chinese Americans,” Lou said.

Even the venues where the Talk Story events take place have special meaning to Chinese Americans in D.C. The organizers rotate the venue between the Chinatown Community Cultural Center, the Chinese Community Church and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. Gong explained that each location is significant to the Chinese American community in D.C. because each place represents different constituents.

In the future, Gong and Lou plan to raise more funds, gather additional volunteers and to record the events as the Talk Story series grows.

Lou added that a rewarding aspect of the Talk Story series is reaching new immigrants to the country who do not really know the history of their Asian American predecessors and seeing them appreciate the history of those who came before them.

“Our greater goal is to educate more people in America about the lives and contributions of Chinese Americans so that we all realize we’re an integral part of the country. We belong here and we’ve always belonged here,” Lou said.

The Talk Story events are sponsored by the 1882 Project, whose mission is to make the public more aware of the Chinese American story, OCA-DC, the Chinese American Citizens Alliance and Chinatown Service Center.

For more information and to locate future events in the Talk Story series, go to www.1882project.org.