Sons of Chinatown: A Memoir Rooted in China and America
BOOK LAUNCH: March 24, 2024. Sunday 1pm. Oakland Asian Cultural Center.
“SONS OF CHINATOWN: A MEMOIR ROOTED IN CHINA AND AMERICA” BOOK RELEASE READING WITH WILLIAM GEE WONG
William “Bill” Gee Wong will read from his newly published book “Sons of Chinatown: A Memoir Rooted in China and America”, followed by a conversation with Harvey Dong, of Eastwind Books, and a book signing. Note: This event was attended by over 140 people.
Description
William Gee Wong was born in Oakland, California's Chinatown in 1941, the only son of his father, known as Pop. Pop was born in Guangdong Province, China and emigrated to Oakland as a teenager during the Chinese Exclusion era in 1912. He entered the U.S. legally as the "son of a native," despite having partially false papers. Sons of Chinatown is Wong's evocative dual memoir of his and his father's parallel experiences in America.
As Pop grappled with the systemic racism towards Asians during the exclusion era, Wong wistfully depicts Pop's efforts to establish a family business and build a life for his family in segregated Oakland. As the exclusion law ended in 1943, young William was assimilating into American life and developing his path as a journalist. Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Oakland Tribune, and Asian American periodicals, Wong chronicled Asian American experiences while honoring Chinese American history and identity, but he too faced discrimination.
Sons of Chinatown poignantly weaves these father and son stories together with admiration and righteous anger. Through the mirrored lens of his father, Wong reflects on the hardships Asian Americans endured--and continue to face--with American exceptionalism. Wong's inspiring memoir provides a personal history that also raises the question of whether America welcomes or repels immigrants.
Reviews
“Bill Wong is an original. He was prominent as a print journalist, with his own column, long before Asian Americans were accepted as chroniclers of daily life. His writing is accessible, engaging, and, above all, true. In Sons of Chinatown , he tells a family story that everyone will be moved by. Highly recommended.”
—Frank H. Wu, President of Queens College
“William Gee Wong’s memoir is a master class on twentieth-century social and political dynamics that engulfed historic Chinatowns, journalism, and American society. It is told in meticulous detail by this accomplished and self-proclaimed ‘yellow’ California native.”
—Helen Zia, author of Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao’s Revolution
Biographical Note:
Writer and journalist William Gee Wong has been a regional commentator for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, and a columnist for the Oakland Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, and Asian Week, among other publications. He is the author of Yellow Journalist: Dispatches from Asian America (Temple). Visit him online at williamgeewong.com.
“SONS OF CHINATOWN: A MEMOIR ROOTED IN CHINA AND AMERICA” BOOK RELEASE READING WITH WILLIAM GEE WONG
William “Bill” Gee Wong will read from his newly published book “Sons of Chinatown: A Memoir Rooted in China and America”, followed by a conversation with Harvey Dong, of Eastwind Books, and a book signing. Note: This event was attended by over 140 people.
Description
William Gee Wong was born in Oakland, California's Chinatown in 1941, the only son of his father, known as Pop. Pop was born in Guangdong Province, China and emigrated to Oakland as a teenager during the Chinese Exclusion era in 1912. He entered the U.S. legally as the "son of a native," despite having partially false papers. Sons of Chinatown is Wong's evocative dual memoir of his and his father's parallel experiences in America.
As Pop grappled with the systemic racism towards Asians during the exclusion era, Wong wistfully depicts Pop's efforts to establish a family business and build a life for his family in segregated Oakland. As the exclusion law ended in 1943, young William was assimilating into American life and developing his path as a journalist. Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Oakland Tribune, and Asian American periodicals, Wong chronicled Asian American experiences while honoring Chinese American history and identity, but he too faced discrimination.
Sons of Chinatown poignantly weaves these father and son stories together with admiration and righteous anger. Through the mirrored lens of his father, Wong reflects on the hardships Asian Americans endured--and continue to face--with American exceptionalism. Wong's inspiring memoir provides a personal history that also raises the question of whether America welcomes or repels immigrants.
Reviews
“Bill Wong is an original. He was prominent as a print journalist, with his own column, long before Asian Americans were accepted as chroniclers of daily life. His writing is accessible, engaging, and, above all, true. In Sons of Chinatown , he tells a family story that everyone will be moved by. Highly recommended.”
—Frank H. Wu, President of Queens College
“William Gee Wong’s memoir is a master class on twentieth-century social and political dynamics that engulfed historic Chinatowns, journalism, and American society. It is told in meticulous detail by this accomplished and self-proclaimed ‘yellow’ California native.”
—Helen Zia, author of Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao’s Revolution
Biographical Note:
Writer and journalist William Gee Wong has been a regional commentator for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, and a columnist for the Oakland Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, and Asian Week, among other publications. He is the author of Yellow Journalist: Dispatches from Asian America (Temple). Visit him online at williamgeewong.com.