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Transcription: [01:22:26]
because we, we believed in -- not power concentration, but shared power, with everybody, and shared responsibility, and to work toward a common goal. And this was very idealistic. But somehow the group embraced that ideal, and goal, and mission.

[01:22:55]
And we were willing to practice it, and engage in it. So besides the organization involving this project is group projects that only Wendy Lim can claim as a PI, and I am the technical editor, English and Chinese, of these things, and Chi-Kwan did the major research.

[01:23:26]
Along with me. And also Wendy Lim too. We went to the library to look through the archives and photos and published material. And Theo was working part-- full time, had a job but part time to start the radio of Asian American.

[01:23:54]
It was a very exciting time, you know, to get so many people involved in it. So I was so happy, uh, to be surrounded by, you know, people who really have put in energy and heart.
and soul -- and make things happen. It was --

[01:24:18]
You know I was so glad to, to work on this project and I'm still. I told Wendy, last time I talked to her, how much I really value the working relationship and the product. Because you cannot find this book anymore. It's out of print, right?

[01:24:38]
{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
Mhmm, yeah.

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
Do you have a copy of it?

[01:24:40]
{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
Uh, I don't have my own copy but we've been using a copy at uh, a few different libraries.

{Unknown Speaker}
George Washington Library

[01:24:47]
{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
George Washington Library, MLK Library --

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
W-Where?

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
MLK library.

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
[01:24:51]
Oh yep, Martin Luther King.

[01:24:51]
{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
Gilman library, GW

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
Oh yeah, GW

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
There's a few libraries that have copies.

[01:24:56]
{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
Mhmm, yeah, wow.

[01:25:00]
I would like to donate this copy to your library, The Smithsonian. Do you like to have this copy?

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
Oh that, that would be wonderful yeah.

[01:25:08]
{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
I- It looks pretty on my shelf -- it'll be there forever. But I thought that I'd better let go and give it to someone who will make good use of it. I have an old copy that I've marked all over, but this is a clean copy, that I would like to share with your organization and your library.

[01:25:35]
{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
That would be wonderful yeah we, we would love to make it part of our library collection.

[01:25:37]
{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
So this is yours.

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
Thank you very much.

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
And uh, I think it's very -- to me it's very valuable.

[01:25:42]
{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
No, it is. Very valuable, yes.

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
It's out of print. And, so at that time this is the announcement of our, the event -- exhibit at the Martin Luther King library, and then the chronological events and

[01:26:02]
[shuffling papers] and personality. This is another book announcement. I want to give you this, so that you have a copy of this in case you want to archive.

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
Yes, absolutely. Thank you.

[01:26:17]
{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
Now, um, I, at that time I think this is one of very few copies I have left, original. So I'm going to give it to you.

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
Thank you very much.

[01:26:35]
{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
And this is about the, uhm, our exhibit. And this kid was one of the 5 kids that drew the painting, of Chinatown. And the Chinese -- well, Wendy talked to Juanita Chan, who was a teacher in D.C. and Juanita was a member. She's still a member. She's still around. Of CCC.

[01:27:12]
And she conducted Chi- uh, Sunday school for the kid every week. And she also organized summer camp at the Chinese community church. Every year, for 20 some years. Nonstop. Year after year.

[01:27:35]
And so when we had this project and one idea is say, how did the kids living in Chinatown, thought about the Chinese community. The place where they lived.

[01:27:54]
And we would like to have their perspectives. And they did and among all the things, we select 5 of them. It's like poster size. I still have it. I told Wendy that I still have it and, you know, we will decide what to do with it.

[01:28:14]
And these are the paint -- some of the paintings or drawings of Chinatown and this is one of the kids, one of the 8 kids whose artwork on Chinatown is displayed.

[01:28:28]
But I have only 5 of them, and this is the article about it and, the -- this is -- appeared in the news letter uhm --

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
Amplitude

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
Yeah.

[01:28:41]
And it is uhm, published by the Asian American Arts and Media Incorporated. And at that time the editor was Franklin Chow, who died of cancer. He was a good friend of Wendy. Because my last name is Chow, he always called me his sister. Even though we have no connection.

[01:29:11]
And so he was a very good cook, he like -- enjoyed eating so we went out to eat. And so his organization also helped out in this. So I thought that I will give this to you. You see Frank and Kelly here, at the exhibit in Martin Luther King.

[01:29:40]
{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
Oh wow, yeah.

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
Frank, Wendy Lim was here, Chi-Kwan is here, I don't remember who this person is -- Wei Lee, a part time professor, adjunct professor at Virginia with me.

[01:29:54]
So, ok. So I think that I will give it to you, and, and this is original.

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
Thank you very much.

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
Cannot find it anymore.

[01:30:06]
{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
Wow, thank you.

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
So I gave you 2 original things. The book and then this. And uh, I wrote this article, for the American Sociological Association, that had a meeting in D.C.

[01:30:26]
So each time the organization ASA have a meeting, they ask the local sociologists to write something up about that particular city. And so I was asked to write about Chinatown. And so I documented John Surratt, John Booth, and that sent here.


[01:30:54] [[Cross Talk]]
{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
Great. Thank you.

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
Okay, I, you have my article, right? So, yeah.

[01:31:01]
{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
But, what happened to--

[01:31:02]
{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
This is Urban Odyssey, not Washington Odyssey. My-my secretary make a copy of stuff

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
[laughing] We're happy to have you come [[inaudible]] sorry, thank you.

[01:31:10]
{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
Um, I wrote you asked me about the original articles, uh, that I wrote for this one,

[01:31:20]
um, this one was written when I submitted a chapter in it. And here you see me underline things because I only have one copy left.

[01:31:35]
So, I have to Xerox as my uh administrative assistant to help me to Xerox this thing before I can--

[01:31:45]
and uh so please don't mind all the underline-underlined. Uh, so I divided Chinatown into four major historical periods:

[01:31:56]
uh from before the--in mid-19th century to 1930 when the first Chinatown was established, um, Philadelphia--no, no, Pennsylvania Avenue near the capital

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
[01:32:12]
Mhm.

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
[01:32:13]
with the Botanic garden locates now. And then because the Federal triangle project and Chinatown was forced to uh-- moved away.

[01:32:28]
At that time, right next to China- Chinatown there was the Greek, the Italian was around there--they were asked to move too.

[01:32:38]
If you look at the history the other groups were mentioned there. And so, and the second period is from after relocation to the current site, and then look at the, um, from 1930 to 1940 and then 195-, well, 9-5-50-60 and then from '96 to '70 on.

[01:33:06]
And so, this is my, um, early edition and I think I revised this and polished this and present paper. So for--make several presentations.

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
[01:33:24]
Mhm.

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
[01:33:25]
And one of them is the American Sociological society and it was in the mid 1995, 96-- there's several years. So but this one was done, um, 1991 and so this is a copy of it for you as you requested.

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
[01:33:47]
Thank you.

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
[01:33:48]
I think around the similar time I wrote an article about the Chinese-American women, so I want you to have the perspective of Chinese women; how they combined work and family, historically, way back, I forget the--
[01:34:15]
uh look at the whole thing, look at family of Chinese-American historically.

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
[01:34:22]
Great, thank you.

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
[01:34:22]
Ok, so, I-I just got it Xeroxed [laughter]

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
[01:34:28]
Well, thank you for that, that's great.

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
[01:34:28]
Yeah and uh so

[01:34:33]
uh, do you have other questions? Because I think I've one more thing to do it to you- to show it to you.

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
[01:34:40]
Mhm, okay.

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
[01:34:41]
Uh, do you have other questions to ask me?

{SPEAKER name="Samir Meghelli, Ph.D. (Interviewer)"}
[01:34:43]
Uh, do you have something?

{SPEAKER name="Unknown Speaker"}
[01:34:46]
Mhm, yes.

[01:34:47]
Actually, when talking about like the early Chinatown, uh, Pennsylvania Avenue that the first, uh, Chinese, uh site in D.C. was Shanghai

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
[01:35:00]
Shanghai?]], yeah, Shanghai.

{SPEAKER name="Unknown Speaker"}
[01:35:01]
So, so every article talk about that part, trace back to your article like from Pennsylvania Avenue to Edge street. North West

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
[01:35:06]
Yeah,
[01:35:08]
yeah,
[01:35:10]
yeah but we found it in- in the archives. We did not make it up, this. We found it in the archives.

{SPEAKER name="Unknown Speaker"}
[01:35:16]
The national archives?

{SPEAKER name="Esther Chow (Interviewee)"}
[01:35:18]
I don't know where we found it but, uh, in some early newspaper. I- I think I talk to Wendy because she knew









Transcription Notes:
At [01:22:55] the same name from the previous segment is used but I do not know how to spell it. I am unsure how to spell the place mentioned at 1:34:37