Issue Date: February 26, 2019 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Janice Lee, gala@chsa.org Gala to celebrate Chinese American history and progress SAN FRANCISCO, California – The Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) hosts its 2019 gala on Friday, March 15, at The Hyatt Regency Embarcadero in San Francisco. Up to 400 guests are expected to attend the benefit dinner with Master of Ceremonies Ben Fong-Torres (Rolling Stone magazine journalist, Chinese New Year Parade co-host) who will perform some of his favorite classic tunes plus his rendition of one of the most defining songs of the Summer of Love. Guests will … [read more →]
Press Release: The World Premiere of “MAYOR ED LEE”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jane Chin, Interim Executive Director, Chinese Historical Society of America / jane.chin@chsa.org / 415-391-1188 THE WORLD PREMIERE OF “MAYOR ED LEE” January 25, 2019 — On February 11, 2019, the Chinese Historical Society of America will host the World Premiere of the documentary, “MAYOR ED LEE” at San Francisco’s historic Herbst Theatre (401 Van Ness Avenue). VIP Tickets are $75 which include a pre-film reception and reserved seating. General admission seats are $12.50. Tickets are available on eventbrite.com/e/mayor-ed-lee-film-world-premiere-tickets-54370874750. The hour long documentary tells the inspiring story of Ed Lee’s life: from growing up in Seattle’s public … [read more →]
Stand up for our democracy
Dear Friends, Under the Trump Administration’s zero-tolerance policy, families fleeing violence in Central America and elsewhere have been captured near the border, the children torn from their parents and held in separate tents and cages. A public outcry forced the Administration to back down from its family separation policy, and a federal court ordered it to reunite the families split. But the president’s anti-immigration agenda still includes a rush to open family jails and continues to create terror, chaos and uncertainty for immigrant households and communities in the US. Last month, the Supreme Court upheld the president’s ban on travel … [read more →]
Press Conference: Making Chinese History In America
Who: Chinese Historical Society of America What: Lee Family Association Celebrates 1,400th Anniversary of the Founding of Imperial Tang Dynasty, June 17, 2018, 12PM When: June 15, 2018: 10:30am – 11:00am Where: CHSA 965 Clay Street, San Francisco, CA 94108 Why: Making Chinese History in America It’s been exactly 14 centuries since a member of the Lee Clan became the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty in China. To honor that historical landmark, the Lee Family Association in San Francisco is hosting a special ancestor veneration ceremony at their headquarters, located at 915 Grant Avenue, San Francisco, at noon on … [read more →]
SF Examiner: Officials seek to rename Julius Kahn Playground over history of anti-Asian racism
On April 30, 2018, CHSA hosted a press conference where a coalition of city officials and advocates called for the renaming of Julius Kahn Playground, due to the anti-Asian policies and rhetoric of the U.S. congressman after which it is named. “The fact is, history matters,” said Hoyt Zia, president of the Chinese Historical Society of America’s Board of Directors. “The names of places should reflect The City as it is now.” Congressman Kahn represented San Francisco from 1899-1903 & 1905-1924. The Chinese Exclusion Act was first signed into law in 1882, but as it was set to sunset Kahn … [read more →]
Statement re: Joice Alley incident on Apr. 15, 2018
Dear CHSA community, We would like to take this opportunity to shed light on a troubling situation that occurred near our premises. On Sunday, April 15, 2018, San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) investigated the homicide of a homeless individual that occurred overnight in Joice Alley. A former employee of CHSA had discovered the victim at 8:30am and immediately called 911. CHSA temporarily closed while police investigated the scene. We are shocked by this horrifying incident, and we mourn the loss of life of the victim. On Wednesday, April 18, CHSA and neighboring residents and organizations in the Joice Alley neighborhood … [read more →]
Looking back at 2017, & looking ahead
Dear friends, We reflect on 2017 as a time of tremendous change and new opportunities for CHSA. We began 2017 fresh off the opening of Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion, the groundbreaking exhibition that interprets the Chinese American community’s experience and struggles with discrimination and exclusion as a key part of American history. The timing of this exhibition’s arrival could not have been more prescient. Nationally, a rising tide of racist extremism, backed by the new administration’s anti-immigration policies echo many of the horrors of the Chinese Exclusion era. Now more than ever, CHSA needs to be a voice and a place for people … [read more →]
Remembering Mayor Ed Lee
The CHSA Board of Directors and Staff expresses its profound sadness at the sudden passing of Mayor Edwin M. Lee on December 12, 2017. Mayor Ed Lee made history in 2011 as San Francisco’s first Chinese American mayor, although his historic legacy extends well beyond his mayorship. His work and life, culminating in his ascension to Mayor, represented a pivotal moment of a 160 year-old arc of struggle in the history Chinese and Asian America. Throughout his career, Mayor Ed Lee was an effective agent of change who promoted the causes of diversity and civil rights both from the outside … [read more →]
