In an era of rising hatred and violence toward Asian Americans, the importance of recognizing and representing Chinese American history becomes more important than ever. For its Chinatown History Project, the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West (ICW) teamed up with the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC) and historian Greg Hise to recover the neighborhood of Los Angeles' original Chinatown. When complete, the project will create website access to historical data and an augmented reality experience accessible to the public. Utilizing this research, ICW's podcast team has taken that research into our "Western Edition" podcast to bring to light a largely forgotten, even buried, history.

The second season of "Western Edition" explores the history and lives of Chinese settlers in the West, most notably the Chinatown hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Many collaborators shared their expertise and incredible knowledge, allowing listeners to hear excerpts of years and decades of work. Much of the foundation and research that the season builds on comes out of our rich collaboration with the CHSSC.

As a member of the ICW team, I learned the power of connections and oral history while sitting around a long rectangular table inside the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. Their headquarters at the north end of Chinatown includes two houses refurbished to hold decades of documentation from families, institutions and writers. The Society came together in 1975, with a mission of pursuing, preserving and communicating Chinese and Chinese American heritage to the public. Through its work, the organization is building a legacy of reflection and celebration of the perseverance of Chinese in the American West, even under the harshest conditions brought about by racism and violence.

Our team on the Chinatown Research Project and "Western Edition" relied heavily on the work of our colleagues at the CHSSC to make this podcast a reality and an accurate representation of Chinese cultural traditions. With every step and in each episode, we tried to convey our interpretations and findings as complementary to the work of our colleagues, careful not to claim credit for trailblazing work accomplished by the Society and its members.

We sat with Eugene Moy, Linda Bentz, Gilbert Hom and the CHSSC team of current and graduate Library and Information students. Since starting with the team over a year ago today, and scouring through thousands of pages dedicated to documenting Chinese business and their day-to-day lives, I realize just how little I actually know about this complex history that I have spent my post-graduate work studying and learning. What is clear to me is that what has been passed down from generation to generation is a strong pride and affinity for family; evident, too, is the ongoing desire to overcome barriers that Los Angeles has created by discriminatory laws and behaviors, such as the outright demolition of the original Chinatown neighborhood.

Photos: New Chinatown & Union Station

The work is exciting. Our teams met to compile a list of fifty families, people and businesses that we felt represented Old Chinatown. Descendants of important members of Old and New Chinatown have worked closely with the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California to curate and preserve this history. Among them is the Quon Brothers, whose family owned Tuey Far Low, a staple restaurant in Old and New Chinatown. The restaurant, which was originally at 300 Marchessault, was first built by Soon Doon Quon and the New Chinatown restaurant was completed in 1938. History was made at the original Tuey Far Low when Chinese American community leaders met to found the Chinatown Project Association. Our conversation led to a discussion on the impact that places can have on a community. Chinatown restaurants served as meeting grounds to leverage political power and discuss the advancement of their families and people.

From our historical vantage, it is incredibly important to be willing to understand different cultures and histories. It is equally important to yield your own expertise as a researcher to the communities in which you study for understanding cultural nuances. One learning experience I had was when I had the pleasure of visiting the Seaver Center located in the Natural History Museum to look through business incorporation files from LA County. Using my own understanding and experiences of American business practices, I made assumptions and conclusions about the way Chinese proprietors ran their businesses. Meeting with members of the Chinese Historical Society, I became aware of the business reiteration contracts, where companies would be passed down to newcomers in order to sponsor their arrival and stay. This allowed many Chinese to gain a foothold in their new country and evade deportation.

Working with communities that built archives and collections from the ground up are incredible places for us to look to for contextualized research and history. When a community has the power and ability to determine the way in which its history is represented, we all benefit.

What might be the impact of this work and these collaborations? Decades later the conversations we have may change the way the past is represented. We have a duty to honor the research and work cultivated by the Chinese Historical Society by depicting their culture and history in the way they want, rather than how we, an outside group, see fit. Our research comes at a time of increased violence, bigotry and hatred toward Asian American groups, and it is so important that our research doesn't lean towards or otherwise prop up tropes, stereotypes and caricatures — whether they are in the historical record or our times today.