Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC, ) is an organization based in
Los Angeles Chinatown
Chinatown is a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles, California, that became a commercial center for Chinese and other Asian businesses in Central Los Angeles in 1938. The area includes restaurants, shops, and art galleries, but also has a reside ...
, California.
History
On November 1, 1975, the society held its founding meeting at
Cathay Bank
Cathay Bank () is an American bank founded in 1962.
Cathay is headquartered in Chinatown, Los Angeles, with a corporate center in nearby El Monte, California. It has branches in California, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, Washington, I ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California. Its key attendees include Paul Louie, William Mason, and Paul De Falla.
Its mission is as follows:
*To bring together people with a mutual interest in the important history and historical role of Chinese and Chinese Americans in Southern California;
*To pursue, preserve and communicate knowledge of this history; and
*To promote the heritage of the Chinese and Chinese American community in support of a better appreciation of our rich, multi-cultural society.
CHSSC is an active historical societies in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
. There are monthly meetings, field trips, archive and library collections, oral history projects, scholarships, and publications.
They purchased the site of their present building in Bernard Street in the mid 1990s,
constructing a Chinatown Heritage & Visitors Center, which is open to the public.
Projects
CHSSC have published several books; ''Duty & Honor'' in 1998, celebrating Chinese American world war II veterans, and ''Portraits of Pride I'' (2004)' & ''II'' (2012), collections of the biographies of high achieving, yet little known Chinese Americans.
19th Century Chinese Memorial Shrine Preservation Project
In 1992 the society was able to purchase an 1880 shrine surrounded by 42 burial places in
Evergreen Cemetery, which they restored. It is now a registered historic monument.
CHSSC Honorees
Each year the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California honors Chinese Americans who have made significant contributions to the greater Los Angeles community. They have included:
* 2005 - Los Angeles Chinese American Pioneers in Law —
Betty Tom Chu
Betty Tom Chu is an American lawyer, politician and banker. She is known for being the first Chinese-American woman to pass the bar admission of State Bar of California. She was also the first Chinese-American woman to be the chief executive of a ...
, Judge
Rose Hom,
You Chung Hong
You Chung Hong (Chinese: 洪耀宗 pinyin: Hóng Yàozōng) (May 4, 1898 – November 1977) was an American attorney and community leader who was the second Chinese American lawyer admitted to practice law in the state of California, having ...
(1898-1977), Judge
Ronald S.W. Lew (Chinese name: 刘成威), Judge
Jennifer Lum, Judge
Delbert Wong
Delbert Wong (, May 17, 1920 – March 10, 2006) was the first judge in the continental United States of Chinese descent.
Early life and education
Delbert Wong was born in Hanford, California on May 17, 1920, and raised a short distance away in ...
,
Debra Yang (Chinese: 楊黃金玉)
* 2006 - Chinese American Actors — including
James Hong
James Hong (; born February 22, 1929) is an American actor, producer and director. He has worked in numerous productions in American media since the 1950s, portraying a variety of roles. With more than 650 film and television credits as of 20 ...
(Chinese: 吳漢章),
Nancy Kwan
Nancy Kwan Ka-shen (; born May 19, 1939) is a Chinese-American actress, philanthropist, and former dancer. In addition to her personality and looks, her career was benefited by Hollywood's casting of more Asian roles in the 1960s, especially in ...
(Chinese: 關家蒨),
Russell Wong
Russell Wong (; born March 1, 1963) is an American actor of film and television. He was one of the first actors of Chinese descent to hold a leading role in a primetime American television series, portraying Jian-Wa with Chi Muoi Lo portraying W ...
(Chinese: 王盛德)
CHSSC 2006 Honorees
* 2007 - Los Angeles Chinese American Banking Pioneers — Preston Martin
Preston Martin (December 5, 1923 – May 30, 2007) was an American economist and banker who served as the 12th Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve from 1982 to 1986.
Education
Preston Martin graduated from the University of Southern California in ...
, F.Chow Chan, Cathay Bank
Cathay Bank () is an American bank founded in 1962.
Cathay is headquartered in Chinatown, Los Angeles, with a corporate center in nearby El Monte, California. It has branches in California, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, Washington, I ...
(Chinese: 國泰銀行), East West Bank
East West Bank (), the primary subsidiary of East West Bancorp, Inc., is the largest publicly traded bank headquartered in Southern California, United States. It was founded in 1973 in Los Angeles to serve the Chinese American community in S ...
(Chinese: 華美銀行), Far East National Bank
Far East National Bank (FENB; ) was founded in 1974 by Henry Y. Hwang as the first federally chartered Asian American bank in the United States. FENB has over 600 employees and total assets exceeding US$1.7 billion. It became a wholly owned subsid ...
(Chinese:遠東國民銀行), First Public Savings, General Bank Trust Savings
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...
, Standard Bank, Golden Security Bank
Golden Security Bank was a bank headquartered in Rosemead, California
Rosemead is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 50,245, currently dropping. Rosemead is part of a clust ...
(金安銀行), Eastern International
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
* Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
* Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
* Eastern Air ...
, The Continental Bank
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
* 2008 - Chinese American Associations — Arcadia Chinese Association, Chinese American Association of Walnut, Diamond Bar Chinese American Association, San Gabriel Valley Chinese American Cultural Association, San Fernando Valley Chinese Cultural Association, South Bay Chinese Woman's Association, South Coast Chinese Cultural Association, South Pasadena Chinese American Club, and Ventura County Chinese American Historical Society
* 2009 - Celebrating Chinese Americans in Sports — Michael Chang
Michael Te-pei Chang (born February 22, 1972) is an American former professional tennis player and coach. He is the youngest man in history to win a singles major, winning the 1989 French Open at 17 years and 109 days old. Chang won a total o ...
(Chinese: 張德培), Tennis player; Tiffany Chin
Audrey Tiffany Chin (born October 3, 1967) is an American figure skating coach and former competitor. She is a two-time World bronze medalist (1985–1986), a two-time Skate America champion (1983, 1986), and the 1985 U.S. national champion.
P ...
(Chinese: 陳婷婷), Olympian; Bob Chow, Olympian; Norm Chow
Norman Yew Heen Chow (born May 3, 1946) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for the Helvetic Guards in the European League of Football. He was the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Man ...
(Chinese: 周友賢), football Coach; Lawrence Hom, volleyball player; Cameron Inouye, WNBA Referee; Carol Jue, college basketball head coach; Kim Ng
Kimberly J. Ng (; born November 17, 1968) is an American executive in Major League Baseball. She is currently the general manager of the Miami Marlins and the highest-ranking female baseball executive. She is the first woman to serve as general ...
, Los Angeles Dodgers; Jon Soo Hoo, sports photographer; Richard Tom
Richard Wah Sung Tom (November 8, 1920 – February 20, 2007) was a Chinese American bantamweight weightlifter. He won a silver medal at the 1947 World Championships and a bronze at the 1948 Olympics. In 1952 he won his only national AAU title ...
, Olympian; Charles B. Wang (Chinese: 王嘉廉), Owner of New York Islanders Hockey Club; Kevin Wong
Kevin Kahn Wong (born September 12, 1972, in Honolulu, Hawaii) is a retired professional beach volleyball player. He currently lives in Hawaii and runs a volleyball training program for youth.
Personal life
Wong graduated from the Punahou ...
, volleyball player; Annie Yee, cheerleader; Chinese American Athletic Association; Chinatown Firecracker Run Committee.
* 2019 - Museum of Chinese in America
The Museum of Chinese in America (; abbreviated MOCA) is a museum in New York City which exhibits Chinese American history. It is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education and cultural institution that presents the living history, heritage, culture, and d ...
— Participated in exhibit: Gatherings: Collecting and Documenting Chinese American History
See also
*History of the Chinese Americans in Los Angeles
Historically there has been a population of Chinese Americans in Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area. As of 2010, there were 393,488 Chinese Americans in Los Angeles County, 4.0% of the county's population, and 66,782 Chinese Ame ...
*Chinese American Museum
The Chinese American Museum (Chinese: 華美 博物館; abbreviated CAM) is a museum located in Downtown Los Angeles as a part of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. It is dedicated to the history and experience of Chinese Americans ...
*Chinese Culture Center
The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco (or CCC) (; Jyutping: ''Gau6gam1saan1 Zung1waa4 Man4faa3 Zung1sam1'') is a community-based, non-profit organization established in 1965 as the operations center of the Chinese Culture Foundation locate ...
*Chinese Historical Society of America
The Chinese Historical Society of America (; abbreviated CHSA) is the oldest and largest archive and history center documenting the Chinese American experience in the United States. It is based in the Chinatown neighborhood of San Francisco, Cali ...
*Museum of Chinese in America
The Museum of Chinese in America (; abbreviated MOCA) is a museum in New York City which exhibits Chinese American history. It is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education and cultural institution that presents the living history, heritage, culture, and d ...
*Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park
Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park is a state park located in the center of the town of Weaverville, California. The site is a Taoist temple which is still in use, and is the oldest Chinese temple in California.
History
The original tem ...
References
External links
Chinese Historical Society of Southern California
Chinese Historical Society of Southern California Collection (ca. 1880-1933) at digitallibrary.usc.edu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese Historical Society Of Southern California
History of Southern California
Museums in Los Angeles
Chinese-American museums in California
Historical society museums in California
Historical societies in California
Chinatown, Los Angeles