The Bay Area is home to the San Francisco Chinatown, the first Chinatown in the United States. What were the daily lives like of Chinese American youths living in Bay Area Chinatowns, Berkeley, or Emeryville, in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s? This is “Rice All the Time?,” an oral history performance about their experiences, brought to you in an audio format and performed by five young Chinese Americans.
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This episode focuses on the experiences of one ethnic group. While we discuss Chinese American experiences with identity and discrimination, we recognize that this is just one part of a broad history of people of color in the United States. The murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black people, have made it even more evident that systemic bigotry is far from being a relic of history, and we hope that after listening, you will engage in further conversation about racism in our nation and the complex experiences of people of color who live in the United States.
“Rice All the Time?” features direct quotes from interviews with Royce Ong, Alfred Soo, Maggie Gee, Theodore B. Lee, Dorothy Eng, Thomas W. Chinn, Young Oy Bo Lee, and Doris Shoong Lee.
Performed by Maggie Deng, Deborah Qu, Lauren Pong, and Diane Chao. Written and produced by Miranda Jiang. Editing and sound design by Shanna Farrell.
Cantonese readings of Young Oy Bo Lee’s lines accompany the English to reflect the original language of her interview.
Music courtesy of Archive.org includes "Dream on a Summer's Night," "Sweetness," and "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin and Paul Whiteman. Other music by Paul Burnett.
Sound effects courtesy of Soundjay.com and tec_studio, Mr_Alden, and nebulousflynn on Freesound.org.
Read the full episode transcript here: https://ucblib.link/OHCPodcastS06E07
