Webinar: Dede Huang

Dede Huang Investigates the Impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act

Dede Huang's Wednesday, September 18, online presentation is "Chinese Exclusion's Hidden Impact on Non-Chinese Family Histories." The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, along with subsequent legislation, was remarkable for how relentlessly it targeted a single national and ethnic group. Chinese genealogists and others know that anti-Chinese legislation radically constrained and shaped Chinese communities and personal histories for over six decades. Similar legislation was eventually extended to Japanese and other Asian groups, with important implications. But what may be less evident or well-known is the extent to which Chinese Exclusion spilled over to Americans with non-Asian ancestries. As a result, understanding the pressures of Exclusion can shed light on Chinese interactions with other groups (using "FAN" research—friends, associates, and neighbors). Moreover, records that, at first glance, look strictly Chinese-related may also hold information for researchers of (apparently) non-Chinese individuals. This presentation will explore Exclusion's hidden impacts on various ethnic identities, including European, African, and Mexican.

Dede is a family historian born in the United States and lives in Hong Kong. She specializes in Chinese-American families with backgrounds in Hong Kong, Guangdong, and Shanghai. Working with English and Chinese language sources, she helps individuals and families uncover and share their stories through print and digital media. She started the website quonqoun.com as a wedding gift for a cousin (the Quon line is on her maternal side). It has since grown into a scrapbook for her extended family and, increasingly, into a body of research Dede hopes will be valuable to anyone interested in the Chinese-American experience or in researching their own family. Her paternal side can be explored through the website huangquest.com.

Dede's webinar is Wednesday, September 18, from 6 to 7 p.m. PDT. 

Register: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4931111076294848599