By Stacy Lee
The newest exhibit at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens focuses on Chinese-American advocate You Chung Hong and Chinese immigration to the United States.
Y.C. Hong was integral in fighting the Chinese Exclusion Act and establishing Los Angeles’ New Chinatown.
“This exhibition is about the life and legacy of a Chinese-American immigration lawyer – Y.C. Hong,” said Li Wei Yang, exhibition coordinator for “Y.C. Hong: Advocate for Chinese-American Inclusion.” “He was one of the first Chinese who passed the California State Bar in 1923. Over his life, he worked as an immigration attorney helping to reunite Chinese families wanting to come over to the United States during the Chinese Exclusion era.”
Yang, who is also The Huntington’s curator of Western American History, explained why Hong was an important figure for Chinese Americans regarding the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was a federal law from 1882-1943 that banned immigration of Chinese laborers to the U.S.
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