Next Sunday, (April 9th) from 7pm to 8pm, the Chinese American Parent Association of the Baltimore Community (CAPA-BC) will hold its first online event called "Top 100 Chinese Americans", which will mainly include discussions about the contributions of 100 Chinese Americans to the United States (in English).
Since the early 19th century, Chinese Americans have continuously worked hard, pursued progress and development, and made important contributions to the economic and cultural prosperity of the United States. Many well-known Chinese Americans have outstanding performances in various fields, including politics, business, culture, arts, and sciences. The stories of the 100 Chinese American celebrities inspire us that as long as we have faith and courage, we can make outstanding achievements in any field no matter where we are. Communication and inheritance are traditions and glories of our community, and learning about the struggles and contributions of Chinese Americans will enhance the confidence and leadership of our "second generation" of Chinese Americans.
This is a project that we collaborated with CAPA North Virginia (Capa-NoVA). Over a dozen mothers in Northern Virginia collected historical information on 100 influential Chinese figures in 2021, and spent a full three months speaking to the community every day about the struggles of the Chinese. This effort was jointly written by Chinese parents and their children, chronicling the history of their community. Currently, all the information on these 100 influential Chinese figures can be found on their website.
We are very fortunate to have the generous support of Capa-NoVA to tell the story of the contributions of the Top 100 Chinese Americans in the U.S. based on the information collected and compiled by more than a dozen moms in North Virginia in 2021. They spent three months sharing the struggles of Chinese Americans with the community on a daily basis. This project is a history written by Chinese parents and their children. Currently, information on all 100 Chinese American celebrities is available on their website.
Thank you to Ye, Yong, and Li Yuejin for leading this project. Next Sunday, Ye will give an extraordinary speech on Chinese American history, starting from Chinese laborers to the Chinese Exclusion Act, and then to the struggle of Chinese Americans today.
Because all the information is in English, we can let the children prepare their own presentations based on the information provided by Capa-NoVA. Each person can present 1-2 celebrities in 15-20 minutes, with 1-2 people presenting each time. If there is any remaining time, we can do some interesting activities, such as an impromptu discussion on a topic (table topic). The host will throw out a topic and let the children freely express themselves. The host will be the person who presented last time. We have a set of American-style "Table Topic" game cards with hundreds of topics for impromptu discussions that can be provided to the host.
These activities are designed for middle and high school students, and parents can help from the sidelines. We also welcome elementary school students to come and listen. We plan to hold this activity once every two weeks, hoping that everyone can use this project to learn from each other and understand the history around them in the coming year. Currently, we are preparing a Google form, which will list many Chinese American celebrities. Everyone can choose the person they are interested in and tell their story, or add other celebrities. We hope that parents and children will actively participate in this project and contribute to the community.
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