Event

Please join us for the Food for Thought Talks Series Fall 2024 with the Asian American Studies Undergraduate Research Fellows 2024-2025. 

ASAM Fellow Alana Yang presents: Beyond a Black-White Binary: Chinese American School Segregation in Twentieth-Century Mississippi

Lunch will be provided for all registrants! Please RSVP  and join us in person or  join us by Zoom here!

The history of school segregation in America has traditionally been focused on a Black-White binary, particularly in the South. However, this discourse has neglected a key group: Asian Americans. Starting from the late nineteenth century, Chinese Americans have settled and attempted to establish themselves in the Mississippi Delta, only to find themselves segregated through schools. Through exploring families such as the Gongs and Luns, this work-in-progress talk will explain how and why Chinese children, many of whom were American citizens, were excluded from equal educational opportunities, and identify factors that make the Asian school segregation experience unique from that of other school children, especially in the Jim Crow south.  

Short Bio:

Alana (she/her) is a rising senior from Westchester, New York studying political history with minors in law & society and legal studies & history. She is interested in exploring the intersection between race and the law and how racialized perceptions of immigrants impact their ability to engage in education and civic life. On campus, she is involved in Penn's Model UN team (Intercol), the Penn Historical Review, MUSE, and the History Undergraduate Advisory Board.