Thank you for a most interesting and informative tour of Little Italy and Chinatown on Saturday.  Rick, our guide, was wonderful.  Your preparation with him led to a very focused tour, dealing in a sensitive way with the difficult issue of the exclusion of immigrants in the United States.  I was not aware of the Chinese Exclusion Act or the 1891 lynching of Italians in New Orleans.  As painful as it is to learn these histories, it is important for an honest understanding of our country.

We also really enjoyed the lunch with Siyan Wong, and her discussion of her legal and artistic work and the more recent history of Chinatown.  She clearly portrayed the struggles of a changing community. Despite greater acceptance of Asian people in mainstream American culture, there has been a demise of more traditional neighborhoods.  Her work is an important effort to keep alive this culture and history.   I hope we can get a group together to view her October solo exhibition at the Equitable Gallery. 

-Julian Schoeder