Mott Street - A Chinese American Family's Story of Exclusion and Homecoming

A sweeping narrative history of the Chinese Exclusion Act through an intimate portrayal of one family s epic journey to lay down roots in America

_ TIME 100 Must-Read Books of 2023 _ San Francisco Chronicle's Favorite Nonfiction _ Kirkus Best Nonfiction of 2023 _ Library Journal Best Memoir and Biography of 2023 _ One of Elle's Best Memoirs of 2023 (So Far) _ An ALA Notable Book _

As the only child of a single mother in Queens, Ava Chin found her family s origins to be shrouded in mystery. She had never met her father, and her grandparents stories didn t match the history she read at school. Mott Street traces Chin s quest to understand her Chinese American family s story. Over decades of painstaking research, she finds not only her father but also the building that provided a refuge for them all.

Breaking the silence surrounding her family s past meant confronting the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 the first federal law to restrict immigration by race and nat ionality, barring Chinese immigrants from citizenship for six decades. Chin traces the story of the pioneering family members who emigrated from the Pearl River Delta, crossing an ocean to make their way in the American West of the mid-nineteenth century. She tells of their backbreaking work on the transcontinental railroad and of the brutal racism of frontier towns, then follows their paths to New York City.

In New York s Chinatown she discovers a single building on Mott Street where so many of her ancestors would live, begin families, and craft new identities. She follows the men and women who became merchants, paper son refugees, activists, and heads of the Chinese tong, piecing together how they bore and resisted the weight of the Exclusion laws. She soon realizes that exclusion is not simply a political condition but also a personal one.

Gorgeously written, deeply researched, and tremendously resonant, Mott Street uncovers a legacy of exclusion and resilience that speaks to the American experience, past and present.

Inhaltsverzeichnis:

Part I
1970s-Present
1. The Elbow of Mott Street
2. The Crown Prince of Chinatown / Chin Family
3. Such Treasures / Wong-Ng-Doshim Family

Part II
1880-1906
4. Dek Foon / Ng-Doshim Family
5. Dek Foon / Ng-Doshim Family
6. Chin On / Chin Family
7. Elva Lisk / Ng-Doshim Family
8. Dek Foon & Chin On / Ng-Doshim & Chin Families

Part III
1906-1914
9. Shim & Chun / Ng-Doshim Family
10. Shim & Chun / Ng-Doshim Family
11. Yulan & Chin On / Chin Family
12. Angel Island / Chin Family

Part IV
1915 - Present
13. Mothers of Mott Street / Ng-Doshim Family Apt. 31 & Chin Family Apt. 23
14. The Flu of 1918 / Ng-Doshim Family Apt. 31 & Chin Family Apt. 23
15. Paper Families / Wong Family, Ng-Doshim Family Apt. 31 & Chin Family Apts. 22 and 23
16. A Homecoming / Chin, Ng-Doshim & Wong Families Apts. 22 and 23
17. 37 Mott Street

Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Index