Join CHSNE at an event this June!

The Chinese and the Iron Road:
Building the Transcontiental
Traveling exhibition and events

2019 is the Transcontinental Railroad’s 150th “Golden Spike” Anniversary. In honor of the Chinese laborers who helped build a key part of America’s infrastructure, the traveling exhibition “The Chinese and the Iron Road: Building the Transcontinental” will be available for viewing by the public at various locations throughout Greater Boston. Check it out at the Leominster Public Library this June alongside their weekly lecture series.

The seven-panel exhibition is part of a larger exhibition organized by the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project at Stanford University.

Click here for more information on the exhibition

Transcontiental Railroad Lecture Series
Leominster Public Library
Wednesdays in June, starting TOMORROW
Leominster Public Library | 30 West St, Leominster

TOMORROW Wednesday, June 5 | 7:00 - 8:30
Early Chinese Migrants in Massachusetts
Lecture by Mount Holyoke Professor Anthony W. Lee
In 1870, the newly completed transcontinental railroad offered a chance for New England manufacturers to advertise for a different kind of factory labor, less prone to the enticements of labor unions, and for Chinese workers to head eastward for opportunity and adventure. This talk focuses on the very first instance of this phenomenon of Chinese migrancy in Massachusetts, of mutual needs and desires between industrialists and their hired hands, and uses rare photographs to tell the story.

Wednesday, June 12 | 3:00 - 4:30
Debunking Myths About the Chinese Railroad Workers
Lecture by Richard Cheu
Richard Cheu explains the origin of several xenophobic myths created to denigrate migrant Chinese workers in 19th century America which persist and underlie the unending 'perpetual foreigner' image of Asian Americans. His narrative demonstrates the fallacy of the myths and replaces them with historically correct evidence.

Wednesday, June 19 | 7:00 - 8:30
The Chinese Question in the Afterlife of Slavery
Lecture by Caroline H. Yang
This talk focuses on the debates concerning Chinese workers in the U.S. that led up to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 in the context of Reconstruction and the contest over the meaning of slavery and free labor after the Civil War. By showing how the representations of Chinese workers perpetuated the racial logic of slavery, the talk expands ways of thinking about Reconstruction and creates a space to consider a different way of knowing about race, slavery, and freedom today.

Wednesday, June 26 | 7:00 - 8:30
Chinese Americans, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Ongoing Question of Who Gets to be an American
Lecture by Fitchburg State University Professor Benjamin Railton
The Chinese laborers who helped build the Transcontinental Railroad were one cohort within a multi-generational, deeply rooted, evolving Chinese American community in the 19th century. They also faced brutal violence, prejudicial fears, and the nation's first immigration laws, ones created expressly and solely to exclude and destroy this American community. Remembering these histories thus helps us consider the most inclusive and most exclusionary visions of American identity, competing definitions that remain highly contested into our own moment.

Click here for more information

The exhibitions are sponsored by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New England, Chinese Historical Society of New England, Chinese American Heritage Foundation, and the Chinese American Citizens Alliance-Boston Lodge. Supporting collaborators include the Asian American Commission, Asian Community Development Corporation, the City of Boston, and the Boston Asian American Film Festival. Confirmed exhibit locations include Boston City Hall, WGBH, CCBA, the AAC Unity Dinner, the Beebe School in Malden, the Malden Public Library, and the State Transportation Building.

The events at the Leominster Public Library are funded in part by Mass Humanities, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Take a Walk Through Chinatown's History

Celebrate Asian Pacific American Month by taking a walking tour with CHSNE! Our Chinatown History Walking Tours explore the history of Chinatown and track the changes the community has undergone over the decades.

The next tours are on Friday, June 7th and Friday, July 5th. All tours begin at 6:00 pm and cost $15 per person.

Click here to get your tickets

Kreplach & Dim Sum—
Yes, there are Jews in China!
Shabbat Dinner and Performance
Friday, June 21 | 7:00 - 9:00
New England Historical Genealogical Society | 99-101 Newbury St, Boston

Join acclaimed musician and presenter Robyn Helzner and the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center in partnership with the Chinese Historical Society of New England, for a special evening of music, education, entertainment, and dinner.

The extraordinary presence of Jews in China is celebrated in this unforgettable presentation featuring lively stories, photos, video, and music. Learn about the history of Jews in China from the 8th and 9th century to present day, focusing on the areas of Kaifeng, Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong.

Items from the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center and CHSNE archives will also be on display. Kosher-style dinner will be catered by Mei Mei.

Click here to reserve your tickets

CHSNE NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT! CHSNE is a membership-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated solely to documenting, preserving, and promoting the history and legacy of Chinese immigration in New England. Please consider becoming a member or donating to help cover our projects and operating expenses.

Become a member today!

Donate to CHSNE

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