China is the dragon. So youve got the dragon, and you have the great wall. And then the people, the men in this frame, are the men of guangdong province, or canton, where most chinese who came in 160 years ago came from. And the work that they did there was very difficult. They were farmers. They were laborers. Robert and that brings us to sue the second frame is where you have the man looking or hearing about the lure of Gold Mountain of america, of california particularly, and contemplating probably that he would be leaving his family behind his wife, his child, his children. And who knew when he would see them again . And yet, he did leave, because he needed to make a living and make sure that his family would be in good economicin a good economic situation, and searching for a better life, so he left. Robert historian connie young yus family was one of those pioneering families. Robert so what are we walking on . Connie young yu were walking on railroad ties, and i think its very symbolic, because my greatgrandfather came from taishan, china as 19yearold laborer to work on the transcontinental railroad. Robert that was the start, huh . Connie that was the start, and in our family we always said, you know, we had our foothold in america by working on the railroad. First of all, i think that its an american story. Its not just how Chinese American Society began, which is certainly, you know, the narrative that ive been, you know, focusing on. But its how america dealt with immigrants coming to america when there were these native forces saying, you know, we want america to be a certain way. We want to restrict it against other people. And this is part of that struggle of the chinese who were excluded, how they persisted in becoming a part of american society. Robert the executive director for the center for Asian American media calls it painful persistence. Robert a lot of people might mistakenly think the chinese wanted to be here. Stephen gong oh, no, the chinese were forced to build the community here, really because of the exclusion act, in a way, and the whole feeling that the chinese really werent welcomed. So the chinese built family associations and a whole system of welcoming newcomers in to this community and to america. Robert a place for them to go to, huh . Stephen thats right. Exactly. Robert whats the most important thing that you would want people to think about when they think about this area . Stephen well, that chinatown is always changing, and there are so many incredible stories that havent been told yet. Robert do you think the community itself appreciates its own history . Stephen no, you know, and one reason is because here in chinatown, its a whole new population of people here that dont know that were part of that earlier history. Robert how difficult is it to chronicle it . How difficult is it to be able to show it . Stephen well, because of the exclusion, of course, one thing is no one wanted to talk about history for so long. It was complicated, and there was some shame involved. But nowadays, i think we appreciate and realize how important that history is to all of america, actually. Robert Museum Executive Director sue lee says an act of law would be the primary obstacle in getting from angel island to chinatown. Sue what happened with all this labor and the economy of california, Chinese Labor became a threat to otherto laborers from other parts of the world, to the irish, for instance. So there was a backlash against Chinese Labor, and there was actually an immigration act called the chinese exclusion act that specifically barred the immigration of Chinese Laborers. Robert for many chinese american immigrants, their story is the story of angel island and the chinese exclusion act. Thats coming up next. [bell ringing] grant din this is the bell they rang when people would arrive on angel island. Robert how many people arrived . Grant about a half a Million People came through angel island, and a half a Million People were processed going back to their home country. Robert so this was their entryway into america . Grant these were their first steps on american soil for many of them. Robert and what do we have here . Grant were walking into the immigration station barracks, where hundreds of thousands of people stayed while they were awaiting questioning by the authorities. Robert and why did they build these . Grant this was built in the early1900s. The immigration shed in San Francisco was getting overcrowded, and not only that, people were escaping. Chinese immigrants were escaping so they wouldnt have to answer the questions that they were facing. And so, the Us Government built this, largely inspired by ellis island, on an island people couldnt escape, and they could keep everyone separate from everybody else. Robert and the accommodations were grant spartan, they were veryyoull see later, they were very crowded. Conditions were very basic. Youre looking at a Hospital Building right now that was used to treat people for hookworm and other diseases. Were turning that into a museum on Pacific Coast immigration. The barracks themselves were very overcrowded. The food was bad. Everyone commented how bad the food was, and there were even riots. Robert what was the processing like here . Grant for chinese immigrants especially, it was very difficult because they were being restricted by the chinese exclusion act, which said Chinese Laborers could not come to this country. You could only come in if youre a merchant or already born here or a diplomat or an educator. So, after the earthquake and fire of 1906 destroyed all the records in San Francisco, a lot of people suddenly decided that they were born here. And not only that, they had sons, mostly sons, that they had fathered in china. And so, those sons and occasional daughters would come into this country through angel island, and they have to prove that theyre related to these people who were here illegally, either merchants or americanborn chinese. Robert that probably made the government more suspicious, more skeptical, of everybodys story, then, right . Grant right, and they developed this really intricate series of interrogations, where theyd ask, how far is it to the village well . Who lives in the fourth house of the third row of your village . Robert tell us a little bit about the poetry that we see carved into the walls. Grant during the time that people were here, especially if their case was taking a long time, they would carve writings on the wall, and theyre really classically written poems, many of these, so the people who came were very educated. Robert what was the general theme of the poems . Grant its generally frustration that they were here. Disappointment that their government was weak, and so it could not stand up to the us and let them come into this country. In china, all the animals were kept in houses of wood, and this building is made out of wood. And so, they felt they were being treated like animals. But generally, like, bittersweet, like, im here in america, but i cant be free. I cant see my family. Robert so what about this room . Grant this is meant to show the barracks, where people stayed in the bunks. Robert how many people actually got processed through . What percentage . Grant about 95 of the chinese eventually were allowed to land and stay in this country. Robert how manyhow long did they have to stay, like, in barracks like these . Grant from a few days or few weeks to as long as 2 years. Sometimes if they had to appeal their case, they were here a long time. Connie young yus grandmother was here for over a year on angel island. Robert connie young yus grandmothers stay would be a historical one. The family had relocated to china for their grandfathers importing business. But when he suddenly passed away, connies grandmother found out america did not welcome chinese widows and used her liver ailment as a medical technicality to keep her on the island. With the support of the familys prominent business partner, walter haas, they took her case to court and the newspapers and won. Connie but the arguments, on the other hand, with this brilliant attorney and his assistant was that this is, first of all, you know, this is rather inhumane, and it could be possibly unconstitutional. That would come up later. And thirdly, we have medical witnesses, and were going to see that shes cured. I have a stack of papers i got from the national archives, just my grandmothers case. It lasted for 15andahalf months. My grandmother was detained on angel island that long. Sue and then the next panel is later on. So as we move forward, the barriers of exclusion fall away, and the Chinese Community is able to more fully participate in American Culture and share its heritage and culture. And, of course, a symbol of that is the lion and the lion dancing. Robert coming up, the establishment and evolution of chinatown. Sue so people dont realize how significant chinatown is. We are standing in the birthplace of San Francisco. This plaque says the first wooden house was erected here in 1835. So before the chinese ever heard about Gold Mountain, there were people here establishing San Francisco, and here we are chinatown. Robert and where are we now . Sue were on sacramento street, which is the street where the chinese first settled when they came for the gold rush. The street is named tangrenjie or tong yen gaai, the street of the chinese, and today the Chinese Chamber of commerce is headquartered here. Robert very significant place for you. Sue absolutely. Connie you know, theres a saying in chinese, and im going to say in chinese, you know . [speaking foreign language] that means there are three businesses [speaking foreign language] restaurant business, [speaking foreign language] laundry business, [speaking foreign language] gambling business. These were the only three businesses chinese could participate in, you know, after the exclusion law. Robert and what did your family do, though . Connie well, the other thing was to be a merchant in chinatown. My grandfather was so fortunate, he became good friends with a man named walter haas. Walter haas was in his familys business, which was wholesale grocers. And my grandfather being, you know, a us citizen, he could travel back and forth. He was the agent for the Haas Brothers. Every chinatown, a store represents a family. In fact, represents a clan, in fact, because it meant that the proprietor was a merchant. He could afford to have a family in america, and also for going back and forth, for immigrating and for traveling. He was a merchant, but he was early. He was here in the 1860s. His son was born in 1878 before the exclusion law, and he had other children born in San Francisco. So they were american citizens, and still because of this antichinese feeling and the law against Chinese Laborers and the fact that in 1882 itthe law stipulated that hereafter, no chinese is allowed naturalization to us citizenship. This has been the biggest cloud in all of, you know, americanChinese American Society, and its certainly a blight on american history, as well. Robert but yus family endured and prospered. The familys success helped establish a new important business dynamic in chinatown symbolized by this rare photograph of her grandfather as the guest of honor at a party hosted by the Haas Brothers and board of directors. Connie it showed that my grandfather and his colleagues, the business colleagues, were on equal footing with the white businessmen. Robert finally. Connie yeah, and i must say, you know, ive learned, of course, that walter haas and his associates were jewish, and they also might have felt, you know, some persecution in their history as well. And they loved San Francisco. Walter haas was born in San Francisco, just like my grandfather, and they feltyou know, they have shared some kind of a bond, you know, of, you know, being on the outside of society and having to struggle extra hard to get ahead. He and walter haas actually talked about how they could improve trade between us and china, and they felt that that, you know, certainly was great business, but also that would improve relations. Robert as sue lee point out, chinatown would continue to evolve into a unique community. Sue so on my right is hang ah tea room, which claims to have served the first dim sum in 1920. Its one of our holeinthewall restaurants in chinatown. Robert talk about grant avenue. Sue so this part of grant avenue is the most picturesque, most visited by tourists. So the pagodatop buildings are built by the people who survived the earthquake and wanted to reinvent chinatown. Sue the chinese participated in all the military armed forces during world war ii, and thats actually when the exclusion act was finally overturned. And then in 1952, which is when this mural ends, you have the ideal chinese American Family living in Public Housing the mom and the dad and the little boy playing baseball. So we have a happy ending, the end of these 100 years of chinese american history, where youve got, you know, healthy chinese families living in chinatown. Robert and that was as good as it was going to get at that point, right . Sue absolutely. Robert but soon chinatown would be in need of a renaissance. That chapter up next. Robert brandon jews new michelin awardwinning restaurant is in the heart of San Franciscos chinatown. Mister jius is being hailed for its modernday approach to chinese cuisine, but it is also part of what many say is a much needed renaissance of chinatown. Brandon jew chinese food and chinatown, i felt were, like, at parallels, where they both wereit was time for a change. But having the conversation of how it should change or what should change about it to bring it into the next, you know, its next life. For me, this is about getting the conversation started about what products that we believe in here in the bay area, that express the center place here, but also, you know, honoring the traditions of my parents, my grandparents, and even just, you know, chinese tradition. So its something that i think just, kind of, came full circle once i had the opportunity to be here in chinatown. Robert mister jius is part of a masterplan by community leaders, including betty louie, whose family owns property in chinatown, including this building that houses the restaurant. From her vantage point, she saw the need for revitalization, even if it wasnt obvious right away. Robert what did insiders know the problem or the things that needed to be addressed that were going on . But from an outsiders point of view, what were they seeing . Betty louie they were seeing this beautiful tourist area with lots of little shops, lots of trinkets. While the locals were seeing great changes, the locals were leaving the area. They were setting up satellite chinatowns all over San Francisco, and as a consequence, we werent getting the locals back here on grant avenue. Robert and how about the changes that you felt need to be made to bring people back . Betty i think the most important thing that needed to be changed was the food in chinatown. I think peoplethe reputation was not as good as it used to be, and i thought if we were gonna get anybody back in, people have to eat. Thats where they go. Its a food town. The first thing we do is bring back good food. Brandon i think food is very powerful in a way of being able to tell a story, and i think the story were trying to tell is the chinese american experience. And its been a lot of, like, researching of what chinatown used to be, which is what inspired a lot of the dishes here and the spirit of the food we make here too. Robert the saga of the Chinese American Community and chinatown is the focus of the latest exhibit of the Chinese Historical Society of america in San Francisco. Stephen the chinese, because of the emphasis and dedication to education, their kids started being successful. So they moved out of chinatown, and they really wanted to put a lot of our history behind them, and they didnt pass it along. So my generation, actually, had to reconstruct and relearn some of that history and see how important that struggle was. And now theres a whole new population here, and in some ways its amazing, because now we can tell this story and share it, really, with a whole new generation of People Living in chinatown, but also with the larger america, because its truly an american story. Sue so what were seeing are the rooftops of chinatown buildings that are in the identical footprint from 1885 on. Were surrounded today by these huge Office Buildings of the downtown, of the financial district, but imagine in 1885 when you could see all the way to the bay from chinatown. Robert what are you most afraid of that might get lost about chinatown in the future . Sue i think what i would fear is that we dont remember our history, and we dont remember how difficult it was for chinatown to sustain itself during those long years of exclusion, of isolation, of, you know, of a period when the us and china didnt have diplomatic relations. And so, i dont wanna forget our history, and i would hope that, as we move forward, that we respect that history and build on it. Robert we just recorded the end of the show. Cc by aberdeen captioning 18006886621 abercap. Com where a walk down main street. Theres a place like no other. Where a walk down main street. Blah blah blah. Hey the names rocket and i need your help the collector has trapped my friends, the guardians of the galaxy in this weird. Freakshow. Check it out. This is the joint were in. And we need you to help us break out got it . Good. Now move it . I gotta go . Here there is magic for days its an honor to be with you. It would be a catastrophic war if this turns into combat. Im standing against g20. Ive been completely speechless. You think this is Amelia Earhart . Good morning, welcome to sunday today. Im willie geist. President trump is back at the white house and already tweeting this morning about his meeting with russian president Vladimir Putin at the g20 and the United States future with russia. Also this morning, another new development. Word that the president s son, donald trump jr. , and his soninlaw jared kushner, met with a russian lawyer who has ties with the