Chinese immigrants settling in Arizona were doing so in the shadow of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the U.S. government’s first race-based immigration policy. Both Chinese and Mexican immigrants faced racism despite being instrumental to the workforce.
These food or grocery stores were more than just businesses. They were also lifelines for the area’s Mexican American communities. The food stores even started preparing Mexican chorizo. Chorizo is a ground and spiced sausage, or meat from a pig. It earned the nickname “Chinese chorizo."
A Tucson woman is using chorizo — and her love of food and public art — to pursue recognition of a lesser-known chapter of Chinese American history. Feng-Feng Yeh recently
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) If not for the coronavirus pandemic, Feng-Feng Yeh might never have learned about a lesser-known chapter of Chinese American history
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) If not for the coronavirus pandemic, Feng-Feng Yeh might never have learned about a lesser-known chapter of Chinese American history in her hometown of Tucson, Arizona. Yeh was an executive chef in New York City when the shutdown took away her job and career plans.