Join us as we welcome author William Gee Wong for a discussion about his new book, SONS OF CHINATOWN:A MEMOIR ROOTED IN CHINA AND AMERICA

About this event

The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation will be hosting an online event with Bill Wong. We will discuss his work on the book SONS OF CHINATOWN: A MEMOIR ROOTED IN CHINA AND AMERICA and take questions from the audience. We hope to see you on October 16th!

About the Book

William Gee Wong’s father entered the U.S. legally as the “son of a native,” despite having partially false papers. Sons of Chinatown is Wong’s evocative dual memoir of his and his father’s parallel experiences in America.

About the Author

William is a print journalist, author, and amateur historian.

A native of Oakland, California's Chinatown, William received his B.A. at the University of California at Berkeley and M.S. at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. His print journalism career was spent at The Wall Street Journal (1970-1979) and The Oakland Tribune (1979-1996). He also worked for The San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco News Call Bulletin, and has written for the San Francisco Examiner, East West: the Chinese American Journal, and Asian Week, among other publications.

In the mid-1960s, William served in the Peace Corps in the Philippines.

From 1995-1996, he was a regional commentator for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS.

William is the author of Yellow Journalist: Dispatches from Asian America (Temple University Press, 2001), Images of America: Oakland's Chinatown (Arcadia Publishing Co., 2004), and co-author of Images of America: Angel Island (Arcadia Publishing Co., 2007).

Register Here:

A Zoom link will appear after registering for our Author Spotlight. This link will allow you to access the program on October 16th. For questions, email programs@aiisf.org.

We are thrilled to welcome the Del Sol Quartet back to Angel Island on Saturday, September 14th!

This performance will amplify the Jewish experience on Angel Island, with musical selections that give a wide view of Jewish-American music. Del Sol will feature composer Derek David with his String Quartet no.4, “Kaddish” and David's performances of Yiddish folk songs, combined with short selections from from the Broadway standards of Jerome Kern to LJOVA to the chamber-music of Bay Area's own Gabriela Lena Frank.

There will be two performances: one at 11:30 am and one at 2:30 pm.

The performance is free, but $5 entry to the Detention Barracks Museum is required.

Stay tuned for information about Del Sol’s next performance on December 14.

Register below:

Join us on Zoom on August 21 for the third event in our ongoing collaborative series with the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. This time we'll be discussing health and medicine at the Ellis Island and Angel Island immigration stations.

What kind of medical examinations did immigrants undergo? What were the hospitals like? What health conditions did the Public Health Service screen for and treat?

This event is free but pre-registration is required.

Register here:

With $2.50 in her pocket, Rosa Ginsberg left her family behind in Shanghai, China, in 1940 for an uncertain future in the United States. The 18-year-old native of Vienna landed at Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, site of a U.S. immigration station that processed hundreds of thousands of immigrants from 1910 through 1940. She left Angel Island for the mainland on the basis of a mostly true story.

On July 14, experience the Angel Island debut of Shanghai Angel, a one-woman musical written and performed by Heather Klein, Rosa’s granddaughter. The 45-minute piece chronicles Rosa’s journey from Nazi-occupied Austria to Angel Island. The songs are composed from Rosa’s perspective, revealing the internal world of a young refugee woman held in detention.

Heather Klein is a classically trained soprano and Yiddish chanteuse who performs musical theater, Yiddish classical song, theater and folk music.

Tickets for the performance are free but registration is required to reserve a seat in the Detention Barracks Museum. The show will begin at 2:00 pm.

Register Here

Are you the descendant of a Japanese American from Hawai’i who was detained on Angel Island during WWII?

We want to hear your story! How did WWII incarceration affect your family? How does it affect you today? What stories did you hear growing up? What questions do you have?

Join us at a storytelling workshop on Sunday, February 25 at Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii Ballroom at 2454 South Beretania Street, Honolulu, HI 96826.

The workshop will run from 10 am to 4 pm. Lunch is included.

Please feel free to contact us by email at info@aiisf.org if you have questions.

If you think your ancestor may have been sent to Angel Island but are not sure, we can check the records for you.

Register here:

CLICK HERE to register for this free Zoom event

Thursday, June 29, 2023 • 3 pm (Pacific) / 6 pm (Eastern)

Thursday, May 25, 2023
5:30 pm Pacific / 8:30 pm Eastern

Join us for an online watch party of our four latest videos in our API Animated Histories series.

These four videos will highlight aspects of Asian American history; Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island history; communities coming together; and current day stereotypes. Following the four videos, there will be opportunity to engage in brief discussions and reflections with other participants.

Register Here:

Prior to the event, we will send an email containing a Zoom link.. This link will allow you to access the program on May 25th. For questions, email programs@aiisf.org.

A FREE Virtual Read-Aloud of
An Asian American A to Z

Wednesday, May 10, 2023
5 pm Pacific / 8 pm Eastern

A comprehensive and spirited exploration of Asian American history—its movements, cultures, and key figures—beautifully illustrated and compellingly told for readers of all ages.

Co-authors Cathy Linh Che and Kyle Lucia Wu take us on a journey through stories of celebration and resistance: the Third World Liberation Front, the Muslim Ban, Japanese American incarceration camps, Padma Lakshmi, Rashida Tlaib, Sunisa Lee, and more. It is a history of struggle but also one of great triumph, brought to life with colorful and dynamic illustrations by Kavita Ramchandran.

Written by the directors of Kundiman—an organization dedicated to nurturing Asian American writers—An Asian American A to Z is a book for children of all backgrounds and a vital resource for tomorrow's organizers. Asian American identity formation is expansive yet under-taught, and this book is a necessary intervention that will ground readers in joy, history, and solidarity.

Register Here:

A Zoom link will appear after registering for our AUthor Spotlight. This link will allow you to access the program on May 10th. For questions, email programs@aiisf.org.