Lowell Lecture
"A TALE OF THREE CHINATOWNS" Screening and Talkback
Date & Time
June 17, 2022 at 7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Location
Old South Meeting House
310 Washington Street Boston, MA 02108
Driving Directions
Speaker(s)
ANDREW LEONG is an Associate Professor in the Philosophy Dept. in the College of Liberal Arts at UMass Boston where he teaches legal studies, Latino and Asian American Studies. His specialty is on law, social justice, and equality pertaining to disenfranchised communities, with a focus on Asian Americans. He has been active in community and civil rights work, having served on the board of trustee of numerous Asian American and civil rights-related organizations.
PENNY LEE is a documentary producer and film & video editor. She has over 25 years experience in editing documentaries, reality television series, promotional and educational video projects. Some of Lee’s clients include Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Travel Channel, as well as military and government agencies and corporate companies like Deloitte. Her first doc that she directed and edited was a short film called “Through Chinatown’s Eyes: April 1968”. Her passion projects are stories about the immigrant experience in the US with a primary focus on the Chinese American voices.
LISA MAO is the director, writer and co-producer of A Tale of Three Chinatowns. As a development executive and producer of non-fiction television, Lisa is responsible for the creation and launch of more than 500 hours of programming for channels including History Channel, National Geographic Channel, HGTV, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, and Travel Channel. Her credits include Travel Channel’s “Man Vs. Food Nation,” ID’s “Extreme Forensics” and “Deadly Shootouts” on Reelz. In addition to her television work, she also wrote and produced the award-winning short documentary “Through Chinatown’s Eyes: April 1968.” Lisa is committed to helping people share their stories to reveal the complex fabric of the human condition. She resides in Washington, DC with her husband and son.
Opening Remarks: CYNTHIA YEE is an educator, writer, artist and artistic collaborator. She writes creative, nonfiction essays from the viewpoint of an American-born Taishanese girl coming of age in Boston’s Chinatown and Combat Zone through the 1950s and ’60s. She continues exploring the themes of what makes for thriving community life and child development, how structural racism oppresses, how feminism can be nurtured, and how social justice can look in America. Her poem “My MaMa’s Back,” a tribute to Chinatown women garment workers, is now living outside Mayor Michelle Wu’s office.
Presenting Organization
Topics
Contact
Revolutionary Spaces (publicprograms@revolutionaryspaces.org, 6177201713)
Revolutionary Spaces is honored to bring the documentary, A Tale of Three Chinatowns, to Old South Meeting House. Inspired by the success of our virtual panel examining the gentrification of Boston’s Chinatown, let’s delve deeper into the challenge our community faces today. The program will include opening remarks by educator, writer, storyteller, and artist Cynthia Yee. The screening will be followed by a talkback with filmmakers Penny Lee and Lisa Mao and will include local activists. A reception to celebrate this vital work – and to celebrate Boston’s Chinatown! – will follow.
About the Film: A Tale of Three Chinatowns is a feature-length documentary that explores the survival of urban ethnic neighborhoods. Specifically examining Chinatowns in three American cities, the film looks at the forces altering each community and the challenges that go with them. The film profiles Chinatowns in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Boston and features the voices of residents, community activists, developers, government officials, and others who have a connection to this ubiquitous neighborhood. Through these perspectives, the film presents the present day pressing topic of urban development and gentrification through the eyes of those on the frontlines. Chicago’s Chinatown is a story of growth where the Asian-American population has increased and its borders have expanded. In contrast, Washington, D.C.’s Chinatown has dwindled to an estimated population of 300 residents of Chinese descent. The Chinatown neighborhood in Boston finds itself somewhere in between these two extremes as various groups fight for the land on which it sits.