Museum of Chinese in America

Kayo Ong, a long-time Chinatown resident and landlord, speaks extensively about the violence with which Chinese residents and he were confronted after relocating to Chinatown in the 1960s. At that time, Ong describes the Chinatown community as highly racist and discriminatory, mentioning the strained relationship between Chinese and Italian residents in particular and the popular slang terminology that sprang up as a result of racial stereotyping and labeling. Ong explains that his initial interest in the martial arts was to learn how to protect himself, and later, was a source of physical, spiritual, and mental development. Ong specifically recalls hearing the beating drums that accompanied the traditional Chinese lion dance and his associated realization that Chinese people had finally accomplished public recognition and acceptance into the community that is now called Chinatown. He remembers that during his childhood and adolescence, he attended Kung-Fu double-feature films at the local theaters including the Music Palace and Sunsing Theater, both of which he believes may have closed due to technological modernization, as well as the occasional outbreaks of violence during the movies instigated by rival gangs. He closes his interview by commenting on how he is coming to terms with some of the neighborhood changes, such as the loss of “real” Chinese food, saying it has been replaced by restaurants that cater to an American sense of Chinese cuisine.