There were two interviews recorded on this tape. In the first interview, Elsie Chang provides a personal view of Hazel Ying Lee, a female aviator who flew during the 1930s and 1940s. She discusses their close friendship, which began in China when they were young, and delineates the many fearless traits of her friend. Elsie also talks about her life in Portland and the discrimination she faced as an adult. She remembers the last time she saw Hazel and describes where she was when she first learned of her death. In a separate interview, Professor Jeffrey Barlow of Pacific University contextualizes racial and gendered landscape of early twentieth century Portland, Oregon and discusses the stereotypes and expectations with which Chinese American women such as Hazel would have had to contend. Prof. Barlow discusses how Hazel may have made the decision to become an aviator and how she was able to do so despite various constraints. These interviews are part of the Hazel Ying Lee & Frances M. Tong Collection and were conducted as part of the research and making of the documentary film, A Brief Flight: Hazel Ying Lee and the Women Who Flew Pursuit (2002), directed by Alan Rosenberg.

Marjorie Lee, a librarian and archivist at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, briefly discusses Hazel Ying Lee, a Chinese American woman pilot who flew in the 1920s and 30s. She shares her insights into the flying club established by the Chinese community to express their patriotism before World War II, and contextualizes the decision of Hazel to pursue aviation within the historical gender norms of the times. This interview is part of the Hazel Ying Lee & Frances M. Tong Collection and was conducted as part of the research and making of the documentary film, A Brief Flight: Hazel Ying Lee and the Women Who Flew Pursuit (2002), directed by Alan Rosenberg.

Frances M. Tong is the sister of Hazel Ying Lee, a Chinese American female aviator who served in the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) program during World War II. In this portion of the interview, Frances discusses various topics in relation to Hazel, including her immigration and that of her siblings to Hong Kong, her stance on office work versus homemaking, the difficulty Chinese American women had with breaking into office professions and working outside the home, the different roles in a Chinese family, and her admiration for her sister, Hazel. This interview is part of the Hazel Ying Lee & Frances M. Tong Collection and was conducted as part of the research and making of the documentary film, A Brief Flight: Hazel Ying Lee and the Women Who Flew Pursuit (2002), directed by Alan Rosenberg.

There were two interviews recorded on this tape. The interviews are with Leah Hing, the first Chinese American woman to earn a pilot license, and Frances M. Tong, sister of Hazel Ying Lee. The interview begins with Leah Hing discussing her flying career and her encounters with Hazel as acquaintances working in the same building. At the 8 minute mark, the interview with Frances M. Tong begins. Frances begins by recalling stories about her childhood growing up in the United States. A series of questions are asked about the personality of her sister, Hazel, and her career as a pilot in China, as well as her in the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) program. Other topics include discrimination, immigration, and family names. These interviews are part of the Hazel Ying Lee & Frances M. Tong Collection and were conducted as part of the research and making of the documentary film, A Brief Flight: Hazel Ying Lee and the Women Who Flew Pursuit (2002), directed by Alan Rosenberg.

Charlie Lai along with Jack Tchen are founders of the Chinatown History Project, which has gone on to become the Museum of Chinese in America. In this five part interview conducted over the course of several months Charlie talks about his childhood in Hong Kong and how his family eventually decided to immigrate to the United States when he was nine years old. He talks about living with his uncle when they first arrive in the states and saying on Long Island. His family eventually moves into their own place in Manhattan. Later he recounts his time at Princeton and his community organizing effort to recruit more Asian students to the school even though he was not fond of the institution. While still a student at Princeton he spent summers working at Basement Workshop, which was where he met Jack Tchen. Basement had many issues with inter office politics and eventually closed. Charlie and Jack began discussing ideas, which would turn into the Chinatown History Project at 70 Mulberry Street. Charlie eventually steps down as executive director of the museum because he didn’t feel he could take it to the next level. But is called back when his replacement Fay Chew needs his help in growing the organization into a bigger space. Charlie recounts in depth his fundraising efforts with Maya Lin in the wake of the 9-11 attack to try and find the museum a new home, which ends up being 215 Centre Street. He makes mention of his personal life and marriage to Pat, whom he met while community organizing in college. After leaving the museum for a second time Charlie talks about working a few months at the Chinatown Manpower Project.

Charlie Lai along with Jack Tchen are founders of the Chinatown History Project, which has gone on to become the Museum of Chinese in America. In this five part interview conducted over the course of several months Charlie talks about his childhood in Hong Kong and how his family eventually decided to immigrate to the United States when he was nine years old. He talks about living with his uncle when they first arrive in the states and saying on Long Island. His family eventually moves into their own place in Manhattan. Later he recounts his time at Princeton and his community organizing effort to recruit more Asian students to the school even though he was not fond of the institution. While still a student at Princeton he spent summers working at Basement Workshop, which was where he met Jack Tchen. Basement had many issues with inter office politics and eventually closed. Charlie and Jack began discussing ideas, which would turn into the Chinatown History Project at 70 Mulberry Street. Charlie eventually steps down as executive director of the museum because he didn’t feel he could take it to the next level. But is called back when his replacement Fay Chew needs his help in growing the organization into a bigger space. Charlie recounts in depth his fundraising efforts with Maya Lin in the wake of the 9-11 attack to try and find the museum a new home, which ends up being 215 Centre Street. He makes mention of his personal life and marriage to Pat, whom he met while community organizing in college. After leaving the museum for a second time Charlie talks about working a few months at the Chinatown Manpower Project.

Charlie Lai along with Jack Tchen are founders of the Chinatown History Project, which has gone on to become the Museum of Chinese in America. In this five part interview conducted over the course of several months Charlie talks about his childhood in Hong Kong and how his family eventually decided to immigrate to the United States when he was nine years old. He talks about living with his uncle when they first arrive in the states and saying on Long Island. His family eventually moves into their own place in Manhattan. Later he recounts his time at Princeton and his community organizing effort to recruit more Asian students to the school even though he was not fond of the institution. While still a student at Princeton he spent summers working at Basement Workshop, which was where he met Jack Tchen. Basement had many issues with inter office politics and eventually closed. Charlie and Jack began discussing ideas, which would turn into the Chinatown History Project at 70 Mulberry Street. Charlie eventually steps down as executive director of the museum because he didn’t feel he could take it to the next level. But is called back when his replacement Fay Chew needs his help in growing the organization into a bigger space. Charlie recounts in depth his fundraising efforts with Maya Lin in the wake of the 9-11 attack to try and find the museum a new home, which ends up being 215 Centre Street. He makes mention of his personal life and marriage to Pat, whom he met while community organizing in college. After leaving the museum for a second time Charlie talks about working a few months at the Chinatown Manpower Project.

Charlie Lai along with Jack Tchen are founders of the Chinatown History Project, which has gone on to become the Museum of Chinese in America. In this five part interview conducted over the course of several months Charlie talks about his childhood in Hong Kong and how his family eventually decided to immigrate to the United States when he was nine years old. He talks about living with his uncle when they first arrive in the states and saying on Long Island. His family eventually moves into their own place in Manhattan. Later he recounts his time at Princeton and his community organizing effort to recruit more Asian students to the school even though he was not fond of the institution. While still a student at Princeton he spent summers working at Basement Workshop, which was where he met Jack Tchen. Basement had many issues with inter office politics and eventually closed. Charlie and Jack began discussing ideas, which would turn into the Chinatown History Project at 70 Mulberry Street. Charlie eventually steps down as executive director of the museum because he didn’t feel he could take it to the next level. But is called back when his replacement Fay Chew needs his help in growing the organization into a bigger space. Charlie recounts in depth his fundraising efforts with Maya Lin in the wake of the 9-11 attack to try and find the museum a new home, which ends up being 215 Centre Street. He makes mention of his personal life and marriage to Pat, whom he met while community organizing in college. After leaving the museum for a second time Charlie talks about working a few months at the Chinatown Manpower Project.

Charlie Lai along with Jack Tchen are founders of the Chinatown History Project, which has gone on to become the Museum of Chinese in America. In this five part interview conducted over the course of several months Charlie talks about his childhood in Hong Kong and how his family eventually decided to immigrate to the United States when he was nine years old. He talks about living with his uncle when they first arrive in the states and saying on Long Island. His family eventually moves into their own place in Manhattan. Later he recounts his time at Princeton and his community organizing effort to recruit more Asian students to the school even though he was not fond of the institution. While still a student at Princeton he spent summers working at Basement Workshop, which was where he met Jack Tchen. Basement had many issues with inter office politics and eventually closed. Charlie and Jack began discussing ideas, which would turn into the Chinatown History Project at 70 Mulberry Street. Charlie eventually steps down as executive director of the museum because he didn’t feel he could take it to the next level. But is called back when his replacement Fay Chew needs his help in growing the organization into a bigger space. Charlie recounts in depth his fundraising efforts with Maya Lin in the wake of the 9-11 attack to try and find the museum a new home, which ends up being 215 Centre Street. He makes mention of his personal life and marriage to Pat, whom he met while community organizing in college. After leaving the museum for a second time Charlie talks about working a few months at the Chinatown Manpower Project.

Charlie Lai along with Jack Tchen are founders of the Chinatown History Project, which has gone on to become the Museum of Chinese in America. In this five part interview conducted over the course of several months Charlie talks about his childhood in Hong Kong and how his family eventually decided to immigrate to the United States when he was nine years old. He talks about living with his uncle when they first arrive in the states and saying on Long Island. His family eventually moves into their own place in Manhattan. Later he recounts his time at Princeton and his community organizing effort to recruit more Asian students to the school even though he was not fond of the institution. While still a student at Princeton he spent summers working at Basement Workshop, which was where he met Jack Tchen. Basement had many issues with inter office politics and eventually closed. Charlie and Jack began discussing ideas, which would turn into the Chinatown History Project at 70 Mulberry Street. Charlie eventually steps down as executive director of the museum because he didn’t feel he could take it to the next level. But is called back when his replacement Fay Chew needs his help in growing the organization into a bigger space. Charlie recounts in depth his fundraising efforts with Maya Lin in the wake of the 9-11 attack to try and find the museum a new home, which ends up being 215 Centre Street. He makes mention of his personal life and marriage to Pat, whom he met while community organizing in college. After leaving the museum for a second time Charlie talks about working a few months at the Chinatown Manpower Project.