Re-visiting an Old, but Familiar Place
When I was younger, I used to take ballet classes in this small red building located in Chinatown. Other than dancing, I didn’t know that there was anything else to this place. It wasn’t until when my mother decided to visit the director of the dance program that I discovered the hidden museum in the back. The Museum of Chinese in the Americas (MoCA) was tucked away in a limited section of the second floor of the same building I have been dancing in for a few years. Being Chinese-American, I was a bit ashamed of not knowing much about my heritage and Chinese history. I thought that visiting this museum would be an opportunity for me to start learning more about my culture and how it was like for the people who lived generations before me.
There were a few exhibitions set up in the museum. The main exhibit was entitled “Where is Home? Chinese in the Americas.” It displayed a collection of artifacts such as ancient Chinese garments and old, worn Chinese laundry signs. There were also vintage photographs displayed to the public, but one specific photograph stood out the most. I saw this one picture of a Chinese-American baseball team in Los Angeles. In my entire life, I did not know that there was ever an all Chinese-American baseball team. It surprised me to see that such a team was actually formed, but it also disappointed me at the same time because this team never actually gained recognition in the world, let alone the country or state.
Other than just photos and objects in the presentation, there were also personal documents of Chinese Americans that showed the struggle they went through when emigrating here from China. The writings showed how these everyday objects such as an iron weren’t just everyday objects to these people. Attached to the iron were all the memories and was the link between their home in China and their new home in America. When they left these objects behind, they felt some sort of abandonment and feeling of leaving their traditions behind. Going along with the topic of “Where is Home?” there was an interactive portion of the exhibit where it asks visitors to write down their ideas of where home and post it on the walls. I thought that this part of the exhibit was the most interesting because it allowed the guests to submit their feelings as to what they think home should be. As I read the messages, I felt a little heart-warming to see sweet messages such as “Home is where the heart is.”
In the MoCA, there were also digital exhibits set up for visitors. One such video was called “Transitions: A Changing Profile of New York Chinatown” which talked about the history and background of New York Chinatown. It starts talking about the mere beginnings of the neighborhood and ends with how large this community has grown and is now filled with many immigrants from around the world. There was another digital display with audio and video interviews about how the people in Chinatown were affected by the September 11 attack. The people who were interviewed ranged from all parts of the large community such as a garment factory owner to a waiter to a lawyer. They each talked about how unemployment hit the Chinese people in Chinatown and they had to find other means of supporting their families. After visiting the museum part of the red building I had visited so many times in the past, I felt like I gained more knowledge and understanding of the culture I never really learned about. I had learned much about American history and culture in the classes I took in high school, but only in a few encounters did I come across information regarding Chinese culture, especially the history of Chinatown. I found it especially interesting that most of the information there was about New York Chinatown and not just about Chinese people in general because it made the exhibit more specific and I could relate more to the exhibits since it was about a place I was accustomed with. Although all the presentations were displayed in a small and modest space, the overall experience was more dynamic and informative to me than that room could have held.