Shanshan Lan - Diaspora and Class Consciousness: Chinese Immigrant Workers in Multiracial Chicago

Studies in Asian Americans:
Reconceptualizing Culture, History, and Politics

FRANKLIN NG, General Editor

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from 1955-1995
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and Stories of Their Lives
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and Filipino American Identities
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A Study of Asian Indian Children
in New Jersey
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Taiwanese American
Transnational Families
Women and Kin Work
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Modeling Minority Women
Heroines in African and Asian
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The Evangelical Church in
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A Discourse of Language, Gender,
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Spatial and Cultural Negotiation
in Asian American Literature
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Storied Identities of Japanese
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Korean American Women
Stories of Acculturation and
Changing Selves
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Demystifying the Model Minority
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Asian Americans and the Shifting
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The Dismantling of Affirmative Action
at an Elite Public High School
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Global Spaces of Chinese Culture
Diasporic Chinese Communities in
the United States and Germany
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Politicizing Asian American
Literature
Towards a Critical Multiculturalism
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Diaspora and Class Consciousness
Chinese Immigrant Workers in
Multiracial Chicago
Shanshan Lan

Chinese Immigrant Workers
in Multiracial Chicago

Shanshan Lan

First published 2012
by Routledge
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Simultaneously published in the UK
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2012 Taylor & Francis

The right of Shanshan Lan to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lan, Shanshan.
Diaspora and class consciousness : Chinese immigrant workers in multiracial Chicago / by Shanshan Lan.
p. cm. (Studies in Asian Americans : reconceptualizing culture, history, and politics)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Chinese AmericansIllinoisChicagoSocial conditions.
2. Chinese AmericansCultural assimilationIllinoisChicago.
3. Chinese AmericansEthnic identityillinoisChicago. 4. Class consciousnessIllinoisChicago. 5. Chicago (Ill.)Emigration and immigrationSocial aspects. I. Title.

F548.9.C5 L36
305.8951077311dc23
2011033722

ISBN13: 978-0-415-89036-6 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-12807-7 (ebk)

This project would not have been possible without the support of many people. First of all, I thank all my research subjects, especially those Chinese immigrant workers who are still struggling with the material reality of race and class in their daily lives. For reasons of privacy, I cannot mention their names here, but they are the true heroes in this research. My deepest gratitude goes to my Cantonese host family in Bridgeport, whom I dubbed "the Lu Family" in this book. I thank them for taking me in as another daughter, sharing the pains, worries, and joys of their daily life with me and teaching me streetwise knowledge about how to survive in a multiracial urban environment. Celia Cheung played a vital role in initiating me into the Chinese American community and connected me with influential community leaders and key personnel in the Chinatown community. Phil Chan and his coffee buddies kept me encouraged and entertained. This is not an exhaustive list, but I would like to acknowledge the help of the following people during my research in Chicago: C.W. Chan, Sueylee Chang, Erica Chianelli, George Eng, Mrs. Johnson, Dominic Lai, Perry Lau, Tuyet Le, David Lee, Raymond Lee, Kam Liu, Leonard M. Louie, Gene Moy, Susan Moy, Sophia Shih, Z. J. Tong, Bernarda Wong, Esther Wong, and See Wong. Thanks also go to Mr. James Hardt from the Richard Daley Library who introduced me to several key informants in Bridgeport.

I am deeply indebted to my mentors at the University of Illinois, UrbanaChampaign: Professors Nancy Abelmann, James Barrett, Martin Manalansan, David Roediger, and Arlene Torres, who have read multiple drafts of different chapters of the manuscript and offered much-needed comments. Their support and guidance continued even after I left graduate school. Nancy is my ideal advisor and my personal role model. Her wisdom and enthusiasm have always kept me motivated and energized. I thank Martin for introducing me to the field of Asian American Studies. I am forever challenged by his witty comments, sharp insights, and critical thinking. I owe my training in African American Anthropology to Arlene, who impressed me with her commitment to teaching, strong sense of justice, and care for students. It has been a great privilege working with David and Jim, who kept an interested eye on this project from the very beginning and offered unconditional help throughout the writing process.