A Pyramid, 2 Kings and Chinese with Southern Accents

A QUIZ ICE BREAKER: I just returned from an eye opening, thought provoking and inspiring trip to a city where I visited a Pyramid, experienced 2 Kings, where Okra is a popular food staple and where the people had very Unique Accents….and it is not in Egypt.

• ·        Hint, deep fried chicken and pork skin snacks.

A Pyramid? Fun Facts: There is also a Parthenon in Nashville and the real London Bridge in…..Havasu, Arizona.

From October 15 thru 17th, I was part of a much needed and important history conference sponsored by the 1882 Foundation, in the lovely city of Memphis, Tennessee, y’all. It was the 1882 Foundation’s 2025 Rural Chinatowns and Hidden Sites Conference

This Blog will not be an attempt to catch you up about a 160-year old historical event that began in Memphis in 1869, when the call for a special convention was held specifically about The Chinese Labor Question. That convention was organized by mostly plantation owners, slave owners, wondering what to do with their loss of enslaved labor. Everyone should know about this, for this Chinese history is very much an important part of American History. For an overview, you can educate yourself on an earlier blog of mine, https://www.accidentalhistorian.co/musings/there-were-chinese-in-the-south.

Instead, this Blog will be more of a Bourdain-esque travelogue about a trip that was very special for me, leading me on another journey of discovery. It was a highly educational immersion into people and places, but it was also interspersed with fun. As I have learned in my journey as the Accidental Historian, enriching myself with history intertwined with life experiences that relate with my own only makes me more prepared and increases my empowerment.

Day 1: Arrival to Bluff City

After a nearly 5-hour drive from St. Louis, another river city where I continue to discover history of the St. Louis Chinese, we arrived late afternoon to this river city positioned on the Chickasaw Bluffs, also known as Bluff City. We arrived just in time to check-in and make our way to the conference welcoming reception.

Make it stand out

The welcoming reception was held at the Belz Museum in downtown, a curious museum of Asian & Judaic Art with a surprisingly large collection of objects from the Qing Dynasty. How did this collection wind up here, some pieces labeled as being from the Forbidden City? Was this vast Chinese collection here in Memphis an analogy to the equally surprising topic (to many) of why Chinese people were settling in the Mid and Deep South back in the 1800s?

The opening conference message was clear. That the next few days would be to learn, build connections and strengthen collective knowledge among educators, community story tellers and public & private agencies.

The host, the 1882 Foundation, is a non-partisan, non-profit created by Chinese-Americans to broaden public awareness of the history and continuing significance of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

Day 2: The Conference Begins. My Knowledge Base Expands. My Inspiration Toolbox Grows.

• 7 am: A quick, fine “free” breakfast at the hotel. How do they cook those eggs without a kitchen? My routine morning hot latte will have to wait.

• 8 am: Nice and early, the presentation sessions begin.

This conference was very special, deliberately combining academic research with community story tellers (non-historians), like me. The event attracted a diversity of attendees from around the country, including academic scholars from leading Universities and descendants of the Mississippi Delta, many of whom I had initially met in a related (topic) conference the prior year in Conway, Arkansas, hosted by the University of Central Arkansas.

This conference was unique because it was mostly covering a part of American History that is not known well, or at all, to most Americans and definitely not taught enough. Frankly, as a Midwesterner (some say Mid-South), such history is often overshadowed by the Chinese American histories contained on the coasts, as if that is the only relevant history. The Chinese American in the Southern Delta States and Mid-South matter.

Speeding by cotton fields.

The presentation sessions were diverse, from the pure historical facts to more complex messaging on the impact of this history on people, culture and the ability to represent oneself. It is important to be Seen, Heard and Included, anywhere in the country.

A full 2 days of programs.

I was honored to have my ideas selected to give a presentation, which included 2 fellow STL colleagues (and friends) who would present on other topics. Collectively, we enlightened the audience about the Chinese Americans in St. Louis, in Flyover Country…….condensed to speaking times of 20 minutes each. For my topic, that equated to 1.5 minutes per decade!!. Well, it is better than not being heard.

• As an aside, I chose Flyover County for our program title as a bit of a statement recalling an occurrence I had in my early days of researching when I met an “expert” who was surprised that there was history in our country of Chinese in the Midwest. Sadly, that “scholar” actually referenced my geographic location that way. That person was from one of the coasts.

This conference centered around Chinese American History, but in particular, those Chinese who persevered in the South and made great contributions to society in spite of the harsh social political setting post-civil war. Initially working in the fields, in agriculture, the Chinese would open up 100s of businesses in the Mississippi Delta alone after fulfilling their plantation obligations. This was one of the ways they could remain in the U.S due to the Exclusion Act, which would be law passed after their arrival. And yes, some have deep southern accents because they ARE a part of the region and its history.

And after the first full day, who could resist coming together with attendees for a BBQ dinner on Beale Street, capped with the film screening of the documentary, Bluff City Chinese, with panelist | filmmaker |actors and friends, Emerald (Emmi) Dunn and Thandi Cai. This film showcases Emmi and Thandi (center photo below), generations apart, searching and reconciling their southern Chinese American history and heritage, to understand their place of being. The film is now streaming and touring the country, https://bluffcitychinese.com/

Ok, I will admit, it was the only BBQ we tried on this trip….for we do have excellent BBQ in The Loo. Btw, someone should open up a Chinese influenced BBQ spot.

Day 3: The Mississippi Delta Field Trip

This was the day we would take a day trip from Memphis to areas of the Mississippi Delta.

Almost immediately as we left Memphis, our road would turn into U.S. Route 61. This was the route of the Great Migration, that would facilitate the journey northward of nearly 5 million African-Americans to escape the racial segregation and discrimination of the Jim Crow South. This route has also been nicknamed the “Blues Highway” for the rich history of blues music that was created here, played and uniting the many small cities and building community. B.B. King and Muddy Waters, to name a few, are associated with this area and later Elvis Presley would be influenced by the blues he heard in Memphis.

First stop was a visit to Greenville, Mississippi, where the oldest Chinese cemetery of the area is located, dating back to 1913. You see, the Chinese were scattered in small towns throughout the Mississippi Delta, dating back to the 19th Century. There numbers were relatively small in each town, but collectively not an insignificant number; when you are in small numbers, your minority status results in a lack of representation, but this doesn’t mean you are not searching for your own sense of community and desire to let people know that you belong. So, these Chinese from throughout these Delta towns would band together to socialize, support each other and be eventually buried in a place they could call their own.

Mississippi and St. Louis: Speaking of the need to socialize and build your own community, in later years we learn about the “Luckly Eleven,” 11 Chinese American students who in 1952 decided to create a dance during christmas and invite young Chinese from around the Delta. The first dance was at the American Legion in Cleveland, which was a nice central location of the those spread throughout the Delta. Little did they know that this would become a tradition that would last a quarter century. We learned that students would even come from afar…..even St. Louis.

Imagine, being the only 11 Chinese Students at the entire Mississippi State. Which reminds me of a couple stories.

In 1947, shortly after my father’s arrival to Washington University (from China), he would write in a letter to my mother that there were only 10 Chinese students for him to socialize, including a Chinese-American from Chinatown.On a personal note, when I was a freshman at Tulane University, I felt isolated and did not see many Asians. This feeling did not help my self-esteem, as I was also riduculed (trailed as I walked the campus) with students making “ching chong” sounds behind me. That was 1975.

This important need to have your community reminds me of similar gatherings in St. Louis that centered arount “Miss Chinatown” events in the 1950s. While I do not have any oral history accounts, it seems that this event, this place, provided a sense of community and made people happy.

A Miss Chinatown event (Photo: Prom Magazine, 1953)

After Greenville, we would travel to Cleveland, Mississippi, the home to Delta State University, where they host the Mississippi Delta Chinese Heritage Museum, an amazing collection of artifacts that illustrate the hstory of the Delta Chinese.

Here is a nice National Park Service podcast that provides an overview of the museum, with oral histories.

• Interesting Discovery: Did you know that Cleveland was where an early version of the Marshall Plan (formerly known as the Economic Recovery Act of 1948), the economic recovery plan to address postwar Europe, was floated at a conference on May 8, 1947 at Delta State, prior to its formal announcement at Harvard University? Did you also know, only the 2nd Grammy Museum in the world is located here, a testament to how Blues music are the roots of American music?

• Legendary Ruling: Are you aware there was a 1927 Supreme Court ruling (Lum v Rice) centered around the Mississippi Lum Family, whose daughter was denied entry into an all white school in 1924? The case upheld racial segregation through the “separate but equal” doctrine. The Lum’s lived in Rosedale, MS and would eventually move out of Mississippi after the ruling.

On this day, there was also a panel session about expanding visibility of Chinese American Stories through Media, with Dolly Li (Documentary filmmaker and Cultural consultant to director, Ryan Coogler’s film, Sinners), Larissa Lam (Director of Documentary, Far East Deep South) and Lauren Jeu (APAHM Project). Here is a link to Far East Deep South, where you can view a trailer.

R to L: Dolly Li, Lauren Jeu, Larissa Lam, Randy Kwan.

Then, keynote remarks by a witty 92-year old, Albert C. Lum, a third generation Chinese American and his stories of growing up and persevering in Mississippi, to achieving a successful career in California. Like most stories about such individuals, the lesson is not that they have just survived longevity, but their lessons on how they navigated their lives. Albert’s remarks was titled “Stand Up and Be Counted,” after his book recounting the journey of a Chinese boy, born in Mississippi, who could not speak his own ethnic language. Albert was as American as anyone else born in the U.S., but was the familiar story of being judged or placed through society’s lens based on this appearance.

After a group dinner to finish the day at a buffet restaurant offering everything from fried catfish and oka to General Tso chicken, we hopped back on the bus for the journey north back to Memphis, on U.S. Route 61.

Day 4 – Graceland and Memphis

The conference over and people departing, we would catch up with some remaining attendees at breakfast to say our goodbyes, as well as to exchange parting thoughts and future actions. Our networks had all expanded which is important, as we collectively attempt to piece together our 175+ year history in the US.

• To put in perspective, the U.S. will be celebrating its 250th Anniversary in 2026. We Chinese have been here for a majority of it. Just not always Heard or Included. Definitely seen.

Some very exciting ideas were exchanged, future programs identified and goals were tabled. Stay tuned.

Now, our stomachs refueled with that free breakfast, we needed to move on to a Memphis Icon, Graceland and touring around the town.

There is nothing insightful that I will really say about Graceland that you likely don’t know, but as practicing architects, we always enjoy observing architecture (that we like or even don’t like) and particularly the styles (and possessions) that resonate with people and reveals their character. And while on this themed road trip centered around history, what a journey the King, Elvis Presley, had and what an impact on music, style and our lives and others.

That requisite selfie moment

“Elvis Has Left the Building” and so have we after our 3+ hour visit. Onward to walk the streets and neighborhoods of Memphis, to see the wonderful architecture along the bluffs and to visit the new landscaped park systems (Tom Lee Park) along the riverfront. Oh, and a quick visit to that pyramid, now a Bass Pro Shop.

Day 5 – The National Civil Rights Museum. An Emotionally, Moving and Inspiring Experience.

It would not be right to not visit this museum. Not just for the history mostly centered around African-American history but that THIS history and the challenges presented is relatable to most cultures and many of us, personally.

Like the Chinese in the South, the strong individuals and organizations within the African-American Community, past and more recent, provide inspiration, but also a wake up call on how history’s actions do repeat and that we do not always learn on how to improve. Why is that?

It was particularly interesting to view a special exhibit on Bayard Rustin, a critical figure often in the shadows of MLK, but pivotal for the Civil Rights movement. A surprise was Rustin’s inspiration by a South Asian, Mahatma Gandhi, and his organizational tactics and philosophy of non-violence. Rustin would travel to India to research in 1948, sadly after Gandhi’s assassination.

The Salt March. 240 miles, 1930

At the museum were moving exhibits with depictions of standing up (or sitting in, actually) for your rights with Rosa Park’s refusal to move to the rear of the bus and the legendary and inspiring restaurant non-violent sit-in movement to protest segregated dining. Btw, a visit to Atlanta’s National Center for Civil and Human Rights is also worth a visit and in particular their interactive sit-in experience, which is sure to make anyone cry with the overwhelming traumatic immersion of being harassed, demeaned and violated.

Miscegnation Laws. Missouri’s Law was adopted in 1909.

After the museum, we made a quick visit to Central BBQ to bring back some BBQ sauce, then we set off to a quick bite at a Dim Sum restaurant hosted by Emmi Dunn, then the journey back home, fueled with good Chinese food and more ideas. Farewell Memphis