Terms of Use
Oral histories are intimate conversations between and among people who have generously agreed to share these recordings with BHS’s archives and researchers. Please listen in the spirit with which these were shared. BHS abides by the General Principles & Best Practices for Oral History as agreed upon by the Oral History Association and expects that use of this material will be done with respect for these professional ethics.
Every oral history relies on the memories, views, and opinions of the narrator. Because of the personal nature of oral history, listeners may find some viewpoints or language of the recorded participants to be objectionable. In keeping with its mission of preservation and unfettered access whenever possible, BHS presents these views as recorded.
The audio recording should be considered the primary source for each interview. Where provided, transcripts created prior to 2008 or commissioned by a third party other than BHS, serve as a guide to the interview and are not considered verbatim. More recent transcripts commissioned by BHS are nearly verbatim copies of the recorded interview, and as such may contain the natural false starts, verbal stumbles, misspeaks, and repetitions that are common in conversation. The decision for their inclusion was made because BHS gives primacy to the audible voice and also because some researchers do find useful information in these verbal patterns. Unless these verbal patterns are germane to your scholarly work, when quoting from this material researchers are encouraged to correct the grammar and make other modifications maintaining the flavor of the narrator’s speech while editing the material for the standards of print.
All citations must be attributed to Brooklyn Historical Society:
[Last name, First name], Oral history interview conducted by [Interviewer’s First name Last name], [Month DD, YYYY], [Title of Collection], [Call #]; Brooklyn Historical Society.
These interviews are made available for research purposes only. For more information about other kinds of usage and permissions, see BHS’s rights and reproductions policy.
Yee Ming Leung
Oral history interview conducted by Ka-Kam Chui
September 08, 1993
Call number: 1994.007.19
0:01 - 家庭介绍, 从1969年开始定居布鲁克林, 在加州上大学 Introducation of family, settling in Brooklyn since 1969, college in California
5:57 - 在布鲁克林的童年, 作为新移民面对的语言困难和教育 Childhood in Brooklyn, language barrier and education faced as a new immigrant
25:32 - 在山丘上采摘蔬菜, 在康尼岛钓螃蟹和其他娱乐 Picking vegetables from the hills, crab fishing at Coney Island, and entertainment
34:23 - 追忆10年的加州生活, 教书生涯,面对越南难民 Recollecting 10-year memories of California, teaching career and facing Vietnamese refugees
38:16 - 回到纽约并开始从事餐饮行业的工作 Returning to New York and starting work in the restaurant industry
49:14 - 竞选第20区学区委员,推动8大道华人社区的教育 A campaign run for the District 20 school board, pushing education for 8th Avenue Chinese community
58:33 - 竞选结果, 帮助三个溺水身亡的陈氏兄弟及其家庭 The outcome of the campaign, helping the three drowning Chin Brothers and their family
61:31 - 成为第一个第12社区华人委员 Becoming the first Chinese member of Community Board 12
Interview Description
Oral History Interview with Yee Ming Leung
Yee Ming Leung was born in Hong Kong, China circa 1958, immigrated to America at age eleven, and settled in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn. Leung attended public schools during school integration; the experience shaped his views of the American melting pot. After attending the University of the Pacific, Leung spent ten years in California as a teacher and owner of an import-export business. He returned to New York City to help his sister's growing restaurant business. Leung became a restaurateur himself with the opening of Oriental Palace in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. At the time of the interview in 1993, Leung sat on Community Board 4 and had recently lost his first campaign for a seat on the school board of District 20.
In this interview, Yee Ming Leung describes his teenage assimilation to American culture; a childhood of "Chinese" activities such as catching crabs on Coney Island or stealing nuts from neighbors' trees, as well as playing baseball and watching football or movies with his new American friends. Leung recalls his life as a businessman and, later, a restaurateur. He discusses his campaign and motivations for running for a seat on the School Board, Chinese attitudes towards voting, and his activities as an activist and member of Community Board 4. Interview in Cantonese conducted by Ka-Kam Chui.
Brooklyn Historical Society collaborated with the Chinatown History Museum (now the Museum of Chinese in America) in order to conduct a series of oral histories with residents of the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. The Cantonese, Mandarin, and English language interviews focused on what was then a new presence of Chinese and Asian immigrants concentrated along Eighth Avenue. Among the topics that are explored in the interviews are tensions between different groups of Chinese immigrants, crime and safety in the neighborhood, Sunset Park's relationship to Manhattan's Chinatown, and how long-term residents of Sunset Park had adjusted to the area's "newcomers."
Citation
Leung, Yee Ming, Oral history interview conducted by Ka-Kam Chui, September 08, 1993, New Neighbors: Sunset Park's Chinese Community records, 1994.007.19; Brooklyn Historical Society.People
- Community Board No. 4 (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
- Leung, Yee Ming
Topics
- Chinese Americans
- Community activists
- Community identity
- Cultural assimilation
- Elections
- English as a second language
- Restaurants
- School districts
- School integration
Places
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- California
- Coney Island (New York, N.Y.)
- Hong Kong (China)
- Sunset Park (New York, N.Y.)
Finding Aid
New Neighbors: Sunset Park's Chinese Community records