20: Richard Chang on discovering Wong Chin Foo

In 2003, Richard Chang (Citizen Wong) was doing voice over work for the Bill Moyers documentary, Becoming American: The Chinese Experience, when he first learned about Wong Chin Foo, a popular writer and activist during the Gilded Age. Wong was the first to use the term Chinese American, and was known by name to the American public, but has virtually disappeared from history. Discovering him led Richard to years of research in order to create a new kind of play that smashes stereotypes and presents roles for Asian Americans.  We talk about prejudice, the past, and how as a journalist at Reuters he sees history repeating itself.

Additional Resources 

• Citizen Wong: a new play by Richard Chang
• History of Times Square