My parents immigrated from China in the 1920s and we were the only Chinese in Macon, Georgia, operating a laundry until we moved to San Francisco in the early 1950s.  At times when I was growing up, I felt embarrassed about my background.  It was not until I wrote a memoir, Southern Fried Rice: Life in A Chinese Laundry in the Deep South that I began to understand the positive impact these early experiences had on shaping my character. I did not anticipate that writing this memoir would stimulate me to learn about Chinese laundries in general and how vitally critical they were in allowing late 19th century immigrants to gain an economic toehold despite rampant hostility and racism against them in the U. S. and Canada. This awakening led to the writing of Chinese Laundries: Tickets to Survival on Gold Mountain. I was proud of the legacy that legions of Chinese laundrymen created for their families and felt inspired to pay tribute to all the unsung heroes who toiled in this occupation for decades. At a presentation to the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, a Chinese who grew up in Mississippi was fascinated by similarities between our southern experiences and encouraged me to consider researching the Mississippi Chinese who almost exclusively operated small family-run grocery stores in the Delta.  I discovered a fascinating story about how these few Chinese succeeded during an era of rigid racial segregation that needed to be told and wrote, Chopsticks in the Land of Cotton: Lives of Mississippi Delta Chinese Grocers. Similarly, encouragement from a Chinese restaurateur attending one of my talks led to the writing of Sweet and Sour: Life in Chinese Family Restaurants, a history and psychology of the development, growth, and decline of Cantonese-based Chinese family-run restaurants over the past century. In writing these books, I came to realize that my mission is to record aspects of the experiences of Chinese immigrants and their families that have not received much attention in historical accounts. I believe it iis important for present and future generations, irrespective of their background, to understand the struggles, achievements, and contributions of all ethnic groups to society.

Grants from National Institute of Mental Health for Minority Student Mentoring Programs, 1981-2007.
Distinguished Professor,1998
Most Valuable Professor,2000, 2001
College of Liberal Arts, California State University