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Identifier
ChongByron_2008_CRP
Description
Dr. Byron Chong describes his life as a Chinese American growing up in Berkeley and Salinas California in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. The son of two doctors, his father, an ear nose and throat specialist, and his mother an ophthalmologist, Byron’s “double dose of intelligence” and nurturing environment propelled him to the top of his class throughout his school years; through Salinas High School, the University of California at Berkeley, and UCSF medical school. Dr. Chong begins by discussing his family history, and focuses on certain incidents of discrimination that echoes the greater state of race relations at the time. Byron recounts stories about both sets of his grandparents. He includes stories about is paternal grandfather, a merchant, and a prominent figure in San Francisco’s Presbyterian community, and his maternal grandparents who met for the first time on their wedding day when his 42-year-old grandfather lifted the value of 16-year-old bride. Byron discusses the idea of higher education as implicit in both his parents’ and their siblings’ upbringing. As first and second-generation Chinese Americans, all graduated with advanced degrees in the 1940’s from Universities including Cal, Stanford, and UCSF. He depicts his early life in Salinas with his “prominent family,” though dotted with the reality of discrimination, Byron, spent much of his youth, excelling in academics, athletics, and socializing with his Presbyterian youth group. Identifying more with his American upbringing than his Chinese heritage, Byron didn’t speak Chinese at home and had not learned “adult Chinese” until living with his paternal grandparents while attending Cal. Byron focuses on his time at Cal and his medical training after UCSF, and discusses in parallel his education throughout grade school, junior high and high school, as well as his changing relationships with women and the implication of his race. Byron describes meeting his wife at Cal, his wedding and traditional reception in San Francisco, and the second reception they had in Salinas’ Chinatown in 1968. Byron concludes with a reflection describing his memories of the characters on Soledad Street, the Republic Cafe in Chinatown, and the cultural values that persist in his life.
Interview Date
11-5-2008
Interviewer
Kirsten Bauer
Geographic Coverage
Salinas (Calif.)
Subjects
Chinatown (Salinas, Calif.); Chinese American families; Race discrimination; Chinese restaurants
Type
Moving Image
Genre
Oral histories
Digital Format
video/mp4
Language
eng
Digital Collection
Chinatown Renewal Project
Repository
Archives & Special Collections of California State University, Monterey Bay
Disclaimer
These oral histories express the personal views, memories, and opinions of the interviewee. They do not represent the policy or views of California State University, Monterey Bay.
Recommended Citation
Chong, Byron and California State University, Monterey Bay, "Interview with Byron Chong" (2008). Chinatown Renewal Project. 49.
https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/ohcma_chinatown/49
Rights Statement
