Connecting the Dots of a Chinese American Family

Lorraine Dong self-published her family’s history in 1976 as a Christmas present only for the eyes of her family. Six years later, she wrote a narration for her brother, Arthur Dong, who was finishing his senior film project that was based on their mother’s life. In 1984, that film, Sewing Woman, became the first Asian American film to be nominated for an Oscar®; it was in the category of Best Short Documentary.

It took another thirty-five years before Lorraine returned to her family history when the Square and Circle Club embarked on two service projects. One was to share their family histories for the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation’s “Immigrant Voices” website. The other was to share their families’ World War II veteran stories when Chinese American WWII veterans received the Congressional Gold Medal.

Lorraine Dong was born and raised in San Francisco Chinatown. She attended her local American and Chinese schools, including San Francisco State, until she ventured beyond to earn her PhD at the University of Washington in Seattle where she majored in Chinese language and literature. Lorraine’s current research is Asian American children’s literature, specifically picture books.