Asian-Pacific American Month film series: Becoming American-The Chinese Experience

In recognition of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, the library will host a film series the first three mondays in May.

On May 6, we will watch the first episode from the documentary, "A Bill Moyers Special: Becoming American, The Chinese Experience." In the saga of American immigration, the Chinese experience is relatively unknown but it is a dramatic story of struggle and triumph, progress and setbacks, discrimination and assimilation.

Episode One, "Gold Mountain Dreams," documents the reasons many young Chinese men left China in the mid-19th century. With war and famine behind them, the prospect of making a fortune in America during the California gold rush was irresistible. The harsh realities of life for Chinese immigrants and the contributions they gave to the settlement and building of the American West is the essence of this episode.

For further readings on the history of early Chinese immigrants to the United States please check out some of the online resources from the E-Library at http://www.cobbcat.org/e-library/history.html.