AAST Affiliate Faculty, Dr. Michelle Magalong, Featured in Maryland Today: "Uncovering D.C.’s Asian American Past"

On Tuesday, November 15, AAST Affiliate Faculty, Dr. Michelle Magalong, was featured in the Maryland Today article titled, “Uncovering D.C.’s Asian American Past”.

An ongoing project led in part by Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation Michelle Magalong will produce Washington, D.C.’s first Chinese and Korean “historic context statement,” which will trace the cultural impact and historical presence of Chinese and Korean immigrants in Washington, D.C.

Developed under the auspices of the nonprofit 1882 Foundation and in collaboration with the University of Maryland, the D.C. Preservation League, the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and the National Park Service, the document will guide city officials in planning, preservation and development efforts. It will also serve as a historic reference to elevate an Asian American immigrant experience largely left out of the D.C. narrative.

“It's a protection measure, but it also tells a story that people might not understand or know,” says Magalong. “People walk down these streets every day not knowing what happened there.”

The research builds on extensive heritage work by community groups, academia and organizations like the 1882 Foundation—which seeks to broaden historical understanding of anti-Asian laws and sentiments—chronicled in articles, dissertations, exhibitions and public programs. Project researchers also collected census data, newspaper clippings and hundreds of oral histories and photographs to fill knowledge gaps and connect the dots across communities and timelines. The result is a synthesis of places, events and people who played a part in shaping the city’s fabric, culture, geography and politics.

You can read the full article here.