2008 Woodie Awards
Chinese immigration exhibit on display at Wright State
Jessica Millington
Issue date: 4/12/06 Section: News
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WSU is excited because the exhibit will appeal to everyone of all ages and cultures since the majority of people have ancestors who arrived from different shores. This exhibit of Angel Island's experience is a human story to which anyone can relate.
The exhibit is not just about the Chinese-Americans or Asian-Americans, because it is a quintessential American story about the dreams that bring immigrants to this nation and how they continue to come in spite of the hardships and obstacles that are so often placed in their way.
"I will like to visit this exhibit, because as a college student I want to learn about all areas of life. This will give me chance to experience the Chinese culture as well as their hardships," said Nicole Berry, business management.
The exhibit creates a timeline of the immigration experience of thousands of immigrants, mostly Chinese, who came to America between 1910-1940, through the Pacific. There are five large photomurals connected be fabric walls containing poetry written by Angel Island detainees in both Chinese, as well as English.
When students or the community around us come to visit this wonderful exhibit they will walk through a series of vignettes, and each one represents a particular experience at the immigration station.
Beginning with the arrival by ship in San Francisco Bay, the visitor is taken to the Island, while images of barbed wire fences, a guard tower, and locked doors "welcome" the immigrants to America. Then once inside, the first vignette discusses the process of the new arrivals and what they had to go through.
During the process of new arrivals, examination of documents and dormitory assignments are not the only procedures new arrivals faced. Another process that put fear in the new non- westerns was the physical examinations.
The five large photomurals depict the day-to-day life to immigrants on Angel Island and life-size photographic cutouts of detainees, station employees and Christian missionaries show men, women and children from different walks of life.
