Enter the Year of the Fire Horse: Honoring Local Chinese American Legacies

This is a recording of a special event presented by the Resource Center for Nonviolence (RCNV) and community partners, celebrating the Lunar New Year and reclaiming a fuller history of Chinese people in Santa Cruz County. We are honored to feature presentations from: Professor Gordon H. Chang, co-founder of Stanford's Asian American Research Center and a member of the Committee of 100. A highly awarded scholar, his work explores the historical connections between race in the United States and trans-Pacific relations. His most recent book, published in 2025, is a collection of essays titled War, Race, and Culture: Journeys in TransPacific and Asian American Histories (Stanford University Press). Rui Li, Executive Director of Flex Kids Culture, is a community leader and educator dedicated to fostering international academic exchange and cross-cultural understanding. Through Flex Kids Culture, she was instrumental in the printing and distribution of 5,000 copies of the Chinese version of Sandy Lydon's seminal local history Chinese Gold. She is currently producing a documentary based on the book. George Ow, Jr. is a developer, philanthropist, and community pillar born in Santa Cruz's last Chinatown. A longtime advocate for Chinese American recognition, he was key to the publication of Sandy Lydon's Chinese Gold in its full glory and has spent decades supporting historical preservation and community development. He continues on his enduring quest to ensure Chinese Americans receive the credit and recognition they deserve for building this nation and to honor and give peace to the spirits of an unacknowledged history. Together, they explore stories of labor, resilience, institutionalized racism, and the ongoing work to build a "Beloved Community" as we welcome the Year of the Fire Horse. A very special thank you to the San Lorenzo Valley Museum for loaning artifacts from their exhibition, 'San Lorenzo Valley Chinese 1850-1920,' which were featured at this presentation. Their work preserving the history of Chinese immigrants in Santa Cruz County—from cultural assimilation to legal struggles—helps us connect with the past in a tangible way. View the online exhibit at: https://www.slvmuseum.org/chinese.html This event was presented in partnership with: Santa Cruz County Office of Education, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, UC Santa Cruz Center for Racial Justice, UC Santa Cruz Community Studies Department, Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH), the Romero Institute, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Santa Cruz County, Flex Kids Culture, the Center for Spiritual Living Santa Cruz, and media sponsors KSQD 90.7 FM, Good Times Santa Cruz, Lookout Santa Cruz, and the Santa Cruz Sentinel. About RCNV: For 50 years, the Resource Center for Nonviolence (RCNV) has equipped our community with tools to build a just and peaceful world. Visit rcnv.org to learn more.