Co-sponsored by Polychrome Press and the Organization of Chinese American Women. Smithsonian Chinese American pianist, bandleader, and composer Jon Jang is one of the leading young jazz artists in the United States. He combines classical training with an eclectic mix of jazz, blues, Chinese opera, and work songs to create music that expresses his impassioned commitment to social justice. Co-sponsored by the Freer and Sackler Galleries. There were once hundreds of Chinese temples built in places where the Chinese sojourned.
Today there are more than a thousand Chinese Christian churches throughout North America.
Professor Fenggang Yang will discuss how churches provide both a spiritual home in the newly found faith for the immigrants and a venue to reconnect to their cultural roots as well. This lecture will start with a brief description of religions among Chinese Americans, then focus the discussion on how the Christian church helps Chinese immigrants to attain and retain Chinese, American and Christian identities, while integrating the traditions of the East and the West. Yang is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Southern Maine. The Chinese Christian Oratoria Society opens the program with a performance of sacred music. Smithsonian Three prominent Chinese Americans discuss their perspectives on the most pressing issues facing Chinese American communities today.