In 2005 MTA unearthed a Potters Cemetery when widening the street during Goldline construction in East LA. This portion of the cemetery contained ­­­­118 graves. One fourth of the gravesites were determined to be Chinese. The Susan G. Dickson collection contains MTA community meeting materials, newspaper articles, photographs, video, and 4 years of emails. These emails reveal the discussion within the Chinese community of what to do with the artifacts and remains. Once the MTA committee determined that everything was to be reburied, the emails detail the decision-making process of choosing a section in Evergreen Cemetery, choosing the wording for the memorial wall and the historic plaque, choosing the fonts for the memorial wall, and choosing the wording for the grave markers for the Chinese reburials.

Susan Dickson started teaching in Chinatown in 1981 at Castelar Elementary School, where she taught students with a variety of backgrounds. Many of her students were from immigrant families originally from Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Cambodia. An exhibit highlighting her students' work was on display in 1997 and 1999 at The Autry Museum of Western Heritage, as a part of their year-long museum classroom project. In addition, Susan was awarded a Save Our History award from the History Channel in 2002, where she was one of 50 teachers nation-wide who participated. This work allowed her to collaborate with the Chinese American Museum, and was on display for three years. Susan is active and present in the Chinatown community by being on the board at the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC) for 27 years, and has been appointed president for six years. She is rounding out her 30th year of being on the board for Friends of the Chinatown Library, and has been on the national board of the civil rights group, Chinese American Citizens, since 2011.

1.42 Linear Feet

This collection is open to researchers and to the public for access. Please contact the Chinese Historical Soceity of Southern California for more information.