This collection contains the papers and photographs of the Hong family, a family of prominent Chinese-American community leaders in Los Angeles, California, specifically focused on the papers and photographs of immigration lawyer You Chung Hong (1898-1977), his wife, Mabel Hong (1907-1998) and their two sons, lawyer Nowland C. Hong (born 1934) and architect Roger S. Hong (1941-2006).

You Chung Hong (May 4, 1898 - November 8, 1977) was a prominent Chinese American immigration lawyer based in Los Angeles, California. He was one of the first Chinese Americans to pass, in 1923, the California State Bar exam. Born in San Francisco, California, in 1898, Y. C. was the son of a restaurant owner based in Daggett, California. He was raised in San Francisco by his mother after his father passed away when Y. C. was five years old. After graduating from high school, Y. C. settled briefly in Boston, Massachusetts, before returning to Los Angeles to work for the U.S. Immigration Service as an interpreter from 1918 to 1927 for court cases involving Chinese applicants for admission into the U.S. During the early 1920s, while working full-time for the U.S. Immigration Bureau, Y. C. enrolled in night classes at the University of Southern California School of Law. He earned his LL.B. in 1924 and LL.M. in 1925. From that point on, Y. C. became an active and successful immigration attorney by advocating for the right of Chinese Americans to bring their Chinese wives to the U.S. and pushing for the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Acts. He was one of the key members testifying on behalf of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance before the Senate and House Immigration Committees in 1928 in Washington D.C. He testified in 1952 before a hearing of President Truman’s Commission on Immigration and Naturalization. He served two terms as Grand President of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance (1949-1953), 14 terms as President of CACA’s Los Angeles Lodge (1926-1949), and Chairman of the Chinese Times Publishing Company. In addition to his accomplishments in the legal field, Y. C. was also one of the founding members of Los Angeles New Chinatown (1938). He was married to Mabel Hong, and together they had two sons, Nowland and Roger.

350 boxes (336 Hollinger boxes and 14 oversize boxes)

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