San Francisco Chinese Newcomers Study Committee Records, 1969-1971

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Summary

Title:
San Francisco Chinese Newcomers Study Committee Records
Dates:
1969-1971
Creators:
San Francisco Chinese Newcomers Study Committee (1969-1971) (San Francisco)
Abstract:
The Chinese Newcomers Study (1969-1970) was commissioned by the Bay Area Social Planning Council (BASPC) and coordinated by a fourteen-person volunteer committee. The study committee researched topics such as health, employment, education, and law relating to Chinese immigrants in San Francisco. They published a formal report with their recommendations in 1971. This collection contains research, working papers, and other documents.
Extent:
1 pamphlet box (.25 Cubic Feet)
Language:
Collection materials are in English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], San Francisco Chinese Newcomers Study Committee Records (SFH 616), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains meeting minutes, letters, rosters, working papers, and research from the Study Committee's two years of work. The working papers correspond to sections in the committee's published report (1971) and cover subjects such as health, social services, pre-migration, education, and immigration law. Several letters and memo from committee members are interfiled with the meeting notes and research. The twelfth folder, labelled "Employment," contains research gathered by the Study Committee on other topics in addition to the working paper on employment.

Biographical / historical:

The San Francisco Chinese Newcomers Study Committee was appointed by the Bay Area Social Planning Council (BASPC) in 1969 to study Chinese immigrants and Chinese immigration services in the Bay Area. Primary topics of interest for the committee included employment, housing, schooling, and health within the Chinese American immigrant community.

The passage of the federal Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 ended restrictive country-of-origin immigration quotas and allowed increased immigration from non-European countries. Members of the Bay Area Social Planning Council (BASPC) were concerned that community and government programs were not adequately prepared to assist the resulting swell of immigrants from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong who were settling in San Francisco's already-dense Chinatown.

The fourteen members of the Study Committee were volunteers from San Francisco, with about half drawn from the Chinese American community. Stanley Mosk (1912-2001), Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court (1964-2001), served as Chairman; and Harry W. Low (1931-1921), the first Asian-American judge in San Francisco, served as Vice Chairman. The other committee members were John Boyce-Smith, Eugene J. Boyle, George Y. Chinn, James Chuck, Rolland Choy Lowe, Mrs. Otto E. Meyer [Susan Meyer], Mrs. Benson B. Rowe [Jane St. John Roe], John F. Sullivan, Hannah Surh [Chung Hing Hannah Surh], Dennis Wong, Larry Jack Wong, and Mrs. William F. Luttgens [Leslie Ferguson Langnecker Luttgens].

During their two years of operation, the Study Committee was assisted by a seventeen-person Technical Advisory Panel, BASPC staff members, and other local organizations.

The Study Committee published their findings and recommendations in February 1971. Their wide-ranging research resulted in proposals to reform immigration law, suggestions for improving and expanding ESL education at San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) schools, recommendations for changes in building and zoning permits in Chinatown to relieve over-crowding in residential buildings (such as eliminating parking space requirements in new buildings), and more.

Custodial history:

Provenance unknown. This collection has been in the library's possession since prior to 2020.

Processing information:

During processing, the collection was re-foldered and re-housed in acid-free folders. Original plastic tab labels have been retained. Some metal staples remain.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in twelve topics in original form, and then chronologically.

Physical location:
The collection is stored on site.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding Aid composed by Hana Metzger with Katherine Ets-Hokin
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-09-15 17:22:30 +0000 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is available for use during San Francisco History Center hours, with photographs available during Photo Desk hours. Collections that are stored offsite should be requested 48 hours in advance.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], San Francisco Chinese Newcomers Study Committee Records (SFH 616), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Location of this collection:
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102, US
Contact:
(415) 557-4567
sfhistory@sfpl.org
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