Utah: The Chinese Experience

In the 1840s, they came by boat, a frightening journey across the Pacific. Today, they travel by plane, only hours away from a new life. For more than 150 years, the Chinese-like other immigrants to this country-have pursued the American dream. Their journey is a compelling tale of struggle and triumph, progress and setback, and discrimination and achievement.

This March, KUED's DIVERSE VOICES campaign focuses on the Chinese experience in Utah and across the nation. The campaign uses broadcast, Web and community outreach components to show the rich history and important contributions of the Chinese in America.

The campaign begins with a special KUED CIVIC DIALOGUE that focuses on Utah's Chinese American community. The program airs on Sunday, March 23, at 5:30 p.m., and features the following guests: Lou Tong, former director of the Utah Office of Asian Affairs; Taylorsville Justice Court Judge Michael Kwan; and sociology professor Hui-ying Wei of Weber State University. Viewers are invited to post their responses to this program on the CIVIC DIALOGUE Web site by sending email to civic@kued.org.

The campaign then includes the broadcast premiere of BECOMING AMERICAN: THE CHINESE EXPERIENCE. This three-part documentary by Emmy Award-winning journalist Bill Moyers airs on KUED-7 on Tuesday-Thursday, March 25-27, at 8:00 p.m.

Following each night's broadcast, at 9:30 p.m., 30-minute episodes of BECOMING AMERICAN: Personal Journeys feature one-on-one interviews by Bill Moyers and five prominent Chinese Americans who have contributed to American life.

On Thursday, March 27, at 7:00 p.m., KUED will broadcast an encore of CHINATOWN, a people's history of the famous San Francisco neighborhood.

The Web and outreach components highlight Utah's Chinese. The Web site, http://kued.org/productions/chineseamerican/, includes a history of Chinese in Utah, a virtual photo gallery, and a directory of statewide Chinese community resources. Outreach elements include free viewer guides, as well as a screening event and panel discussion of BECOMING AMERICAN: THE CHINESE EXPERIENCE on Friday, March 21, at 6:00 p.m. The event is free, but tickets are required. To request a viewer guide or tickets to the screening event, e-mail community@kued.org. The guide will also be available online at www.pbs.org/becomingamerican/.

The central focus of this campaign is the BECOMING AMERICAN documentary series, which unfolds between two landmark pieces of American legislation: the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 - the first time the United States ever banned a group of people based on race or nationality - and the Immigration Reform Act of 1965, which opened the door to Asians and other non-Europeans to come to America in record numbers. Interviews with historians, recent arrivals and descendents of early immigrants reveal the history of the Chinese in America. Ultimately, this documentary examines the lives of new immigrants from China as well as Chinese Americans whose families have lived here for generations.

KUED's DIVERSE VOICES campaign is made possible by the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation and American Express. WETA funded KUED's Web and community outreach components encompassing "Becoming American: The Chinese Experience."

"Utah: The Chinese Experience" sponsors: