Category: People, Chinese Americans
Item 5271
Contributed by: Maine Historical Society/MaineToday Media Date: 1926 Location: Portland Media: Glass Negative
Item 11763
Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1923 Location: Portland Media: Photographic print
Exhibit
Toy Len Goon: Mother of the Year
Toy Len Goon of Portland, an immigrant from China, was a widow with six children when she was selected in 1952 as America's Mother of the Year.
Exhibit
"Twenty Nationalities, But All Americans"
Concern about immigrants and their loyalty in the post World War I era led to programs to "Americanize" them -- an effort to help them learn English and otherwise adjust to life in the United States. Clara Soule ran one such program for the Portland Public Schools, hoping it would help the immigrants be accepted.
Story
An Asian American Account
by Zabrina
An account from a Chinese American teen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Story
From Chinese Laundress to Mother of the Year
by Dr. Andrea Louie
Toy Len Goon's granddaughter recounts her immigration to the US and becoming Mother of the Year.
Lesson Plan
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12, Postsecondary
Content Area: Social Studies
This lesson presents an overview of the history of the Chinese/Chinese Americans in Maine and the U.S. including some of the factors that led to Chinese immigration to the U.S., the history of the Chinese Exclusion Act, a look into the xenophobia, racism, and discrimination many Chinese Americans have experienced and continue to experience, and the contributions of Chinese Americans to community life and culture in Maine.
