CHCP Co-Founder Gerrye Wong

By Dr. Arthur Jue (CHCP Co-Vice President of Marketing/Outreach) and Kimberly Eng Lee (CHCP Director)

Sunnyvale, California resident, Gerrye Wong, has been selected by the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) to receive their 2024 Award of Excellence for Individual Lifetime Achievement for her decades of work in preserving and sharing Chinese American history in California. The award is to be presented at the AASLH national conference in Mobile, Alabama on September 13, 2024.

A passionate volunteer for the past 60 years working for many Asian American historical causes, Gerrye co-founded the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP) in 1987. CHCP subsequently built the Chinese American Historical Museum at History Park San Jose and donated it to the City of San Jose. CHCP continues to operate the museum free of charge for the general public.

Gerrye also helped encourage the City of San Jose to issue one of the nation’s first formal apologies to Chinese immigrants and their descendants for historical atrocities and fires that destroyed five San Jose Chinatowns. She is a prolific writer and columnist for Asian Week, Chinatown News in Vancouver, BC, Silicon Valley’s DingDing TV, and Gentry Magazine. Gerrye has also written two books and given numerous interviews that chronicle the local Chinese American community, its culture, and its history. Her lifetime of written work has resulted in a sizable archive of historical source material about Bay Area Chinese Americans.

Furthermore, Gerrye served on the Board of Directors for the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF) in 2010 and chaired their 25th Anniversary Gala in 2019 with “Immigrant Heritage Honorees” exemplifying the contributions and legacies of immigrants to the Pacific Coast. Angel Island Immigration Station served as an immigration port between 1910 and 1940, and was especially detrimental to Chinese during the Chinese Exclusion period. Gerrye also contributed the narrative “Calvin Chew Wong’s Family: Four Generations of Immigrants” to Angel Island’s Storyshare archive, an online resource that fosters knowledge, builds community, and provides content and texture to America’s immigration story. She modeled the importance of recording and preserving personal origin stories for present and future generations.

The AASLH leadership awards program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States. It is the most prestigious recognition of its kind, and winners represent the best in the field.

CHCP’s mission is to promote, preserve, and educate citizens about Chinese and Chinese American history and culture. Besides operating the Chinese American Historical Museum, CHCP offers cultural and educational events and activities, a student docent program, and resources to advance AAPI interests throughout the Silicon Valley region.

In 1998, AASLH named CHCP the recipient of the Albert B. Corey Award, the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of local, state, and regional history. The Albert B. Corey Award is reserved for very deserving, small, primarily volunteer-operated, historical organizations. This award is granted only when an organization meets the high standards of excellence set by Albert B. Corey, a founding member of the AASLH, and therefore, is not awarded annually.