By Kimberly Eng Lee, CHCP Co-President

The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) and Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP) proudly announce that Connie Young Yu is the recipient of an Award of Excellence for Individual Lifetime Achievement. The AASLH Leadership in History Awards, now in its 80th year, is the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history. 

Connie Young Yu is a writer and independent historian dedicated to documenting America’s immigration history for over a half century. She was involved in the preservation of the immigration detention building that led to the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay becoming a national monument. She was a founding member of Asian Americans For Community Involvement (AACI) and is an Advisory Board Member and Historian for CHCP. Among her many works, she is the author of Chinatown, San Jose, USA, The Peoples Bicentennial Quilt Book and co-author of Hakone Estate and Gardens. She consulted on the archaeological excavations of three Chinatowns in San Jose and a railroad workers camp site in the Sierras. She conducted oral history interviews of descendants for the Stanford Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project, gave the commencement speech at the 150th Anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory, UT, and accepted the City of San Jose’s formal Apology for past racial discrimination against Chinese immigrants and their descendants. Young Yu recently launched The Geary Act Project which endeavors to gather Certificates of Residence, the ‘yellow card’ required at the time of all Chinese in America by order of the 1892 Geary Act.

This year, AASLH confers 54 national awards honoring people, projects, exhibits, and publications. The winners represent the best in the field and provide leadership for the future of state and local history. Awards will be presented at AASLH’s annual conference in Cincinnati, OH, September 10-13, 2025.

The AASLH 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. The AASLH Leadership in History Awards not only honor significant achievement in the field of state and local history, but also bring public recognition of the opportunities for small and large organizations, institutions, and programs to make contributions in this arena. For more information about the Leadership in History Awards, contact AASLH at 615-320-3203 or go to www.aaslh.org.

For more on Connie Young Yu: View the 06/11/24 DeAnza interview "Connie Young Yu: Writing Untold Stories"

In 2024, CHCP Co-Founder and Trustee Gerrye Wong was selected by the 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.

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.