A national exhibit marking one of the darkest chapters in Canadian immigration history has opened in the heart of Victoria香蕉视频直播檚 Chinatown 香蕉视频直播� and the stories it tells hit close to home for many.
Eating Bitterness: The Canadian Journey from Exclusion to Inclusion was officially unveiled on Tuesday morning (July 15) at the Victoria Chinatown Museum, shedding light on the impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act and the generations that endured it.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 emotional. This is one of four exhibit locations, but this one feels different,香蕉视频直播� said Teresa Woo-Paw, chair of Action! Chinese Canadians Together (ACCT), the group behind the exhibition. 香蕉视频直播淭o have it here, in Canada香蕉视频直播檚 oldest Chinatown, makes it all the more powerful.香蕉视频直播�
Victoria, along with Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto, will host the exhibit.
The exhibit took roughly six months to come together, coordinated by Dr. Grace Wong Sneddon, chair of the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society, alongside Woo-Paw and curators from across Canada.
It blends timelines, personal stories, documentary video, and interactive installations to unpack the legacy of the Chinese Exclusion Act 香蕉视频直播� a 1923 law that banned most Chinese immigration for nearly 25 years.
For Woo-Paw, three stories stand out.
The first is Won Alexander Cumyow, the first Chinese Canadian born in Canada.
Despite being born a citizen, he had his rights stripped under the Chinese Exclusion Act and didn香蕉视频直播檛 regain them until shortly before his death, decades later. He voted in the 1890 federal election but was barred from voting again for 50 years, until 1949. That made him the only Chinese Canadian known to have voted both before and after disenfranchisement.
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The second is Vivian Jung, she was the first Chinese Canadian woman to become a certified teacher. But the path there wasn香蕉视频直播檛 easy.
At 21, while working toward her teaching diploma in Vancouver, she was required to complete a lifesaving swimming course. But when she tried to enter Crystal Pool at Sunset Beach 香蕉视频直播� the city香蕉视频直播檚 only public pool in 1945 香蕉视频直播� staff turned her away. The pool was still racially segregated.
Refusing to back down, Jung returned with her coach and classmates, who stood by her side as she attempted to enter again. That act of solidarity forced the pool to let her in 香蕉视频直播� and sparked a wave of protest that helped end the discriminatory policy later that year.
Joyce Chin was born in 1931 and lived through the Exclusion Act firsthand. She didn香蕉视频直播檛 meet her father until 1952, when her family was finally allowed to reunite in Canada.
香蕉视频直播淲e cried the first time we met,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淣ow our family is together. The children and grandchildren go to school, they speak freely, they香蕉视频直播檙e happy.香蕉视频直播�
Chin香蕉视频直播檚 family history in Canada stretches back to 1905.
She remembers her grandmother香蕉视频直播檚 bound feet and her aunt being kept from school simply for being a girl. Her father made repeated trips back to China 香蕉视频直播� every seven years 香蕉视频直播� each time fathering a child and leaving again. That cycle of separation defined their lives.
香蕉视频直播淭his is about more than history,香蕉视频直播� said Woo-Paw. 香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 about what we香蕉视频直播檝e been through 香蕉视频直播� and how we build a more inclusive Canada together.香蕉视频直播�
Admission is by donation, with the museum open Thursday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit will run in Victoria until Oct. 26.
