Mott Street: Performance + Talk

In celebration of AAPI heritages at Stony Brook University, we invited Ava Chin—author, professor, and fifth-generation New Yorker—to discuss her award-winning book Mott Street: A Chinese American Family’s Story of Homecoming.

In this work, Chin delves into the impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the United States’ first immigration restriction, on four generations of her family in New York City’s Chinatown. Dr. Chin shares stories of Chinatown’s ghosts, reflects on family members who defied the odds to enter the country, and reveals how uncovering family history and conducting archival research helped her craft a powerful intergenerational narrative with national significance.

The performance and talk concluded with a Q&A, raffles for copies of Mott Street, and a book signing.

The event was organized by members of the AAPI Heritages Committee consisting of members from the Charles B. Wang Center, , Asian & Asian American Studies, University Libraries DEIA Committee, DICE, AAPI Mentorship Network, Student Government, and student members.

The event was made possible through generous support by the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Intercultural Initiatives.


Sunny Chung

Health Sciences Librarian at University Libraries
Posted in About Us