We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Dr. Betty Lee Sung, a dear friend of the MOCA family and a pioneering scholar of Asian American studies.
A laundryman and paper son’s daughter, Dr. Sung broke ceilings by being one of the few Chinese American women of her generation and with limited means to graduate from college. She went on to develop the first course and program in Asian American Studies on the east coast at City College in 1970. The program grew out of activism and demands for ethnic studies by Chinese American and other students of color, and drew on Dr. Sung’s seminal book on the history of Chinese in America, Mountain of Gold. Published in 1967, this first book on Chinese American history written by a Chinese American filled a knowledge vacuum and was the product of a decade of Dr. Sung’s own research and travels across the country to interview Chinese Americans for a show on Voice of America. At the time, there were few sources from the perspective of Chinese Americans, and the content for both the VOA programming and City College’s program of study had to be researched and built from the ground up.
In addition to conducting more than four decades of sociological research within Chinese American communities, Dr. Sung has been involved in important Asian American archiving efforts. She pushed for the creation of an Asian American Collection within the Library of Congress to ensure that those with the power to legislate could be informed by sources from the community. She has also donated a trove of her personal and academic papers to MOCA, some of which we highlight below.
Dr. Sung, we miss you already and want to say thank you for enriching the lives of everyone you have touched with your grace, dedication, excellence, and commitment to Chinese American communities.
CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF DR. BETTY LEE SUNG
Consider a Gift to the Museum of Chinese in America
The Betty Lee Sung Fellowship at MOCA will support graduate students to conduct research for the inaugural exhibition of MOCA’s new museum building in 2026, featuring Prof. Sung and many other Chinese-American luminaries.
Dr. Sung (left) was honored at MOCA’s 2015 Celebration of Community Heroes, presented by June Jee (right), MOCA Board Director
Watch Dr. Sung’s Oral History Interview
In this interview, Dr. Sung discusses her childhood, education, family, career, publication, and creation of the CUNY Asian American and Asian Research Institute (AAARI).
Dr. Betty Lee Sung at the first national conference of the Chinese Historical Society of America held in San Francisco on July 10-12, 1975. Courtesy of Dr. Betty Lee Sung, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection.
1975 年 7 月 10 日至 12 日，宋李瑞芳博士在旧金山美国华人历史学会第一次全国会议上。图片由宋李瑞芳博士捐赠，美国华人博物馆 (MOCA)馆藏。
The photograph above captures Dr. Sung (seated front and center) at the very first national conference for scholars in the then nascent field of Chinese American Studies. It was organized by the Chinese Historical Society of America and held in San Francisco from July 10-12, 1975.
Dr. Betty Lee Sung with civil rights and labor activists A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, and Ernest Green at the 8th annual conference of the AFL-CIO Civil Rights Department’s Recruitment and Training Program held in March of 1976. Courtesy of Dr. Betty Lee Sung, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection.
1976 年 3 月，宋李瑞芳博士与民权和劳工活动家 A. Philip Randolph、Bayard Rustin 和 Ernest Green 在 AFL-CIO 民权部招募和培训计划的第 8 届年度会议上。由宋李瑞芳博士捐赠, 美国华人博物馆 (MOCA) 馆藏。
In the photograph above, Dr. Sung is standing alongside civil rights and labor activists A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, and Ernest Green (one of the Little Rock Nine). They were fellow participants in the 8th annual conference of the AFL-CIO Civil Rights Department’s Recruitment and Training Program held in March of 1976. Dr. Sung was probably brought here by her work on her award-winning book, A Survey of Chinese American Manpower and Employment, funded by a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Labor and published in January of that year.
Chinese American Times October 1968 issue featuring a cover story of Dr. Betty Lee Sung being interviewed about her new book, Mountain of Gold. Courtesy of Dr. Betty Lee Sung, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection.
《中美时报》1968 年 10 月刊的封面故事，宋李瑞芳博士就她的新书《金山》接受采访。由宋李瑞芳博士捐赠，美国华人博物馆 (MOCA) 馆藏。
The above Chinese American Times cover story from October 1968 reports on Dr. Sung’s WNYC interview with NYC Human Rights Commission Chairman William H. Booth on the occasion of her publishing her groundbreaking new work, Mountain of Gold.
