[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 41 (Friday, April 15, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 15, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        LEGACY OF GOLD MOUNTAIN

                                 ______


                         HON. ROBERT T. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 14, 1994

  Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Chinese 
American Council of Sacramento and the Sacramento History Museum. These 
two organizations have formed a partnership which has yielded Legacy of 
Gold Mountain, an exhibition which celebrates and chronicles the rich 
history of the Sacramento's Chinese community from 1850 to the present. 
On April 8, 1994, the exhibit will be unveiled during a reception at 
the Sacramento History Museum in Old Sacramento.
  This project does the import job of acknowledging and validating the 
legacy of the Chinese in their quest for a better life in a new land; a 
quest familiar in chronicles of the Europeans' trek to early America, 
yet sometimes overlooked with regard to others' immigration.
  By focusing on the community that settled in Sacramento, this 
exhibition spotlights people very real and relevant to this community. 
The exhibition planning committee devoted hours of research to the 
project, scouring government records, newspapers, public and private 
collections of photographs, manuscripts, correspondence, journals, and 
business and association records, and conducted extensive personal 
interviews to ensure that visitors who travel through this exhibit 
actually travel through time.
  The result is an outstanding community and cultural resource. The 
exhibit follows the trials and tribulations of the Chinese through 
their involvement in gold mining, railroading, business, reclamation, 
and agriculture. It examines the effects of the anti-Chinese movements 
of the late 1800's through the emergence and disappearance of 
Sacramento's first Chinatown, and documents the record wave of 
immigration and the ensuing creation of a second Chinatown.
  The five chronological slices of history which comprise the exhibit, 
vividly chronicles the lives of Chinese men and women as they slowly 
evolved from sojourner to settler to citizen. The exhibit underscores 
the essential role education plays in fostering understanding and 
respect for our Nation's many diverse cultures.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in saluting the Chinese 
American Council of Sacramento and the Sacramento History Museum for 
their outstanding work in the creation of Legacy of Gold Mountain.

                          ____________________