[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 172 (Friday, October 17, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E964-E965]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF KENT DOUGLAS WONG

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JUDY CHU

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 17, 2025

  Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life and legacy of Kent 
Douglas Wong, who tragically passed away on October 8, 2025.
  Mr. Wong dedicated his life to fighting for the rights of workers and 
immigrants, and his legacy will live on in the institutions he built, 
the progress he fought for, and the generations of leaders he fostered 
over his decades of work in California and across the country.
  As the director of the UCLA Labor Center for 32 years, Mr. Wong 
brought it to national prominence as the leading institution for 
innovative research, advocacy, and leadership development on labor 
issues. He was instrumental in expanding and renovating a new 
headquarters for the center near MacArthur Park, which was named after 
his mentor, nonviolent civil rights leader, Rev. James Lawson, Jr. 
Under his leadership, the University of California established labor 
centers at all nine campuses. Mr. Wong also led the establishment of 
such centers at three universities in Mexico and helped strengthen 
labor education programs overseas in China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan and 
the Philippines. Mr. Wong was the founding president of the United 
Association for Labor Education and a vice president of the California 
Federation of Teachers. His leadership within such a multitude of 
institutions demonstrated his lifelong dedication to advancing the 
rights and empowerment of immigrants and workers.
  In 1992, Mr. Wong founded the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance 
(APALA), the first and only national organization of Asian American, 
Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) workers. Under Mr. 
Wong's leadership, APALA gave AANHPI workers a stronger voice in the 
labor movement and developed a comprehensive strategy to address the 
unique challenges that AANHPI communities face nationwide.
  As a fifth-generation Chinese American whose grandmothers were 
stripped of their American citizenship under the Chinese Exclusion Act, 
Mr. Wong believed every individual, regardless of background, deserves 
equal rights and the opportunity to succeed. From teaching in UCLA's 
Asian American Studies and Labor Studies programs to launching Dream 
Summer, the first paid, national fellowship for undocumented youth, he 
brought immigrant voices to the heart of labor and education. He 
authored and co-authored several books teaching lessons of immigrant 
and labor organizing as well as nonviolent philosophy, including 
``Dreams Deported: Immigrant Youth and Families Resist Deportation.''
  Mr. Wong was born and raised in Los Angeles and attended the 
University of California, Berkeley, before earning a law degree and 
beginning a career fighting for civil and workers' rights. He was the 
first staff attorney for Asian Americans Advancing Justice, which was 
then known as the Asian Pacific American Legal Center for Southern 
California, before serving as an attorney for the Service Employees 
International Union (SEIU) Local 660.
  Mr. Wong's courage, humility, and unwavering commitment to justice 
inspired everyone who had the privilege of knowing him, and I was 
fortunate to count him as a dear friend. I ask my colleagues to join me 
in commemorating his life and recognizing his incredible legacy, which 
will continue to energize the next generation of leaders in the fight 
for equality and opportunity for all.

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