The Houston Asian American Archives (HAAA), established in 2009 and managed by the Chao Center for Asian Studies at Rice University and housed at the Woodson Research Center (WRC), is an archive of Houston’s vibrant and diverse Asian diaspora. It serves as a living record.
Gene Lee, publisher of Houston’s first bilingual Chinese-English newspaper, was one of the first to share his story with HAAA. His donation of personal papers began a journey to gather the voices of Asian Americans in Houston.
“Then the news spread by word of mouth,” said Anne Chao, HAAA program manager and adjunct lecturer in humanities. “People wanted to be interviewed to have their stories preserved.”
Since its founding, HAAA has recorded nearly 500 oral histories, each offering a window into the lives of those who shaped and shaped Houston’s communities. The mission of this archive is clear. It is to explore the diverse experiences of Asians and Asian Americans in Houston and understand both the challenges they faced and the contributions they made.
“Houston is the seventh-largest city in the country for Asian Americans,” Chao said. “We have a preponderance of different ethnicities. We have a very large representation of Vietnamese Americans, Indian Americans, South Asian Americans, Chinese Americans, Japanese, Koreans, and Filipinos. The percentage of Americans of ancestry is small.
Among the many stories held in the archives is that of Albert Gee, a famous Houston restaurateur who owned the iconic PolyAsian restaurant. Gee’s was a popular spot in the 1960s, frequented by celebrities and politicians. His wife, Jane Gee, formerly of Rice University, supported the Miss Chinatown Scholarship Pageant and turned it into an important cultural event.
“Albert Ji was very good-looking and charismatic,” Qiao said. “He became president of the Houston Restaurant Association and became wealthy enough to donate to political campaigns.”
The archive preserves Gee’s legacy through photographs, correspondence, and memorabilia, providing a rich resource for researchers and historians.
The story of Lakshmi Parameswaran is also included in HAAA. Trained as a social worker in India, she recognized a need in her community and founded Daya, a South Asian women’s center in Houston. Parameswaran’s inspiration comes from her experience in Michigan helping her Indian neighbors face domestic challenges.
“Lakshmi started giving her home number to friends, saying, ‘If you hear anything, let me know,'” Chao said.
Over the years, Daya has answered thousands of calls and provided vital support to women in need, including English lessons, job placements and courtroom escorts.
The archive also chronicles the harrowing journey of Anh Lan Nguyen, a Vietnamese refugee who attempted to escape Vietnam 10 times. Her tenacity and resilience are powerful evidence of the human spirit.
“The boat sank during one of those trips,” Chao said. “She and her brother knew how to swim, so they made it ashore. But a third of the people on the boat died at sea.”
Nguyen’s tenth attempt was successful, and her gratitude for surviving inspired her to become a motivational speaker. Now, she and her husband run a nonprofit organization that translates Western political philosophy books, which are banned in Vietnam, into Vietnamese.
HAAA’s collection goes beyond individual stories to provide a comprehensive picture of the broader Asian American experience in Houston. The archive is a pan-Asian initiative, encompassing stories from East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and beyond. It includes a wide variety of materials such as photos, letters, documents, and even menus to deepen your understanding of the lives and contributions of Houston’s Asian American community.
“People come from all over the country to take advantage of these collections,” said Amanda Focke, WRC’s director of special collections. “A recent example is several researchers who are interested in the subject of Chinatowns in various major cities in the United States, and they are definitely coming here and using the Houston collection. Masu.”
Focke noted that the collection is of interest for other uses in addition to traditional academic research. For example, she said, a local theater company plans to study the collection to guide the set design for an upcoming production set in 1970s Asian American Houston.
“We have people coming not only from within Rice, but from all over the city, state, country and even abroad,” Focke said.
Focke and Chao said the work of building and maintaining HAAA is important and rewarding. As the archive continues to grow, it remains an important repository to ensure the voices of Houston’s Asian American community are heard, respected, and preserved for future generations.
Learn more about HAAA here.
