John Jung - Writer

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www.lulu.com/amazinggrace

had a wonderful chance to visit my home town, Macon, Georgia, which is the setting for Southern Fried Rice, and give a talk about the book at the Georgia Literary Festival. It was mind-boggling to see familiar sights, and the changes, in town, combined with a chance to meet people I had gone to school with about 50 years ago.

There was much interest in Southern Fried Rice and I got a warm receptive at the Festival. The next day I spoke about what Macon meant to me at the Unitarian Church which was kind enough to invite me to meet with them. Finally, on the third day of my visit, I got to meet with students and faculty at Mercer University to speak.

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John Jung
Professor of Psychology Emeritus
California State University, Long Beach
1250 Bellflower Blvd
Department of Psychology
Long Beach, California 90840
[e-mail]
samlee.squarespace.com

Life In A Chinese Laundry in the Deep South

This story explores why my parents came to America from China in the 1920s, and why we were the only Chinese living in Macon, Georgia. Our family operated a laundry in the Deep South at a time of strong racial discrimination. Southern Fried Rice describes what it was like growing up virtually isolated from contact and ties to Chinese people and culture, how we came to move to San Francisco to be with other Chinese Americans, and how that change affected us.

Many of my father's male relatives helped each other come from Guangdong villages in southeast China to the United States during the first half of the 20th century. Not surprisingly, they all settled in different but nearby cities and towns of the Deep South. At least 19 of them, including some descendants, operated laundries to survive. From these humble beginnings, their children were able to become successful professionals in many fields including architecture, astrophysics, dentisty, pharmacy, oncology, engineering, and psychology.

This story is about my family, but it deals with many of the problems that all immigrants and their children must face and overcome. I hope that by sharing this story, it will help promote better understanding and appreciation of their struggles.

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www.csulb.edu/~jrjung/

jrjung.tripod.com/

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www.moca-nyc.org/MoCA/pdf/uploads/Southern%20Fried%20Rice%20Flyer.pdf

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books.google.com/books?id=W1EsNyVSIRAC&dq=john+jung&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=FS3vPgQ4ed&sig=R2iRixAePrQRFT008UAgt66WStA#PPA1,M1

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sdchm.org

John Jung - Laundry Talks

Look at the newsletter page

San Diego Chinese History Museum Newsletter on page 6 has a nice summary of my visit there in Aug.