William Yukon Chang papers, 1920-2010

Collection context

Creator:
Chang, William Yukon, 1916-2019
Abstract:
William Yukon Chang was the founder and editor of "Chinese-American Times", a Chinese American paper that published completely in English from 1955 to 1972. While running the newspaper, Chang also served in local social and civic groups to address issues facing the New York Chinatown community, including poverty, juvenile delinquency, mental illness and lack of access to adult language programs. The William Yukon Chang papers document Chang's life and career, Chinese American life, and social service and activism scene in the Lower East Side from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Extent:
46 Linear Feet 27 record cartons, 5 flat boxes, and 2 small gray boxes
Language:
English, Chinese, Spanish (Material is primarily in English with some items in Chinese and very few in Spanish)
Scope and content:

The William Yukon Chang papers contains a variety of materials that document Chang's life and career.The collection holds many of Chang's China Press columns and a scrapbook that Chang made using clippings from the Ching Chow comics published by the News Syndicate Co. Inc. The collection documents Chang's personal life with its extensive holding of photographs and scrapbooks related to his family and life in Honolulu, Shanghai, and New York. There are also rare photos of the Tang family in different parts of China, as well as yearbooks and scrapbooks that pertain to May Tang's travels and schooling in the United States.The collection's CAT series consists of every issue of the newspaper (except February 1965), voluminous correspondence, photographs and subscribers index, and advertisement printing plates, checks and receipts. The collection's newspaper and magazine clippings, organizational memorandums, meeting minutes, and reports, journals, business directories, and photographs offer insights into Chinese American life and social service and activism in post-World War II Lower East Side. The papers also includes community studies and reports on issues such as education, housing, juvenile delinquency, mental health and substance abuse.

Biographical / historical:

William Yukon Chang was the founder and editor of "Chinese-American Times", a Chinese American paper that published completely in English. A Chinese American from Hawai'i, Chang graduated from St. John's University in Shanghai. After college, he worked for the Republic of China's news agency and the popular English-language China Press. As the Chinese civil war raged, Chang returned to the U.S. and earned an M.A. in education from New York University. He married Tang Kou Mei, the first daughter of the Nationalist general Tang Enbo and an exchange student at St. Mary's College, Winona in 1952 and raised three daughters, Dallas, Marina and Priscilla. He began publishing the CAT (as it became known) in 1955. By focusing on community betterment and staying politically neutral, William Yukon Chang kept his newspaper going until the early 1970s. By that point, many in the English-speaking second generation had moved out of New York City, as so many people did during this period. Because of the Immigration Act of 1965, thousands of new Chinese immigrants–at the time mostly from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia–were making New York their home, but they sought Chinese-language papers rather than English ones. And by the early 1970s, Chang had been writing, editing, and publishing the paper for almost two decades, so he eventually decided to end the CAT's run. While running the newspaper, Chang also served in local social and civic groups, including Tsung Tsin Benevolent Association, the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, Hamilton-Madison House, and Manhattan Borough President's Planning Board No.1.

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection has no restrictions, but box 30 and box 33 are closed for further processing.

This collection is located onsite.

Terms of access:

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Curator of Manuscripts/University Archivist, Rare Book and Manuscript Library (RBML). The RBML approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Reproductions may be made for research purposes.

Preferred citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); William Yukon Chang Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Location of this collection:
6th Floor East Butler Library
535 West 114th Street
New York, NY 10027, USA
Before you visit:
Researchers interested in viewing materials in the RBML reading room must must book an appointment at least 7 days in advance. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to 5 items per day.
Contact:
rbml@library.columbia.edu