An Editorial by Leonard Chan

In the past, whenever I would hear about a school or street being named for someone, I would wonder which I would prefer to have named after me. I thought having a school named after you at least insured that the school’s student body would be curious enough to make some effort to know and remember you. What an honor that would be and wouldn’t that be great? Now I’m not so sure.

If you haven’t heard about the controversial schools name change process taking place in San Francisco, read the San Francisco Chronicle’s article on the subject (Abraham Lincoln, once a hero, is now a bad guy in some S.F. education circles).

Upon recent movements to remove Confederate monuments and flags, some people that are against it make the argument that it would lead us down a slippery slope of other changes to come. I didn’t buy that argument. Confederate monuments and flags represented an insurrection against the United States, the institution of slavery that the rebellion sought to defend, and the racist and oppressive institutions that followed. They really need to be removed.

But now we’ve reached that slope and have fallen head first down the road of evaluating many others that we used to honor, even Abraham Lincoln.

You may ask how this is of any concern to Asian Americans. One of the marks against Lincoln in the San Francisco school board renaming committee’s finding was the passing of the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 which helped precipitate the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad (TCRR). The TCRR is seen as a contributor to loss of land and natural resources, as well as the loss of lifestyle and culture, for many Indigenous peoples. The building of the TCRR is also one of the major accomplishments that many Chinese and Asian Americans take pride in.

By Sylvia Yeh Kataoka

Reminiscing about my childhood, I can recall my parents saying: “Always be ready to pack your suitcase to travel and follow the path of luck no matter where it takes you.” They adopted this philosophy after they met with a seasoned fortune-teller who prophesied, “Go as far away as possible to become successful.” That is what my parents ingrained in me since I was six. My world was in disarray when I became a 3rd Culture Kid (TCK). A TCK is anyone who has experienced living in three uniquely different countries with contrasting expectations and cultural norms. Even though my father only had a 2nd-grade education, he took a leap of faith, secured a chef’s position in Hyogo, Japan, and left home with a mere $5 in his pocket. At the age of six, I accompanied my mother and brothers to join my father in Japan. I was the 21st generation in Taiwan and now I was leaving behind my grandparents who I hardly saw again.