Our Stories- In Search of a Homeland, the Story of a Pioneer Chinese Woman, Lai

Historian Li Yang shares the story of a remarkable immigrant woman and her successful struggle to survive in the American Southwest at the turn of the 20th Century. Lai Ngan was smuggled into America at a tender age in the 1870s and sold into bondage. While still a teenager, she was married off to a Chinese man who was 35 years her senior. She first journeyed from San Francisco to Sonora, Mexico, at the height of anti-Chinese sentiment in the U.S. Later, the family journeyed back to the U.S. on the eve of Mexican Revolution when anti-Chinese feelings there were brewing. They finally settled down in Tucson, Arizona, where the family prospered. Program in partnership with the Arizona Humanities. The Our Stories speaker series hosts speakers throughout the year to provide expert insight into the history of Chandler, the Valley and Arizona. Presentations in this series are presented by the Chandler Museum, Chandler Historical Society, Chandler Public Library and the City of Chandler Cultural Affairs Division, bringing arts, history and culture to Chandler residents and visitors.