Arkansas Chinese Heritage Project

INTERVIEW GUIDE for participants in “Arkansas Chinese Heritage” 

Lead Researchers: Dr. Zach Smith, zsmith@uca.edu; Dr. Yifeng Hu hu@tcnj.edu

*Note: The below list of questions—grouped according to theme—represents potential topics to be covered as part of the oral history interviews associated with the “Arkansas Chinese Heritage” project. This list of questions was developed in collaboration with members of the Arkansas Chinese community. Everyone’s story is different, and thus some questions may be more relevant to your experience than others. 

ORIGINS: When and how did members of your family first come to the US?  How many generations of your family have lived in the US? What do you know about your family’s previous history in China? Why and how did they end up in Arkansas?

THE FAMILY HOME: When your family first arrived in Arkansas, where did you live? Did your family stay with relatives or friends? Did you live in a separate home, or did you reside in the family business? When did your family decide to have a separate home instead of living in or adjacent to the store?

THE FAMILY STORE: If your family had a grocery or cash store, what are your memories of the store? What kind of products did the store sell? What were the hours of operation? Did you work there, and if so, what kind of jobs did you do? Did anyone outside of your family work in the store? Did your family’s store face any major hardships? If the store is now closed, when and how did it close?

COMMUNITY: What are your memories of the community members who shopped at the store? How did your family relate to white, black, and/or other communities in your town? Were you a member of a religious group? Did you join any Chinese American Associations or Organizations? Did you or a family member enlist in the armed services, and if so, what motivated you to do so? What were your (or their) experiences? 

SCHOOL: What was your school experience like? Where there any other Chinese students in your class? How were you affected by racism among your classmates and/or teachers? Where did you struggle during your school experience, and where did you excel? What kind of emphasis did your family place on education and schooling? Did you attend college? What influenced your decision to go? What did you choose for a major and why? How was your college community different from your hometown in Arkansas?

CHINESE CULTURE: Did your family have any interactions with other Chinese families in Arkansas? What Chinese holidays or traditions did your family observe? Were any specific taboos or superstitions practiced in your home? Was Chinese spoken at home? Did you have access to any formal education in Chinese language or culture? Did you family typically eat Chinese food, and if so, how did you source the ingredients? Conversely, did your parents ever cook “American” food? Did you ever have to help members of your family navigate language or cultural barriers? What Chinese values felt most important to you then and now?

LEGACY: What do you most want future generations of your family and future generations of Arkansans to know about your experience growing up in Arkansas? What does it mean to you to be Chinese American? What do you think made your experience different from that of other Chinese Americans, either on the west coast or in large cities? How would you like to see the history of Arkansas Chinese families preserved? Are there any other individuals that you think we should interview for this project?