Asians Out Loud: Katherine Sui Fun Cheung

Today, I'm going to highlight one of my very favorite Asian American firsts. Her name was Katherine Sui Fun Cheung and she was the very first Asian American female pilot in the United States!

Katherine Cheung: 1st Asian American Aviatrix

Talk about amazing. In a time when race and sexism were hurdles many women could not break through, Katherine opened her wings and took flight.

Born in China in 1904, Katherine joined her father in America at the age of 17, studying music at the University of Southern California. During that time, her father had agreed to teach her how to drive, which was a rarity in the 1920's.

Luck would have it that Katherine's father brought her to an empty parking lot next to the Dycer Airfield to practice her driving skills. As she watched the airplanes land and take off from across the field, Katherine's love for aviation was born.

She was a very quick learner and after merely 12 1/2 hours of flight lessons, she took her first solo flight. By 1932, Katherine earned her pilot's license, making her a member of an elite group of aviatrix (only 1% of licensed pilots in America were women at that time).

As one can probably gathered from her determination to break society's rules, Katherine decided to continue her flight career as a Barnstorming pilot. What does that mean? It meant that during the 1930's Katherine travelled to towns across America going to fair after fair, performing dare devil stunts. She took part in acrobatic loops, barrel rolls, spiral dives and even flying her open cockpit plane upside down. How amazing. She was a true adventurer.

By 1936, Katherine was invited to join the prestigious Ninety Nines Club, which was an international group of female pilots founded by Amelia Earhart. Katherine and Amelia forged a great friendship and she was devastated when Amelia disappeared over the Pacific.

Ninety Nines Club
(Bottom 3rd from left) Amelia Earhart (Top 2nd from left) Katherine Cheung

Katherine was also very much involved with the Chinese community and was a good friend of the Hollywood actress Anna May Wong. During the war, Anna May Wong helped raise the funds to purchase a Ryan ST plane for Katherine in hopes of providing aid to the Chinese resistance against the Japanese. Unfortunately, Katherine's cousin crashed and died in the new Ryan ST while pulling a prank. Katherine never made it to China, promising her father she would never fly again.

Katherine did fly a few more times after her father passed away, but she soon settled into daily life. She has been inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame, the Museum of Flying's International Women in Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum as well as other honors.

She once said in an interview:

There's no feeling like it in the world......being up in the air, the wind blowing, the exhilaration....that's my definition of joy. It's complete freedom. You haven't lived until you've truly felt that.

Katherine is a truly inspirational woman.....I want my children, especially my girls, to know that they too can achieve things, even when society frowns upon it.....have courage and passion to follow your dreams. You never know where it can take you.

Who inspires you?

Asians Out Loud: Dr. Sammy Lee

Dr. Sammy Lee is the first Asian American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States.

Sammy was born on August 1, 1920 in Fresno, California and is of Korean descent. At the age of twelve, he dreamed of becoming a diver.

Unfortunately, due to racial discrimination, people of color were only allowed to use the pool one day a week (Wednesday.....the day before they drained the pool for cleaning). However, this did not keep Sammy from working toward his goal of becoming an Olympian.

His coach dug him a pit in the backyard and filled it with sand......and that is where he practiced during the week until the following Wednesday.

Despite the hurdles and racial discrimination he faced, Sammy fulfilled his dreams. He won his first gold medal in the 10 meter platform dive and then a bronze medal in the 3 meter springboard during the 1948 London Olympics. He then returned to the Olympics in 1952 and won his second gold medal in  the 10 meter platform dive, making him the first man ever to win back to back gold medal in Olympic platform diving.

After the Olympics, Sammy went on to become an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor and served in the United States Army Medical Corps during the Korean War.

Later, he coached the US diving team, mentoring future Olympians such as Greg Louganis, and he is a member of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

 Sammy's story is a powerful one that shows us what we can do if we only keep trying. Will power and determination will help break through barriers and set new standards for future generations.

Thank you Sammy!

Asians Out Loud ~ Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai

I have decided to kick off Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with a poem by the Chinese-Taiwanese American def jam poetess Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai.

Like Kelly, I'm a Chinese American....or as we sometimes call ourselves, an ABC (American Born Chinese). My parents were both born in Mainland China and then fled to Taiwan during the war. After graduating college, my parents decided to come to the United States to live the American Dream.

Throughout my childhood, I have struggled with my identity.....my ethnic background and growing up Chinese in America. I never felt that I truly fit in....not in America and sure as heck not in China or Taiwan.  I just wanted to feel like I belonged.

For most of my adolescent life I felt as if I were teetering between two colliding worlds, and it was hard for me.....the racism that I encountered and the uneasy feeling that I would never really be accepted because of the way I look weighed heavily on me. It has taken me awhile....but I have learned to embrace everything that has made me the person I am today.

I am me
I am American

Click below to here an interview with Kelly from the HBO documentary East of Main Street: Asians Aloud. Kelly shares a little bit about herself and recites a one of her poems that I feel captures the emotions/thoughts that I have felt growing up Asian in America.





Do you have a def jam poet that you enjoy?

National Asian Pacific Heritage Month

YES! There is a month dedicated to the Asian & Pacific Islanders of America and it is celebrated during the month of May.

The Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

How many of you knew that this existed?

Back in 1978, Congress had passed a resolution to commemorate the Asian American Heritage week during the first week of May. Two factors played in the choosing of this week. First, it marked the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants on May 7th, 1843 and secondly, it marked the completion of the  transcontinental railroad by the Chinese on May 10, 1869. It was later decided in 1990, by President Bush, to expand the celebration to span the entire month of May....and so we now have the National Asian Pacific American Heritage month.

There are many festivals that will be taking place during this month all over the United States, so if you get the chance, do a little research ~ you might find one near you.

If you are in the New York area, there will be two festivals held. One on May 4th in Flushing and one on May 18th in Chinatown. You can get more information here at CAPA Online.

If you are interested and near Washington, DC, there will be a festival on May 18th, 2013. The festival will showcase a variety of things, such as art, food, performances and many other multi-cultural and interactive displays.

I have decided that during this month, I will highlight some famous and not so famous Asian Pacific Americans and give my readers some tidbits of Asian American culture. There are so many things that I never learned in history class, and I think that it's always a good thing to learn a little about the those who have contributed to the history of the United States.

I hope you join me this month.

You can also read more about APA Heritage month by visiting the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center