Bittersweet Roots:
The Chinese in California's Heartland

Produced by KVIE, Bitttersweet Roots is now available for purchase online for only $19.95. Click here to order.

The California Delta, in the heart of the state, is the only place in America where the Chinese have maintained a sustained presence for nearly a century and a half. Here, immigrants from China transformed swampland into one of the richest agricultural regions on earth. This is their story, about how they came and thrived despite hardship and discrimination, an experience that has been both bitter and sweet.

Narrated by Kelvin Han Yee, the story of "Bittersweet Roots" begins in the 1850s, when thousands of Chinese fortune-seekers from the southern provinces of China, rushed to "Gam San," or "Gold Mountain," to discover their future. Arriving in San Francisco, they quickly make their way to the mines more than 100 miles away.

Once arriving in the Central Valley, the Chinese immigrants looked up their clansmen for shelter, supplies, and directions to the gold fields. These new miners settled in the gold mining towns of Auburn, Placerville, Oroville, Grass Valley, and Nevada City to the north, and Angels Camp, Columbia, Coulterville, Chinese Camp, and Sonora to the south. With their strong work ethic, many Chinese workers without delay began working off the cost of their passage. Many ran across resentment from their competitors. This resentment lead to acts of violence against them. Thousands of Chinese miners digging at Horseshoe Bar, Mormon Bar, and Columbia, experienced prejudice and were driven out by white miners. Even the state government got into the act by imposing a Foreign Miner's Tax in 1850, paid for largely by Chinese miners. Discrimination against Chinese gold seekers and the difficulty of prospecting for the precious metal was discouraging. Fortunately many of the Chinese immigrants came with other skills to fall back on and soon began to move from the gold fields into services professions. After the mines played out, others found work from another type of rush that was emerging: the transcontinental railroad.

The labor force was low as a result of the Civil War when Charles Crocker - who was heading up the construction forces - enlisted the help of the Chinese despite current attitudes of discrimination at the time. From a first crew of 50 workers, the numbers of Chinese grew to some 11,000. They proved to be so valuable that when the number of local Chinese workers dwindled, Crocker began recruiting from China. Facing extreme conditions and grueling tasks, the Chinese quickly earned a reputation as diligent and capable workers. They pushed on and on May 10, 1869, the arduous task of completing the transcontinental railroad was complete.

For centuries the California delta was like a sponge - the land saturated with water from severe annual flooding. During the 1850s the United States government offered up millions of acres of this delta land as part of the Federal Swampland Act, and at very little cost for anyone who could reclaim it. By the 1870s, with the railroad built and Chinese workers now out of work, many came to the delta looking for opportunity. The Chinese filled this need and played a pivotal role in reclaimed the delta by building a complex system of levees, all the while establishing communities. The Chinese thrived in their newly formed communities and agricultural endeavors. Their enclave attracted many of their clansmen and at one time as many as 1500 people occupied the small town of Locke, all while Isleton and other delta towns also realized an influx in population. By the 1920s these areas were thriving with Chinese families. An important springboard came to the delta in 1921 through the School Law act allowing the establishment of segregated schools for children of Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Mongolian parentage. Educational segregation was challenged again and again by Chinese citizens, and in 1947, the California legislature repealed the segregation clause. While this opened schools to all children, the line drawn among cultural classes remained.

For the delta Chinese, in fact for all Chinese Americans, the Second World War was a turning point. The 1930s and 40s found many second generation Chinese Americans in uniform, with more than 20,000 serving in the U.S. armed force during the war. As much as they fought for America, Chinese Americans fought for the liberation of their ancestral homeland, which was already invaded by Japan. Chinese American involvement in the World War II resulted in the righting of a wrong. In 1943, the discriminatory 1882 Exclusion Act (which, among other restrictions, limited Chinese immigration to only those who had relatives in America) was finally repealed allowing them to take advantage of benefits available in the GI Bill of Rights. This newly found avenue to education signed up more than 8 million veterans for the program, including many of the Chinese Americans who served. Most Chinese Americans used the GI Bill to get their educations to become doctors, dentists, lawyers, and engineers, where someone could reach their potential without having to answer to a boss. This trend continues in today's Asian American families, with more than 42 percent of Asian Americans earning a bachelor's degree.

This epic story revisits a vital part of our region's history, through archival imagery, actor portrayed recreations, and personal family accounts, examines the powerful lesson of triumph over adversity that serves as an inspiration to us all.

"Bittersweet Roots," a production of public television station KVIE Channel 6, in Sacramento, California, was co-executive produced by KVIE President and General Manager David Hosley and InterACT President Dennis Yep.

About Narrator Kelvin Han Yee
Kelvin Han Yee accidentally stumbled into an audition at San Francisco's Asian American Theater Company (AATC). With no formal training Yee began electrifying local audiences, picking up a Bay Area Critics' Circle Award, a Dramalogue Award, and a San Francisco Bay Guardian Goldie. Yee's break finally came when he was picked to star in, "A Great Wall" (Orion Classics).

Yee honed his skills while performing in a number of productions with the American Conservatory Theater Company. Always willing to break new ground, Yee was the first Asian American in the acting company of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland in its 60-year history. Yee has performed in a number of productions for theatres, television, and movies. He has also directed, for San Francisco Stage & Film playwright Jeannie Barroga, the Asian American Theater Company, Each One Reach One Organization, and the Eureka Theater, where he is an Associate Artistic Director.

Underwriting for "Bittersweet Roots" Provided By

• C.C. Yin McDonald's
• General Mills of Lodi
• General Produce Company
• Frank Fat Foundation
• Yee Family
• East Lawn Memorial Park
• Monica Yeung and Adrian Arima
• Chinese American Council of Sacramento
• Ed and Jan Chow
• Roger and Florence Fong
• Monice Kwok and Craig Yamada
• and more than 100 other members of KVIE

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