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Tsiwen
M. Law Papers, 1931-1993
Collection 3019 © The Historical Society
of Pennsylvania 1300 Locust Street * Philadelphia, PA
19107 |
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Table of contents |
Abstract The Tsiwen M. Law papers document
the activities of Tsiwen Law, one of the leading
advocates for the Asian American community in the Philadelphia region. In
addition to being a practicing attorney, Law is an adjunct professor at both
the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University, and participates in
many Asian American organizations. This collection documents Law's
participation in these organizations through his personal and business
correspondence and various printed items. |
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Return to MANX: Manuscripts and Archives On-Line
Background note
Tsiwen Law was
born in Norwalk, Connecticut. Both his father and maternal grandfather
immigrated to the United States from China, although neither became U.S.
citizens. Law currently resides in Philadelphia, and is a trial attorney and
associate of the law firm of Hwang #38; Associates, P.C. He also teaches
courses on Asian American studies, on a part-time basis, at the University of
Pennsylvania and Temple University. Law is perhaps most visible in the
Philadelphia community through his work with various Asian American
organizations, such as the Pan Asian Association, the National Asian Pacific
American Bar Association, and the Mayor's Asian American Advisory Board.
Mayor
Wilson Goode organized the Mayor's Asian American Advisory Board in the fall of
1988. Thirteen Asian Americans, including Tsiwen Law,
were appointed to the board, but only after several years of demands by
Philadelphia's Asian American community for greater input in formulating city policy and representation in the city government. The first
meeting of the board was held on October 14, and was followed by regular
bi-monthly meetings with representatives of different city departments,
commissions, and agencies, including a monthly meeting with the Mayor.
At
the time of the board's first meeting there were approximately 100,000-150,000
Asian Americans living in Philadelphia, with significant numbers residing in
West Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, Olney, Logan, and Center City. The
board's general objectives were to serve as a liaison between the city
government and the community, promote ethnic
cooperation, and protect Asian Americans from discrimination. Specifically, the
board provided services for battered women, interpreters for recent immigrants,
medical and legal referrals, and served as a resource for recent Asian
immigrants. The board also held numerous meetings with the Philadelphia police
department to discuss the lack of police protection, police abuses, and
disregard for Asian American civil rights.
In
November 2001, Law was awarded the Northeast region Trail Blazer Award by the
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) for his work with the
Asian American community. In addition to recognizing the contributions already
mentioned above, Law was honored for being one of the founding members of the
NAPABA, chair of the Philadelphia Commission on Asian American Affairs,
governor of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and for "over 30 years of
unwavering respect to the Asian Pacific American community."
Scope and
content
The Tsiwen M. Law Papers document Law's activities in numerous
Asian American organizations, particularly the Mayor's Asian American Advisory
Board. The material includes correspondence, flyers, printed materials, and a
transcript of a round table conference on Asian civil rights issues for the
1990s. The third box of the collection is devoted almost entirely to
Congressional Bills from 1995 pertaining to immigration laws. These Bills
include the Immigration Control and Financial Responsibility Act, and the
Immigration Reform Act, with accompanying testimony by the National Asian
Pacific American Legal Consortium before the Senate Subcommittee on
Immigration. The collection is comprised of thirty-four folders arranged
chronologically within three archival boxes.
Administrative
information
Restrictions on
use
The
collection is open for research.
Preferred
citation
Cite
as: [Indicate item, box and folder #s here], Tsiwen
M. Law Papers (Collection 3019), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Provenance
Gift of Tsiwen M. Law.
Accession
numbers: Accession numbers: M91-11, M91-113, M91-117, M91-154, M92-38.
Processing
notes
Processed
by: Patrick Shea
Processing
Completed: May 2002
This
collection reflects the merger of several collections into one chronological
run. Since portions of each accession are now intermingled with each other, the
original accession numbers were recorded on each folder.
Additional
information
Related
material
Related
serials at HSP:
Chiao sheng jih pao,
(The Chinese Voice)
Hsin min
kuo pao, (The New Republic)
Min
ch'I jih pao, (Chinese Nationalist Daily)
San
min ch'en pao, (San Min Morning Paper)
Ta
hang kung pao, (The Chinese
Times)
Yellow
Seeds
Separated
material
Separated
to HSP library
Asian
American News, (May-October 1991)
Asian
Week, (November 1988-December 1991)
Rice, (August 1987 #38; February 1988)
Language(s)
represented
English.
Bibliography
The
Pennsylvania Gazette: Alumni Magazine of the University of Pennsylvania.
March/April 2002http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0302/0302notes.html
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Added entries Subjects ·
Asia-Library Resources-Directories ·
Asian American Families-Philadelphia, PA ·
Asian Americans-Employment-Philadelphia, PA ·
Bill, Legislative-United States of America ·
Civil Rights-United States of America ·
Immigrants--Asian-United States of America--Services for ·
Immigrants-Asian-United States of America--Housing ·
Immigrants-Asian-United
States of America--Legal Status, Laws, etc. ·
Indochinese Americans ·
Minorities-Education ·
Mutual Aid Societies-United States of America ·
New York, NY-Race Relations-Political Aspects ·
Philadelphia, PA-Race Relations-Political Aspects ·
United States of America-Emigration and Immigration ·
United States of America-Emigration and Immigration Law ·
United States of America-Race Relations-Political Aspects |
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Collection
inventory
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Tsiwen
M. Law, Papers |
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Note: * - Portion of text written in Vietnamese, Cambodian,
Laotian, or Chinese |
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Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, Booklet,
"Asians and their Neighbors: A Public Investigating Hearing" |
1984 |
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Box 1: 1 |
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Tsiwen Law, Correspondence |
1986-1989 |
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Box 1: 2 |
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Mayor's Asian American Advisory Board, Correspondence |
1986-1989 |
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Box 1: 3 |
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Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Booklets |
1986-1991 |
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Box 1: 4 |
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Philadelphia Department of Human Services, Directories |
1986-1991 |
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Box 1: 5 |
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Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Associations Coalition, Inc,
"Southeast Asian Business Directory" |
1987-1988 |
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Box 1: 6 |
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Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, Booklet, "The
State of Intergroup Harmony" |
1988 |
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Box 1: 7 |
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Tsiwen Law, Correspondence and Flyers,
pertaining to the 1990 Census * |
1988-1990 |
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Box 1: 8 |
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United States Commission on Civil Rights, Roundtable
Conference, Agenda and Statements |
23 June 1989 |
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Box 1: 9 |
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United States Commission on Civil Rights, Transcript of
Proceedings of Roundtable Conference on Asian Civil Right's Issues for the
1990s |
23 June 1989 |
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Box 1: 10 |
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Mayor's Asian American Advisory Board, Report |
7 Sept. 1989 |
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Box 1: 11 |
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"Report of the Mayor's Committee Investigating the
Protest Against Two Korean-Owned Groceries on Church Avenue in Brooklyn"
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30 August 1990 |
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Box 2: 1 |
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Inter-Agency Task Force on Civil Tension, Remarks of Dr Leah
Gaskin White |
29 Nov. 1990 |
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Box 2: 2 |
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Asian American Task Force, Report on the State of Asian
American Affairs in Pennsylvania |
1990 |
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Box 2: 3 |
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Mayor's Asian American Advisory Board, Correspondence (1 of 5)
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1990 |
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Box 2: 4 |
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Mayor's Asian American Advisory Board, Correspondence (2 of 5)
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1990 |
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Box 2: 5 |
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Mayor's Asian American Advisory Board, Correspondence (3 of 5)
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1990 |
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Box 2: 6 |
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Mayor's Asian American Advisory Board, Correspondence (4 of 5)
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1990 |
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Box 2: 7 |
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Mayor's Asian American Advisory Board, Correspondence (5 of 5)
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1990 |
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Box : 28 |
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Newspaper Clippings, Naturalization Laws |
1990 |
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Box 2: 9 |
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Temple University Institute for Public Policy Studies,
Booklet, "Race Relations in Philadelphia" |
Jan. 1990 |
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Box 2: 10 |
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Pan Asian Association of Greater Philadelphia, Booklet,
"Asian-Americans in the 1990s" |
4 May 1990 |
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Box 2: 11 |
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Mayor's Commission on Asian/Pacific American Affairs,
Correspondence |
1990-1991 |
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Box 2: 12 |
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Miscellaneous Flyers, Newspaper Clippings and Meeting Agendas,
pertaining to Asian American Race Relations |
1990-1991 |
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Box 2: 13 |
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Asian American Organizations, Newsletters * |
1990-1991 |
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Box 2: 14 |
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Newspaper Clippings, Anti-Asian Violence in Philadelphia |
1990-1992 |
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Box 3: 1 |
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Newspaper and Magazine Articles, pertaining to Ethnic Labels
and Stereotypes |
1991 |
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Box 3: 2 |
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House Bill 4, Family Self-Sufficiency Act of 1995 |
1995 |
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Box 3: 3 |
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Immigration Reform Act of 1995, Correspondence (1 of 2) |
1995 |
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Box 3: 4 |
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Immigration Reform Act of 1995, Correspondence (2 of 2) |
1995 |
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Box 3: 5 |
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Senate Bill 269, Immigration Control and Financial
Responsibility Act of 1995 |
1995 |
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Box 3: 6 |
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Senate Bill 390, The Omnibus Counter Terrorism Act of 1995 |
1995 |
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Box 3: 7 |
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Senate Bill 1120, Work Opportunity Act of 1995 |
1995 |
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Box 3: 8 |
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Senate Bill 1394, Immigration Reform Act of 1995 |
1995 |
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Box 3: 9 |
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