MOCA Luminaries 2026To Celebrate Chinese American Historymakers at the Semiquincentennial

New York, N.Y. (January 14, 2026) – In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, MOCA will dedicate 2026 to celebrating the enduring contributions of Chinese Americans. Through special exhibitions, public programs, performances, and storytelling, MOCA will be honoring Chinese American historymakers not included on the official list created for the National Garden of American Heroes in Washington, D.C. The MOCA Luminaries for America250 span historical eras and pursuits, but they are all individuals who are deserving of recognition for upholding and embodying American ideals of equality, fairness, inclusivity, hard work, civility and creativity. See the complete list below.

The Luminaries, compiled by MOCA staff and scholarly advisors, includes those who are already household names like Bruce Lee and I.M. Pei, to more obscure figures like Dr. Faith Sai So Leong, the first Chinese American woman to be a licensed dentist. We recognize individuals who played a central role in major historical events like Vincent Chin and Mamie Tape as well as some of the first documented Chinese in America like Afong Moy, brought to New York to help sell Chinese products in the mid-19th century and Ashing, Achun, and Accun, crew members aboard a merchant ship that landed in Baltimore in 1785. The MOCA Luminaries have a local flavor with Chinatown legends like influential community leaders Harold Lee, Chin Suey Bing, and Shui Mak Ka, a key organizer of the 1982 Chinatown garment workers’ strike.

Herb Tam, MOCA’s Chief Curator notes that the list should be understood as a starting point for discussion and a work in progress, not a comprehensive lineup. “We would love to hear from folks and learn new stories,” Tam says. “Who was left off? What qualities should be associated with being an American Hero? As we celebrate this significant national birthday, the questions of who should be recorded in its history and how to define who is American are as pressing and urgent as ever.”

Our year of semiquincentennial programming includes biographical exhibitions about award-winning children’s book illustrator Ed Young (opening in May) and Hollywood icon Anna May Wong (opening in October). In the spring, we will be unveiling a newly-donated mural by seminal Asian American artist Dong Kingman. For AAPI Heritage Month in May, we will be exploring the multi-faceted life of activist Wong Chin Foo through a one-man performance by Richard Chang. 

“The absence of figures like Wong Chin Foo, Wong Kim Ark, Mamie Tape, Bruce Lee, Anna May Wong, Mabel Lee and others from official recognition in the Garden of American Heroes prompted us to consider who else was deserving and how MOCA could highlight the historic contributions of Chinese Americans,” says MOCA President Michael Lee. “From helping to establish equal rights for all in the 19th century to advancing science and technology in the 20th century to shaping arts and culture throughout American history, Chinese in America have contributed in formative and foundational ways to American society. Too often, their contributions have taken place behind the scenes, receiving little acknowledgment despite significant challenges of their times.”

Subscribe to our newsletter at this link and follow us on socialmedia@mocanyc for updates about MOCA Luminaries for America250 programming. 

Programs

Exhibitions:

  • Ed Young’s Bright Worlds (working title): Solo exhibition of the pioneering children’s book illustrator, opening in May 2026.

  • Unmasking Anna May Wong: Biographical exhibition detailing the work and legacy of  Hollywood’s first Asian American star (originating at the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles), opening in October 2026.

  • Unveiling of East Meets West: Mural from the 1950s by famed artist Dong Kingman to be featured in MOCA’s core exhibition, With A Single Step: Stories in the Making of America.

  • Wish Wall: Participatory project prompting visitors to share their hopes for America on its 250th birthday.

Public Programs and Performances:

  • Wong Chin Foo: American Rebel: Performance by Richard Chang in May 2026, based on a comic book about the early Chinese American activist’s multifaceted life.

  • Crouching Dub, Hidden Riddim: Live music program set against a collage of martial arts films, celebrating the legacies of iconic martial arts masters, including Bruce Lee.

  • Legacy Talk Series: Spotlight on Pan Asian Repertory Theatre: Celebrating nearly five decades of artistic excellence and lasting impact on Asian American theater.

  • Performance Artists-in-Residence Final Presentations: New work inspired and informed by research into the MOCA Collections.

  • Echoes of Arrival: Evocative and emotional stories of immigration journeys.

Family Programs:

  • Footsteps We Follow: Yung Wing’s Life & Legacy: A collaboration with Yung Wing School P.S. 124 combining history and art, culminating in a student-created exhibition on the school’s namesake.

  • Family Journeys: A gallery program for 4th–7th graders exploring the lives of six Chinese Americans, from railroad worker Hong Lai Wo to WASP pilot Hazel Ying Lee.

  • Hidden Voices: Wong Chin Foo: A virtual school program exploring the life of Wong Chin Foo, a Chinese American immigrant, journalist, and activist.

  • MOCA Heroes: A series of non-fiction student magazines exploring the lives of Chinese American trailblazers like Yung Wing and Maya Lin.

Online Resources:

  • Flowers for Luminaries: Social media posts throughout the year highlighting MOCA Luminaries on their birthdays.

  • Dedicated Webpage: An online platform for sharing the Luminaries’ stories and related artifacts in the MOCA Collection.

 

MOCA Luminaries for America250

Art & Architecture

  • Bernice BING – Artist and community arts activist who blended Abstract Expressionism with Chinese calligraphy.

  • Hsueh-Tung CHEN (H.T. Chen) – Choreographer and dancer who founded H.T. Chen & Dancers, focusing on Asian American experiences.

  • Nai-Ni CHEN – Dancer and choreographer who founded a dance company fusing Chinese traditions with American modern dance.

  • Fay CHIANG – Poet, visual artist, and executive director of the Basement Workshop, a pivotal Asian American arts collective.

  • CHOU Wen-Chung – Composer who bridged Chinese and Western musical traditions and was a protégé of Edgard Varèse.

  • Yun GEE – Modernist painter known for his vibrant depictions of daily life and for founding the Chinese Revolutionary Artists’ Club.

  • Dong KINGMAN – Influential watercolor painter and educator known for his vivid depictions of urban landscapes.

  • Clarence LEE – Designer of the Chinese zodiac stamps for the United States Postal Service.

  • Corky LEE – Photographer and activist, and the "undisputed, unofficial Asian American Photographer Laureate."

  • Dai-Keong LEE – Composer of contemporary classical music who incorporated Hawaiian and Chinese themes.

  • Ming Cho LEE – Legendary theatrical set designer whose innovative work revolutionized American stage design.

  • Poy Gum LEE – Architect who designed significant Art Deco and Chinese-style buildings in New York City and Shanghai.

  • Yen LIANG – Architect, one of the first students of Frank Lloyd Wright, contributed to the design of many buildings, most notably the UN building in New York and First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, CT.

  • Alfred H. LIU – Architect and advocate for Washington, D.C.'s Chinatown.

  • Hung LIU – Artist whose work reflected a complex understanding of the Chinese American experience.

  • Ieoh Ming PEI (I.M. PEI) – Pritzker Prize-winning master architect known for iconic modernist structures like the Louvre Pyramid.

  • TSENG Kwong-Chi – Artist known for his East Meets West self-portraits, in which he wore a Mao suit against iconic Western backdrops.

  • Jade Snow WONG – Ceramicist and author of the seminal memoir Fifth Chinese Daughter.

  • Martin WONG – Painter whose detailed, poetic works documented urban life, queer identity, and Chinatown.

  • Worley WONG – Modernist architect active on the West Coast in the postwar era.

  • Ed YOUNG – Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator and author known for his profound and textured picture books.

  • ZHANG Shuqi – Popularized traditional Chinese painting in America as part of cultural diplomacy during WWII.

Film & Entertainment

  • Ah Ming – Drag performer in late-19th-century San Francisco.

  • Chang and Eng BUNKER – Conjoined twins who toured America as a curiosity and later became naturalized citizens and plantation owners.

  • Christine CHOY – Shanghai-born filmmaker known for Who Killed Vincent Chin?, Sa-I-Gu, and other Asian American-focused films.

  • Ming Chu HOHLOCH – Noted "China Doll" nightclub dancer in San Francisco's Forbidden City nightclub.

  • Esther ENG – Pioneering filmmaker and the first Chinese American woman to direct Hollywood films in the 1930s.

  • Willie FUNG – Character actor who appeared in over 100 films, often providing comic relief.

  • James Wong HOWE – Legendary, Academy Award-winning cinematographer known for his innovative lighting and camera-work.

  • Bruce LEE – Global icon who revolutionized martial arts cinema and popularized Chinese martial arts worldwide.

  • Coco LEE – Internationally celebrated singer and actress, recognized as the first Chinese singer to break into the U.S. pop market.

  • LEE Tung Foo (Frank LEE) – First Chinese American performer in Vaudeville.

  • James B. LEONG – Actor, director, and producer in early Hollywood and Chinatown cinema.

  • Keye LUKE – Actor best known for playing "Number One Son" Lee Chan in the Charlie Chan films and Master Po on Kung Fu.

  • Lady Tsen MOY (Josephine Augusta MOY) – Actress and singer who starred in early Chinese-language films produced in the United States.

  • Wood MOY – Actor best known for playing the lead in Wayne Wang's groundbreaking independent film Chan Is Missing.

  • Frank TANG – Filmmaker and cinematographer for the U.S. Information Agency and director of the film The Mountain Road.

  • Stanley TOY – Tap dancer known in his day as the Chinese Fred Astaire.

  • Anna May WONG – The first Chinese American film star in Hollywood, achieving international fame in silent and sound films.

  • Jadin WONG – Dancer, actress, and talent agent who ran a successful agency booking Asian American performers.

  • Tyrus WONG – Painter and Disney concept artist whose influential brushwork defined the visual style of Bambi.

  • Coby YEE – Forbidden City performer and burlesque star.

  • Soo YONG – Actress who explained Mei Lanfang's performances to audiences during his 1930 U.S. tour; also acted in numerous Hollywood films, including The Good Earth.

  • Olive YOUNG – Actress, contemporary of Anna May Wong, who performed in both the United States and China.

Politics & Law

  • Chang APANA – Early Hawaiian Chinese police detective who was supposedly the inspiration for the Charlie Chan book series.

  • Sau Ung Loo CHAN – The first Asian American woman to practice law in Hawaii and a legal reformer.

  • Cheryl CHOW – Educator and the first Asian American woman and openly lesbian member of the Seattle City Council.

  • William Jack CHOW – The first Chinese American to serve as a city deputy district attorney (in San Francisco in the 1930s).

  • March Fong EU – Politician who became the first Asian American woman elected to the California State Assembly and later served as Secretary of State.

  • Hiram FONG – Attorney and politician who became the first Asian American U.S. Senator, representing Hawaii.

  • Benjamin GIM – The first Asian American lawyer to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court and a founder of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF).

  • Ming Chen HSU – Former Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission under President George H. W. Bush.

  • Lim P. LEE – The first Chinese American appointed as Postmaster of San Francisco (under President Lyndon B. Johnson). At the time, this made him the highest-ranking Chinese American in the federal government after Senator Hiram Fong.

  • SUN Yat-sen – Founder of the Republic of China (ROC) and the Kuomintang Party (KMT) who lived in Hawaii and built support for his political movement in Chinatowns across America.

  • Thomas H. LEE – The first Chinese American assistant U.S. attorney in New York (in the 1950s).

  • Harry LOW – The first Asian American judge in San Francisco.

  • Wing LUKE – Seattle City Council member and the first Chinese American elected to public office in the Pacific Northwest.

  • Cheng LUNG – An early 20th century Chinese American civic leader and merchant in San Francisco.

  • Wing F. ONG – The first Chinese American elected to a U.S. state legislature (in Arizona, 1946).

  • William D. SOO HOO – The first Chinese American elected as a mayor in California in Oxnard in the 1960s.

  • Delbert E. WONG – The first Chinese American judge appointed in the continental United States. 

  • Richard WONG – An accomplished lawyer in Manhattan's Chinatown who helped many individuals and families immigrate and naturalize as U.S. citizens.

Military

  • Danny CHEN – U.S. Army infantryman whose death from hazing prompted military justice reforms.

  • Arthur CHIN – Pioneering American fighter pilot who flew for the Chinese Air Force against Japan before World War II.

  • Hung Wai CHING – Hawaiian community leader and businessman who was a crucial advocate for Hawaii’s Japanese Americans during World War II.

  • Gordon CHUNG-HOON – U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and recipient of the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism as a destroyer commander in World War II.

  • Ernest K.H. ENG – U.S. Army officer who served as General George C. Marshall’s aide-de-camp on his crucial 1946 mission to China.

  • Maggie GEE – One of two Chinese American women to serve as pilots in the World War II Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).

  • Yuen HOP – Army Staff Sergeant, one of the highest-ranked Chinese American servicemembers, killed in action during World War II.

  • Sing KEE (Lau Sing KEE) – Distinguished Service Cross recipient for his valor during World War I who later became a New York City community leader.

  • Benjamin Ralph KIMLAU – Bomber pilot in the Pacific Theater of World War II who died in combat.

  • Hazel Ying LEE – Pioneering aviator who broke barriers as a Chinese American woman flying for the World War II Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).

  • Ruth Koesun MOY – Recipient of the Medal of Freedom in 1951 for assisting U.S. intelligence agents in occupied Shanghai, where she lived during World War II.

  • Joseph L. PIERCE – Soldier who served with the Union Army's 14th Connecticut Infantry during the American Civil War.

  • Emily Lee SHEK – A New York City-born pioneer Chinese American member of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in World War II. 

  • SUN Li-jen – National Revolutionary Army general during the Sino-Japanese War who studied and trained in the United States.

  • Francis Brown WAI – U.S. Army captain awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the recapture of the Philippines in World War II.

  • General WEN Ying Hsing – Chinese military officer who served as a military attaché and liaison to the U.S. during World War II.

  • Jack Theodore YOUNG – Hawaii-born explorer and soldier who was crucial to KMT-CCP negotiations during the Chinese Civil War. 

Activism and Social Justice

  • Grace Lee BOGGS – Philosopher and lifelong activist for civil rights, labor, and Black empowerment.

  • CHAE Chan Ping – Chinese laborer who was denied re-entry into the U.S. and challenged the Scott Act in the Supreme Court.

  • Vincent CHIN – Detroit engineer whose racially motivated murder in 1982 galvanized a national Asian American civil rights movement.

  • Lily CHIN – Advocate for justice who rallied support in the aftermath of her son Vincent’s murder.

  • Mary FOO – Longtime New York Chinatown resident who became a prominent figure in women’s activism and fundraising during the Sino-Japanese War and World War II.

  • Chew HEONG – Chinese laborer who won an 1884 Supreme Court challenge after being denied re-entry into the U.S., an early victory for Chinese immigrants during the Exclusion era.

  • Y.C. HONG – Longtime leader in the Chinese American Citizens Alliance (CACA) and a pioneering immigration attorney in California.

  • Shui Mak KA – Garment worker and key organizer of the historic 1982 New York Chinatown garment workers’ strike.

  • Mabel LEE – Suffragist and community leader who organized New York Chinatown’s 1912 women’s suffrage parade.

  • Clara Elizabeth Chan LEE – First Chinese American woman to register to vote in the U.S. in 1911.

  • Tye LEUNG – Advocate and the first Chinese American woman to vote in a U.S. federal election in 1912.

  • Walter U. LUM – Longtime leader in the Chinese American Citizens Alliance (CACA) and advocate for Chinese American civil rights.

  • NG Poon Chew – Journalist and activist for Chinese American civil rights.

  • Fong Yue TING – Chinese immigrant detained in New York City for not having a certificate of residence, whose case was petitioned to the Supreme Court.

  • Alice WONG – Disability rights activist, founder of the Disability Visibility Project, and policy advocate.

  • Wong Chin FOO – Lecturer, journalist, and activist who published the first Chinese American newspaper and advocated for civil rights.

  • Kent WONG – Labor and immigrant rights advocate who argued for non-violence in social movement work.

  • WONG Kim Ark – Plaintiff in the landmark 1898 Supreme Court case that established birthright citizenship for all persons born in the United States.
     

Education

  • Iris CHANG – Bestselling author and historian who brought global attention to the Nanjing Massacre.

  • Yuen Ren CHAO – Scholar and educator who advanced the study of Chinese linguistics.

  • Peter KWONG – Distinguished professor and author whose work focused on Chinese American labor, immigration history, and Chinatown.

  • Him Mark LAI – Renowned "Dean of Chinese American Studies," a self-taught historian who preserved vast archives of community history.

  • T. Kong LEE – Likely the first Chinese American to serve as a university president, leading Lincoln University in the Bay Area during the 1970s.

  • Irma Tam SOONG – Founder of the Hawaii Chinese History Center and longtime educator.

  • Betty Lee SUNG – Author and professor whose pioneering research and writing helped establish the field of Asian American studies.

  • Mary, Joe, and Mamie TAPE – Family who challenged school segregation in California in the 1885 case Tape v. Hurley, which affirmed the right of all children to a public education.

  • Theodora Chan WANG – Founder of the Chinese Women’s Association, one of the first women's organizations that facilitated an active role for Chinese American women in fundraising for the war effort.

  • Yung WING – Educator and diplomat who became the first Chinese student to graduate from an American university (Yale, 1854).

  • Philomena WOO – A resident of 33-35 Mott Street, she was a noted philanthropist in her community and the first Chinese Catholic to receive the burial rites of Transfiguration Church in New York City.

Literature

  • William Yukon CHANG – Publisher of the Chinese-American Times, the first English-language newspaper for Chinese Americans.

  • C.Y. LEE – Author best known for his bestselling novel The Flower Drum Song, which was adapted into a Broadway musical and film.

  • Dai-ming LEE – Political activist who edited papers in Hawaii before taking over the widely read Chinese World and making it bilingual.

  • Yan Phou LEE (LI Enfu) – Author of When I Was a Boy in China (1887), one of the first books published in English by a Chinese American.

  • George Kin LEUNG – New Jersey-born translator of Chinese drama and literature into English.

  • LIN Yutang – Prolific writer, translator, and inventor whose books interpreted Chinese culture for Western audiences.

  • H.T. TSIANG – Innovative novelist, poet, and playwright whose radical works explored the immigrant experience.

  • Gilbert WOO – Popular Chinese Times columnist and later publisher of the Chinese-Pacific Weekly from the 1940s to 1970s. 

  • Judy YUNG – Historian and author renowned for her oral history work documenting the lives of Chinese American women.

Business & Entrepreneurship

  • Ashing, Achun, and Accun – Early 18th century Chinese merchant brothers who traded in Salem, Massachusetts, and Guangzhou.

  • Joyce CHEN – Pioneering TV cooking personality and cookbook author who popularized and taught Chinese cuisine in America.

  • Cecilia CHIANG – Restaurateur who introduced Mandarin cuisine to America through her legendary San Francisco restaurant, The Mandarin.

  • Ruby FOO – Restaurateur in New York City, Boston, and elsewhere, and a culinary and business mentor.

  • Tony HSIEH – Co-founder and CEO of Zappos, the online footwear and fashion shopping platform.

  • Harold LEE – Founder of Harold L. Lee and Sons, Inc., a multi-pronged business in early Manhattan Chinatown.

  • Shavey LEE – Co-owner of a business license brokerage firm and the restaurant Tung Sai in early 20th century New York Chinatown and widely acknowledged as the unofficial Mayor of Chinatown.

  • Afong MOY – First known Chinese woman in the United States, brought for exhibition as a commercial curiosity in the 1830s.

  • Ching SHAI – Pioneering and prominent Chinese Hawaiian businessman; one of the founders of the China Mail Steamship Co., Chinese American Bank (Hawaii), and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Honolulu.

  • Joe SHOONG – Founder of the National Dollar Stores in California and one of the first Chinese American millionaires.

  • Tie SING – Head chef for the U.S. Geological Survey expeditions in Yosemite.

  • Jun Tsei TAI (J.T. TAI) – Philanthropist and early 20th-century dealer of Chinese art.

  • Gerald TSAI – Pioneering mutual fund manager and investor who became a Wall Street icon in the 1960s.

  • Charles B. WANG – Co-founder and CEO of Computer Associates International and a major philanthropist.

 

Science and Health

  • Min Chueh CHANG – Reproductive biologist whose pioneering research was essential to the development of the oral contraceptive pill and in vitro fertilization.

  • Margaret Jessie CHUNG – The first known American-born Chinese female physician and a supporter of the WWII "Flying Tigers."

  • Ing “Doc” HAY – Renowned practitioner of Chinese herbal medicine in the American West during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

  • Dr. Stephen HU – Pioneer in malaria control. 

  • Tsung-Dao LEE & Chen Ning YANG – Nobel Prize-winning physicists who theoretically disproved the law of parity in particle physics.

  • Dr. Faith Sai So LEONG – The first Chinese American woman to become a licensed dentist in the United States.

  • Dr. Omar WING – Columbia-educated electrical engineer who invented a sleep machine.

  • Flossie WONG-STAAL – Groundbreaking virologist who was the first to clone HIV and map its genes, enabling blood tests for the virus.

  • Chien Shiung WU – Experimental physicist known as the “First Lady of Physics” for her pivotal work on beta decay and the violation of parity.

Engineering, Technology and Aviation

  • Katherine Sui Fun CHEUNG – The first Chinese American woman to earn a pilot's license in the United States (1932).

  • Moon Fun CHIN – Aviator and businessman who flew supply operations between China, Burma, and India during WWII.

  • Ai Chung FANG – Engineer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center who worked on the Space Shuttle’s main engine.

  • FUNG Joe Guey (FENG Ru) – Pioneer aviator and aircraft engineer known as the "Father of Chinese Aviation" for his work in China.

  • Tom GUNN – Early aviator and flight instructor who trained Chinese air force pilots.

  • Lau Tung KWAN – NASA aerospace engineer who contributed to the thermal protection system of the Apollo 11 Command Module.

  • Apau Paul LOW – Engineer involved with several important prewar projects, and one of the first Chinese American territorial senators.

  • Arthur LYM – Helped develop the southern air force in 1930s Guangdong (later incorporated into the KMT force) and worked for the U.S. government in wartime Chongqing.

  • An WANG – Inventor, computer engineer, and founder of Wang Laboratories, a leader in word processing and computing.

Agriculture

 

  • Ah Bing – Horticulturist in Oregon credited with cultivating the famous Bing cherry variety.

  • Lue Gim GONG – Horticulturist celebrated as "The Citrus Wizard" for developing a frost-resistant orange and improving fruit varieties.

  • Charley TIN – Floridian farmer known for pioneering commercial bok choy farming in the 1950s.

 

Sports

  • CHENG Man-Ching – Tai Chi master and expert in Chinese medicine, calligraphy, painting, and poetry who popularized Tai Chi in New York City.

  • Bob CHOW – Competitive shooter and Olympic marksman for the United States in the 1940s.

  • Apau “Sam” KAU – Chinese Hawaiian baseball pitcher who died in WWI.

  • Buck LAI – One of the first Chinese American professional baseball players in the Negro leagues in the early 20th century.

  • Richard Wah Sung TOM – First Chinese American to compete for the United States in the Olympics, winning a bronze medal in weightlifting at the 1948 London Games.

About MOCA

The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) is dedicated to preserving, illuminating, and celebrating the rich history and contributions of Chinese in America. By fostering understanding and greater recognition of our experiences, we endeavor to inspire and connect all Americans.

Address:

215 Centre Street

New York, NY 10013

mocanyc.org

Hours:

Monday and Tuesday: Closed

Wednesday–Saturday: 11am-6pm

Sunday: 11am-4pm

Admission:

  • Adults: $10

  • Seniors (over 55): $5

  • Students (with valid ID): $5

  • Visitors with disabilities: $5

  • NYC Residents (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island): Pay What You Wish*

*Pay-what-you-wish admission can only be purchased in person with a residency verification: New York State ID card, IDNYC, New York library card, Current bill or statement with a New York City address.

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