These bits of her Chinese identity, though not as drastic as for generations before her, still made her

feel different in Mississippi, she said. The overt racism of segregated schools had already passed by the time her parents were in school, but Chow said she still felt out of place. I did not feel totally accepted, she said. No one really treated me different. It was just my feeling. Then at Ole Miss, she went through the sorority recruitment process, which is offered at the beginning of each school year. However, it was only on the second recruitment that Chow was accepted into the Chi Omega sorority. When the topic is broached, she waves her hand and shakes her head saying shed rather not talk about it. Ryan Kwan felt similarly when in middle and high school. He went to the Our Lady of Lourdes and Washington School in Greenville. Whites and blacks dominated both schools; there were very few Asians. It can be difficult being the only minority. Depression, being made fun of all the time, Kwan said. Its an experience nobody should go through, but it makes you stronger. Unlike Chow, Kwan grew up working in a grocery store, going home after school to help. The culture Kwan grew up in was different from the kids around him, who were free after school to participate in extracurricular activities and who didnt work cash registers on weekends. But unlike generations before him, Kwan does not plan on going back to the grocery store after he finishes at Delta State University. The grocery store used to be handed down through the family, usually to the oldest son. But Kwans parents do not want either of their two sons to carry on the family business. Not one percent of me wants my children to run the store, said Tim Kwan, his father. Three of Kwans relatives have died while watching their stores. The Chinese grocery stores are usually in the poorer areas of town and are requently the targets of armed

robbers.

Instead, Kwan would just like his sons to find something they enjoy. I hope they do what they want to do, he said. Become able to sustain their lifestyle. Kwans hands-off approach is unlike the older Chinese. In the past, many Delta Chinese children were very encouraged to go into fields like engineering or pharmacy. An article written for a major Chinese reunion in 1987 by Sung Gay Chow, called The Way We Were, recorded the memories of many Delta Chinese who went to college in the 1950s through the 1970s. The article quotes Belford Chong, who attended Mississippi State in the 1950s, as saying that although he wanted to study business, his father wanted him to major in engineering. Just to please him. I went ahead and did it, Chong said. He later talked to

his father and switched to business. David Au was recorded with a similar story. He wanted to major in Christian education and music at Berkeley College. I had everything lined up. I was all set to go and my father laid his hand down, Au said. He said, Why dont you become a pharmacist like William Gee? Au switched to Ole Miss but never finished his pharmacy degree. Later in life, he became an industrial engineer. Ryan Kwan is studying graphic design. And although his father wants him to move past the grocery store life eventually, Kwan still works every day in the store, commuting from home to classes at Delta State. He has been working there since he was 10, giving up his paychecks as his dues for room and board. The attitude is a carry-over from the older immigrants from China. The father explained that when

Danny and Cindy Mar are first-generation Chinese. They have two sons, but unlike previous generations, they dont have them work in the store; they just study.

the immigrants first came over, every one in the family chipped in to work. More recent immigrants are different, he said. They believe in having a good career as a bond for the family, Kwan said. Tony and Monica Li have owned and operated Wongs Foodland in Clarksdale since 1995. They are recent immigrants and focus more on helping their children study for careers than on making sure they work in the family store. None of the children worked in the grocery store growing up, and the family lives in a house separate from the grocery building. Working would have taken away from the childrens studies, Monica said. The Chinese came here for education, she said. Maintaining a Chinese identity has not been a priority for their family, unlike the much older immigrants who came from the old country. Instead they focus on education and helping their children become as American as possible. Its curious, they always ask, Mom, am I American or Chinese? Monica said. You are American, you are born here. To help assimilate, the family eats American food; they celebrate the American holidays more than the Chinese, and practice American customs when it comes to the household. When the Li couple retires, they dont expect to move in with one of their children, as is custom in China. I know the American style, she said. We still have our own privacy. Madeline Leungs parents dont expect to move in with her either once they retire. They owned a grocery store when Leung was a little girl, but now she just barely remembers the store from her childhood. Instead, she said she remembers living in a single-family house and going to the local schools. Now she is a senior at the University of Mississippi, majoring in art. In contrast to the generations before

Ryan Kwan was the minority in school and remembers being picked on. Its an experience nobody should go through.

The younger brother, Sean, is a freshman at Delta State University. After graduation, he doesnt want to leave Mississippi. her, she said she would be fine with a job in Mississippi. Many before her moved away from Mississippi for jobs or even college. In the 1950s and 1960s, even into the 1970s, race relations were still questionable. A lot of the Chinese moved away to escape it. But Leung said most of her friends have been white growing up. She said she feels just as American as anyone. When people ask me my nationality, I say, Im American, she said. Then I take a step back and say, Oh, Im also Chinese. At home, her mother would sometimes cook Chinese food; they would occasionally celebrate Chinese New Year. But it was never a big deal, she said. Without the past barriers of segregated schools or churches, there seems to be little to remind Leung she is Asian. There isnt even the barrier of not being able to date or marry outside the Chinese race, she said.

YOUNG GENERATION, 17