RIP Foon Hay Lum, Chinese-Canadian activist, 1908-2020

May 4, 2020 7:28 AM

One of Canada’s oldest women, Foon Hay Lum, who was separated from her husband for more than 30 years by the Chinese immigration ban and later helped secure a formal apology and compensation for all Chinese Canadians who paid the head tax, has died. She was 111.
posted by Etrigan (19 comments total)

For a similar, engaging narrative on the Chinese in Canada during this period, as well as the issues in China, I highly recommend The Concubine's Children.
posted by Melismata at 7:42 AM on May 4, 2020 [1 favorite]

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posted by senor biggles at 7:49 AM on May 4, 2020

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posted by ceejaytee at 7:53 AM on May 4, 2020

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posted by mazola at 8:12 AM on May 4, 2020

What a mind-blowing powerhouse. Thank you for sharing this Etrigan.

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posted by peakes at 8:19 AM on May 4, 2020

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posted by 4rtemis at 8:26 AM on May 4, 2020

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posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 8:35 AM on May 4, 2020

💯‼
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:53 AM on May 4, 2020

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posted by Field Tripper at 9:04 AM on May 4, 2020

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posted by tonycpsu at 9:08 AM on May 4, 2020

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posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:37 AM on May 4, 2020

An amazing woman I had never heard of. Thank you so much for bringing her to my (and others like me) attention.

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posted by annieb at 11:50 AM on May 4, 2020 [1 favorite]

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posted by Secret Sparrow at 1:24 PM on May 4, 2020

I was still quite young when the head tax apology/compensation finally came through in the early 2000s - my strongest memories associated with it were: a) overhearing conversations between my mother and her siblings, trying to figure out where my great-grandfather's paperwork had been stashed, so that perhaps my grandmother could claim compensation, and b) my parents carefully explaining to my brother and I what was happening, what had happened in the past, so that we would understand that the life of relative equality we enjoy now didn't just come on its own - people had fought for it, and were continuing to fight for it.

I opened the link and gasped out loud - in that photo Lum bore a striking resemblance to my late grandmother, and we share a last name (not unusual - Lum/Lam/Lin/Lim are all various anglicizations of the same common Chinese surname).

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posted by btfreek at 1:35 PM on May 4, 2020 [7 favorites]

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posted by praemunire at 2:31 PM on May 4, 2020

So much strength.
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posted by porpoise at 4:43 PM on May 4, 2020

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posted by Mitheral at 5:36 PM on May 4, 2020

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posted by LobsterMitten at 11:06 PM on May 4, 2020

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posted by Kattullus at 4:06 PM on May 5, 2020