Grant Din presentation will focus on the topic of the Joys and Challenges of Asian American Research. Photo courtesy of Solano County Genealogical Society

SOLANO COUNTY, CA (MPG) - The Solano County Genealogical Society will host a virtual Speaker Series presentation on Saturday, June 7 at 11 a.m. Our speaker, Grant Din, will focus on the topic of the Joys and Challenges of Asian American Research. 

Participants will learn how Asian Americans have been in this country for over 175 years, despite discriminatory legislation like the Chinese Exclusion Act, Gentlemen’s Agreement, Immigration Act of 1924, and the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans. In many cases, these laws resulted in extensive files that can help researchers find information about their ancestors. There are fewer resources for research into those whose families have come to the U.S. since the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, but genealogical techniques and discussions with families can still lead to learning about ancestors.

Din has conducted genealogical and historical research for over thirty-five years and serves on the board of the California Genealogical Society. Her served on the staff of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation for eight years, where he managed the Immigrant Voices website that now has over 220 stories of West Coast immigrants from throughout the world. Din’s interest in genealogy started at a wedding reception in his youth, where a relative showed him a page from a family tree going back 36 generations.

Din holds a certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University, an M.A. in public policy analysis from Claremont Graduate University, and a B.A. in sociology from Yale University.  He has traveled throughout the U.S., China, and Japan for his research. He was part of the research team for “The Six”, a film about the Chinese who survived the Titanic (now available on the Magellan platform).  He also helped with “Taken From Their Families”, a permanent exhibit on Angel Island about the wartime detention of Japanese immigrants there.

He is currently volunteering to help tell the story of Chinese in Petaluma, and German, Italian and Japanese immigrant detention in Pacifica during World War II. Din has spoken extensively to genealogical groups and the public, and lives with his family in Oakland.

Guests are welcome to attend this free event. If interested, send an email to the society at [email protected] no later than 4 p.m. June 6 and request an invitation. More information about events can be found on the society’s website at www.scgsca.org and Facebook page, facebook.com/SCGSCA.