2025 Rural Chinatowns and Hidden Sites Conference in Memphis, TN

Chinese communities have called the U.S. South and Midwest home for over 150 years, but much of this history has been left out of mainstream Asian American narratives. This two-day conference brings together scholars, students, educators, and community members to share strategies and highlight new and ongoing efforts to preserve and showcase this vital chapter of Chinese American history.

Participants will start their experience with a welcome reception Wednesday evening as they connect or reconnect with colleagues who share similar interests.

Thursday promises to be a packed Day 1 filled with on-site paper sessions, roundtable discussions, film screenings, workshops, and community storytelling opportunities.

The second day of the conference (Friday) includes a day-long tour of the Mississippi Delta Chinese Heritage Museum in Cleveland, Mississippi via a private charter bus, as well as optional tours of historic Chinese cemeteries in the South with a dinner to close the conference before heading back to Memphis for a restful evening. Lunch and Dinner will be provided on Day 2.

Host or Publisher 1882 Foundation