15 Judy Fong Bates
Bruce Hutchison Memorial Lecture
Multiculturalism, as we know it today, did not exist in Canada in the 1950s. Chinese immigrants were either
the proprietors of greasy spoon “Chinese and Canadian Cuisine” cafés, or Chinese laundries, another now dated cliché. They kept
to themselves and were largely ignored by the rest of the community. Writer, storyteller and teacher Judy Fong Bates came from China as a child.
Her parents fit the stereotype perfectly and she has long wanted to tell their story. It is a story that she feels is as important and relevant to the history
of Canada as that of, say, Tommy Douglas or Laura Secord. She tells their story in The Year of Finding Memory, a memoir written as an act of
love and appreciation for the sacrifices her parents and their generation made for her and her generation.
Judy Fong Bates is also the author of the award-winning novel, Midnight at the Dragon Café, and the acclaimed short story collection,
China Dog and Other Stories.
Photo: Michael Bates
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