Season 6, Episode 2

SOME UNTOLD STORIES FROM AMERICA'S PAST.

THIS WEEK: IS THIS PECULIAR FLAG

ONE THAT AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS MARCHED UNDER

IN THE WAR TO END ALL WARS?

Tukufu: IS THIS PAINTING AN ORIGINAL DEPICTION

OF NATIVE-AMERICAN LIFE

FROM ONE OF THE PREMIER PAINTERS OF THE AMERICAN WEST?

Gwendolyn: AND WAS THIS BUILDING A SAFE HAVEN

FOR PERSECUTED IMMIGRANTS

OR A HUB FOR ORGANIZED CRIME?

Elvis Costello: ♫WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES♫

♫I GET SO ANGRY WHEN THE TEARDROPS START♫

♫BUT HE CAN'T BE WOUNDED 'CAUSE HE'S GOT NO HEART♫

♫WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES♫

♫IT'S JUST LIKE WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES♫

Gwendolyn: THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE Elyse: OUR FIRST STORY INVESTIGATES A CURIOUS FLAG

THAT MAY BE CONNECTED TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS

OVERLOOKED BY HISTORY.

APRIL 6, 1917:

THE UNITED STATES DECLARES WAR ON GERMANY,

FORMALLY BECOMING PART OF THE WORLD WAR

THAT HAS BEEN RAGING FOR THREE YEARS.

MORE THAN 2 MILLION AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN

RUSH TO REGISTER FOR THE DRAFT,

EAGER TO PROVE THEIR PATRIOTISM.

BUT THE ARMY IS SEGREGATED,

AND MOST OF THESE TROOPS ARE NOT ALLOWED INTO COMBAT.

THERE ARE THOSE, HOWEVER,

WHO WON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER,

MEN DETERMINED TO FIGHT FOR THE COUNTRY

THAT DISCRIMINATES AGAINST THEM.

NOW ANNE CLARKSON FROM LEESVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA,

HAS ACQUIRED A PECULIAR FLAG

THAT MAY REVEAL A FORGOTTEN STORY

ABOUT THE WAR TO END ALL WARS.

WHEN I PUT MY HANDS ON THE FLAG,

THE HAIRS ON MY ARMS JUST STOOD ON END.

I KNEW I HAD SOMETHING SPECIAL.

I'M ELYSE LURAY, AND I'M MEETING WITH ANNE

TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT SHE'S FOUND.

HI, COME ON IN OUT OF THE COLD.

THANK YOU.

HAVE A SEAT.

SO I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE A VETERAN YOURSELF.

WELL, I WAS IN THE ARMY FOR EIGHT AND A HALF YEARS.

DURING THE COLD WAR,

I WAS A COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICER IN GERMANY.

AND THEN DURING DESERT STORM, I WAS A SECURITY OFFICER.

AND NOW I'M A DISABLED VETERAN.

ANNE SHOWS ME HER FLAG,

AND I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING QUITE LIKE IT.

OH, WOW.

WHEN I LEFT THE MILITARY,

MY LAST DUTY STATION WAS FORT JACKSON.

ANNE EXPLAINS THAT AT HER FINAL POSTING

AT FORT JACKSON IN SOUTH CAROLINA,

SHE LEARNED THAT SOME 80 YEARS EARLIER

THE FORT HAD TRAINED AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS

FOR WORLD WAR I.

WHAT STARTED YOUR SEARCH FOR A FLAG?

WELL, THE BLACK UNITS WERE SHIPPED OVERSEAS TO FRANCE,

BUT THERE WAS A LOT OF RACIAL TENSION DURING THAT TIME,

AND THEY WERE NOT REALLY ALLOWED TO FIGHT WITH THE WHITE UNITS.

ANNE DID SOME RESEARCH

AND LEARNED THAT THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS

HAD FOUGHT INSTEAD FOR THE FRENCH.

THEY WERE EVEN REPORTED TO HAVE MARCHED

UNDER A FRENCH FLAG.

AND THIS FRENCH FLAG WAS SUPPOSED TO BE

BLUE, WHITE, AND RED, LIKE A NORMAL FRENCH FLAG.

AND THEY HAD SEWN A LITTLE AMERICAN FLAG IN ONE CORNER.

SO I STARTED LOOKING FOR THIS FLAG.

AFTER YEARS OF SEARCHING,

SHE FINALLY FOUND THIS FLAG FOR SALE ON THE INTERNET.

WELL, THAT'S NOT BLUE, WHITE, AND RED.

THAT'S WHERE THE CONFUSION COMES IN.

IT HAS THE SMALL AMERICAN FLAG SEWN IN THE TOP CORNER,

WHICH IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE UNIT SUPPOSEDLY DID

WITH THEIR FLAG, BUT OTHER THAN THAT,

I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THIS FLAG IS THE WAY IT IS.

SO, WHAT SPECIFICALLY DO YOU WANT ME TO FIND OUT FOR YOU?

WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS I WANT TO KNOW IS

WHY IS THE FLAG RED, WHITE, AND RED?

AND I WANT TO KNOW, IS THIS A FLAG THAT THEY MARCHED UNDER?

YOU'VE GIVEN ME A LOT OF INFORMATION TO START WITH,

MORE THAN I NORMALLY GET.

I'LL TAKE GOOD CARE OF IT

AND GET BACK TO YOU AND LET YOU KNOW WHAT I UNCOVER.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

IT'S NOT AN AREA OF HISTORY I KNOW A GREAT DEAL ABOUT,

BUT THE FABRIC CERTAINLY FEELS AND LOOKS PERIOD.

YOU KNOW, THE RED HAND IS SUCH A STRIKING SYMBOL,

AND I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT ON A FLAG BEFORE,

SO MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING TO GO ON.

THERE IS AN AMERICAN FLAG, AND IF YOU TURN IT OVER,

THERE'S ONE ON THE OTHER SIDE AS WELL.

THERE ARE 48 STARS, AND ARIZONA WAS THE 48th STATE,

WHICH JOINED THE UNION IN 1912.

WORLD WAR I TOOK PLACE 1914 TO 1918,

SO WE AT LEAST KNOW THAT THE FLAG

COULD FALL INTO THE PERIOD OF WORLD WAR I.

THERE IS A DATE ON HERE, IT SAYS 1918,

BUT AS AN APPRAISER,

I DON'T REALLY TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION,

BECAUSE THE DATE COULD HAVE BEEN PUT THERE AT ANY TIME.

THE FIRST THING I WANT TO DO

IS CONFIRM ANNE'S FLAG IS ACTUALLY OLD ENOUGH

TO BE FROM WORLD WAR I.

TEXTILE EXPERT MARIE DOUGHTY HAS SPENT MORE THAN 40 YEARS

CONSERVING AND RESTORING ANTIQUE FLAGS AND TEXTILES.

SO HERE'S MY FLAG.

I'M TRYING TO DATE THIS FLAG TO WORLD WAR I.

SO THE FIRST THING I WANT TO KNOW IS

IS THE FABRIC PERIOD?

THE WHITE FABRIC, THE CENTER HERE, IS LINEN.

THE DEGREE OF HAND-STITCHING ON THIS TELLS ME

THAT IT'S OF THAT PERIOD IN TIME.

THE HAND IS MADE FROM WOOL FELT.

IT HAS BEEN APPLIQUED BY HAND ONTO THE WHITE LINEN,

AND THIS TO ME IS AUTHENTIC TO THAT TIME PERIOD.

MARIE SAYS THE AMERICAN FLAG IN THE CORNER IS COTTON

AND LOOKS PERIOD AS WELL.

USUALLY AT PARADES AND TROOPS LEAVING,

THE PUBLIC WOULD BE WAVING THIS TYPE OF FLAG, THE COTTON FLAG.

SURE, SO THEY WERE LIKE SOUVENIRS.

YES.

MARIE TELLS ME THAT THE AMERICAN FLAG ON THE OTHER SIDE

MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT CLUE

TO UNCOVERING THE FLAG'S ORIGIN.

IT'S SILK AND RESEMBLES OTHER COMMEMORATIVE FLAGS

SHE'S SEEN THAT WERE MADE BY THE FRENCH DURING THE WAR.

I'VE WORKED ON SOME VERY HISTORIC PIECES OVER THE YEARS.

I FEEL CERTAIN THIS WAS MADE IN FRANCE.

GREAT.

BUT DID AFRICAN AMERICANS REALLY MARCH UNDER IT?

I'M MEETING RUSSELL WOLFE,

AN EXPERT ON AFRICAN-AMERICAN UNITS

TRAINED FOR COMBAT AT FORT JACKSON.

HI, RUSSELL.

HI, ELYSE.

WELCOME TO FORT JACKSON.

RUSSELL, I'M INVESTIGATING A FLAG.

CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT

ABOUT THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN THAT SERVED?

OVER 700,000 AFRICAN AMERICANS REGISTERED FOR THE DRAFT

ON THE FIRST DAY, AND OVER 2 MILLION TOTAL.

TWO MILLION?

THEY WANTED TO SHOW THAT THEY WERE LOYAL AMERICANS

AND ALSO TO SHOW THAT THEY WERE THE EQUAL

OF THE WHITE AMERICANS WHO ALSO REGISTERED FOR THE DRAFT.

RUSSELL TELLS ME THAT WHEN THE UNITED STATES

JOINED THE WAR IN APRIL OF 1917,

THE STANDING U.S. ARMY WAS ONLY 127,500.

BUT DESPITE ITS URGENT NEED, THE ARMY BALKED

AT USING AFRICAN AMERICANS IN COMBAT.

FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND OR SO

WERE ACTUALLY CALLED UP INTO SERVICE,

BUT OF THOSE, VERY FEW ACTUALLY SAW COMBAT.

AT THAT TIME IN THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY,

MANY PEOPLE FELT THAT THE BLACK MAN

WAS EITHER UNSUITED FOR COMBAT OR WOULD NOT FIGHT.

AT FIRST, THE MEN WERE RELEGATED TO LABOR UNITS:

UNLOADING CARGO SHIPS, BUILDING RAILROADS,

AND BEARING SOLDIERS KILLED IN ACTION.

BUT PROTEST FORCED THE MILITARY TO CHANGE POLICY.

THERE WAS A BACKLASH FROM THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY,

AND AS A RESULT, THE ARMY WAS FORCED TO FORM

TWO AFRICAN-AMERICAN DIVISIONS,

THE 92nd DIVISION AND THE 93rd PROVISIONAL DIVISION.

THE BRASS DOES AN ABOUT-FACE, BUT THERE'S A CATCH:

ALTHOUGH THE 92nd AND 93rd

WERE THE FIRST BLACK UNITS TRAINED IN COMBAT,

IN EUROPE THEY'RE TURNED OVER TO THE FRENCH ARMY.

THE U.S. ARMY DIDN'T NEED THEM?

THE FRENCH HAD BEEN FIGHTING A GRUELING WAR FOR THREE YEARS,

AND THEY HAD RECENTLY SUFFERED SEVERE LOSSES

IN SEVERAL OFFENSIVES, AND THEY NEEDED MEN BADLY.

AND SO THE CALL WENT OUT TO PLEASE SEND US MEN,

AND THE U.S.

RESPONDED WITH THESE FOUR REGIMENTS.

AFRICAN AMERICANS WERE WELCOMED BY THE FRENCH,

WHO WERE USED TO FIGHTING

WITH THEIR OWN COLONIAL TROOPS FROM AFRICA.

I THINK MANY OF THE AFRICAN AMERICANS WERE SHOCKED

TO SEE THAT THERE WERE PEOPLE THAT DID NOT DISCRIMINATE

AGAINST THEM BECAUSE OF THEIR RACE.

AND I THINK THAT THEY LEARNED THAT THEY COULD BE EQUALS.

RUSSELL AND I HEAD INTO THE FORT JACKSON MUSEUM

SO I CAN SHOW HIM ANNE'S FLAG.

BUT HE'S ALSO BAFFLED.

IT'S NOT A FRENCH FLAG HE RECOGNIZES,

NOR IS IT A FLAG ASSOCIATED WITH THE U.S. ARMY,

WHICH THEY ALSO WOULD HAVE CARRIED.

THEY WOULD'VE HAD A STANDARD U.S. ARMY

REGIMENTAL INFANTRY FLAG WITH THEM IN FRANCE,

WHICH IS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM THIS.

RUSSELL SUGGESTS I VISIT

THE CONFEDERATE RELIC ROOM AND MILITARY MUSEUM,

A REPOSITORY FOR MUCH OF SOUTH CAROLINA'S MILITARY HISTORY.

I'M MEETING THE CHIEF CURATOR, SARAH WOOTEN.

HI.

HELLO.

NICE TO MEET YOU.

NICE TO MEET YOU.

SO, SARAH, FIRST I JUST WANT TO SHOW YOU THIS FLAG.

OKAY.

THERE SHE IS.

WELL, I HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE.

ALTHOUGH SARAH'S NEVER SEEN OUR FLAG,

SHE SAYS THE RED HAND RESEMBLES SOMETHING

THEY HAVE IN THEIR COLLECTION.

I CAN SHOW YOU IF YOU WANT TO GO SEE.

YEAH, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

OKAY.

AND I SEE THE RED HAND.

YES, YES, THE RED HAND EMBLEM

IS ACTUALLY THE EMBLEM OF THE 157th FRENCH DIVISION,

WHICH SERVED UNDER GENERAL MARIANO GOYBET.

SARAH TELLS ME GENERAL GOYBET'S 157th DIVISION

WAS ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE STRUGGLE WITH GERMAN SOLDIERS,

AND TWO AFRICAN-AMERICAN REGIMENTS WERE ATTACHED

TO HIS FORCES AT A CRITICAL MOMENT IN 1918.

THIS MAY BE THE CONNECTION TO ANNE'S RED HAND FLAG.

THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN INFANTRY REGIMENTS

OF THE 371st AND 372nd

BOTH SERVED UNDER THE 157th DIVISION

AND WOULD HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE RED HAND EMBLEM.

SARAH SAYS THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOLDIERS

OF THE 371st AND THE 372nd EARNED GLORY

IN THE DECISIVE FINAL OFFENSIVE

IN THE CHAMPAGNE REGION OF FRANCE.

IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS OF FIGHTING,

THEY TOOK OVER 1,600 CASUALTIES,

MOST IN THE FIRST THREE DAYS.

BUT THEY STOOD UP TO THE BARRAGE,

EVENTUALLY OVERRUNNING THE GERMAN POSITIONS.

FOR THEIR COURAGE UNDER FIRE,

BOTH REGIMENTS WERE AWARDED THE CROIX de GUERRE

AND SEVERAL MEN RECEIVED BOTH THE FRENCH LEGION OF HONOR

AND THE AMERICAN DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS.

AS THE WAR DREW TO A CLOSE, THE COMMANDING FRENCH GENERAL

PRAISED HIS AFRICAN-AMERICAN TROOPS.

HE SAYS, "THE 'RED HAND' SIGN OF THE DIVISION,

"THANKS TO YOU, BECAME A BLOODY HAND

"WHICH TOOK THE GERMAN BY THE THROAT

"AND MADE HIM CRY FOR MERCY.

YOU HAVE WELL AVENGED OUR GLORIOUS DEAD."

SO WE'VE IDENTIFIED THE RED HAND ON OUR FLAG,

BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM.

SARAH CONFIRMS A FLAG FOR THE FRENCH DIVISION

WAS VERY DIFFERENT FROM OURS.

THE DIVISIONAL FLAG WOULD HAVE CONSISTED

OF THE STANDARD BLUE, WHITE, AND RED.

AND THERE'S ANOTHER POTENTIAL PROBLEM.

IT APPEARS THE RED HAND SYMBOL

IS OFFICIALLY ABANDONED AFTER THE WAR.

WELL, THE MEN OF THE 371st AND 372nd

WERE VERY ATTACHED TO THIS EMBLEM.

AFTER THE WAR, COLONEL PERRY MILES

RECOMMENDED THE RED HAND AS THE EMBLEM

FOR THE ENTIRE 93rd DIVISION.

BUT WHEN HE RECOMMENDED IT,

GENERAL HEADQUARTERS WAS HORRIFIED

AT THE SUGGESTION OF A RED HAND,

BECAUSE TO THEM IT SYMBOLIZED A HAND WREAKING IN BLOOD.

AND RACIAL TENSIONS BEING WHAT THEY WERE

IN AMERICA AT THAT TIME,

THEY THOUGHT IT MIGHT SEND OUT THE WRONG IDEA.

DID THE RED HAND JUST DISAPPEAR?

IT DIDN'T DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY.

WE DO SEE THE RED HAND REAPPEARING POST-WAR

IN REUNION MEMORABILIA SUCH AS THIS UNION RIBBON

THAT WE HAVE ON DISPLAY.

BUT THE FLAG ISN'T LIKE ANY POST-WAR MEMORABILIA

SARAH'S FAMILIAR WITH.

ANNE'S FLAG IS NOT THE FLAG OF THE FRENCH DIVISION,

BUT IT'S NOT CONNECTED TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN REGIMENTS

AFTER THE WAR EITHER.

I'M NOT SURE WHAT TO MAKE OF IT.

MY OFFICES TRACK DOWN

A DESCENDANT OF THE FRENCH GENERAL

WHO LED THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN TROOPS IN COMBAT.

HI.

HI.

I'VE ARRANGED TO MEET HENRI GOYBET,

WHO IS KNOWN BY THE HONORARY TITLE

LE CHEVALIER GOYBET, AT THE SEVENTH REGIMENT ARMORY

IN NEW YORK CITY.

AS WE TOUR THE HALLS ONCE WALKED BY AMERICAN GENERALS,

HENRI READS FROM ONE OF HIS GREAT-GRANDFATHER'S LAST ORDERS

TO HIS TROOPS.

"I WANT TO TELL YOU, AS YOUR LEADER AND AS A SOLDIER,

"FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART HOW GRATEFUL I AM.

"OUR FRIENDSHIP HAS BEEN CEMENTED

"IN THE BLOOD OF THE BRAVE

"AND SUCH A LINK WILL BE NEVER DESTROYED.

REMEMBER YOUR GENERAL."

SO HE WAS VERY PROUD OF THESE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN.

YES, HE WAS VERY PROUD OF HIS TROOPS, YES.

DID YOU KNOW YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER?

UNFORTUNATELY NOT, BECAUSE HE DIED IN 1943.

BUT GENERAL GOYBET LEFT BEHIND A SINGLE WORK

CHRONICLING HIS ENTIRE FAMILY HISTORY,

THE GOYBET FAMILY BOOK.

WOW, THESE ARE BEAUTIFUL.

THE GENERAL SPENT 40 YEARS

PAINSTAKINGLY ILLUSTRATING THIS SINGLE MANUSCRIPT.

DID YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER WRITE ABOUT

THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN UNDER HIS COMMAND?

YES, HE DID IN ONE PAGE OF THE FAMILY BOOK.

HENRI PULLS OUT A PAGE,

AND THERE AMONG THE INTRICATE ILLUSTRATIONS

I SEE THE 371st AND THE 372nd.

THE BRIEF MENTION CONFIRMS

THESE AFRICAN-AMERICAN REGIMENTS JOINED

GENERAL GOYBET'S DIVISION.

"DIVISION MAIN ROUGE."

DIVISION MAIN ROUGE, THAT IS TO SAY, "RED HAND."

SO I WANT TO SHOW YOU THIS FLAG.

NOW, HAVE YOU EVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE?

YES.

YOU HAVE?

I KNOW THIS FLAG, YEAH.

AND I COULD SHOW YOU IN THE FAMILY BOOK.

WHAT HENRI REVEALS ON THE NEXT PAGE

BRINGS ALL THE PIECES OF THE PUZZLE TOGETHER.

OH, LOOK AT THAT.

I THINK ANNE IS GOING TO BE REALLY EXCITED

BY WHAT I'VE LEARNED.

THE FIRST QUESTION YOU HAD FOR ME WAS

WAS THIS FLAG FROM WORLD WAR I?

AND I'M HAPPY TO TELL YOU THAT THE FLAG IS PERIOD.

OH, THAT'S FANTASTIC.

IT'S NOT THE FLAG THAT THEY MARCHED UNDER.

THAT FLAG WOULD'VE BEEN BLUE, WHITE, AND RED.

BUT YOUR FLAG DOES HAVE A UNIQUE AND SPECIAL CONNECTION

TO THE MEN OF THE 371st AND 372nd.

WOW, THERE'S THE FLAG.

THERE'S THE FLAG.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?

YES, BECAUSE IT WAS HIS PERSONAL FLAG.

BECAUSE IT WAS...

HENRI TELLS ME THAT IN THE FRENCH ARMY,

THE COLORS RED, WHITE, AND RED ARE USED TO IDENTIFY

THE GENERAL COMMANDING A FIRST INFANTRY DIVISION.

ANNE'S FLAG IS ACTUALLY A COMMAND PENNANT,

OR FANION, A PERSONAL IDENTIFIER

THAT WOULD HAVE MARKED GENERAL GOYBET'S FIELD POSITION

OR COMMAND POST.

EVEN THOUGH THE 371st REGIMENT DISBANDED AFTER THE WAR,

IT'S OBVIOUS THAT THE RED HAND IN THIS PENNANT

REMAINED A VERY POWERFUL SYMBOL TO THEM THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES.

OH, MY GOD, THAT IS FANT-- OH, I'VE GOT CHILLS.

OH, THAT IS FANTASTIC!

OH, THAT IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.

ANNE, WHAT YOU FOUND IS A REALLY UNIQUE PIECE

OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY,

AND IT HAS A GREAT STORY TO TELL.

THIS IS INCREDIBLE.

NOW THIS FLAG MEANS EVEN MORE TO ME.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BRINGING ME THIS HISTORY.

SEVEN DECADES AFTER WORLD WAR I ENDED,

A MEMBER OF THE RED HAND DIVISION

ENTERED THE HISTORY BOOKS.

ON SEPTEMBER 28, 1918,

ONLY SIX WEEKS BEFORE THE END OF THE WAR,

CORPORAL FREDDIE STOWERS WAS KILLED IN ACTION

WHILE RALLYING THE MEN OF THE 371st INFANTRY

IN AN ATTACK ON A GERMAN MACHINE-GUN NEST.

HIS COMMANDING OFFICER NOMINATED HIM

FOR THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR.

ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-SEVEN MEDALS WERE AWARDED DURING THE WAR,

BUT NONE TO AFRICAN-AMERICANS.

BUT ON APRIL 24, 1991, 73 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH,

FREDDIE STOWERS WAS POSTHUMOUSLY HONORED

WITH THE LONG-OVERDUE MEDAL OF HONOR.

OF THE ROUGHLY 400,000 AFRICAN AMERICANS

WHO SERVED IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR,

FREDDIE STOWERS IS THE ONLY ONE

TO BE PRESENTED WITH THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR,

AMERICA'S HIGHEST AWARD FOR MILITARY HEROISM.

THE 369th INFANTRY,

KNOWN FOR THEIR FEROCIOUSNESS ON THE BATTLEFIELD

AS THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS,

WAS ANOTHER ALL-BLACK COMBAT REGIMENT

THAT WAS SENT TO FIGHT FOR THE FRENCH ARMY.

BUT THE REGIMENT ALSO GAINED RECOGNITION

FOR ITS EXCEPTIONAL BAND, WHICH IS CREDITED

WITH INTRODUCING JAZZ MUSIC TO FRANCE.

THE BAND WAS LED BY JAMES EUROPE,

A PIANIST AND VIOLINIST FROM MOBILE, ALABAMA.

EUROPE'S COMMANDING OFFICER RECOGNIZED HIS MUSICAL TALENT

AND TASKED HIM TO FORM

"THE BEST DAMN BRASS BAND IN THE U.S.

MILITARY."

SO EUROPE RECRUITED THE FINEST MUSICIANS HE COULD FIND.

WHEN THE HELLFIGHTERS BAND

WASN'T FIGHTING GERMANS IN FRANCE,

IT WAS PLAYING THE EVOLVING SOUNDS

OF RAGTIME AND DIXIELAND JAZZ.

ALLIED SOLDIERS, FRENCH CITIZENS,

AND EVEN GERMAN P.O.W.s ALL WERE TRANSFIXED

BY THE AFRICAN-AMERICANS' SOUND.

EUROPEANS WERE LEFT CLAMORING FOR MORE.

WHEN THE FIRST POST-WAR PARADE OF VETERANS

MARCHED DOWN FIFTH AVENUE IN NEW YORK CITY,

THE HELLFIGHTERS BAND WAS AT THE LEAD.

BUT JAMES EUROPE SURVIVED THE TRENCHES OF FRANCE

ONLY TO BE MURDERED BY ONE OF HIS DRUMMERS

JUST SIX MONTHS AFTER THE WAR ENDED.

HIS FUNERAL MARCH IS CONSIDERED BY MANY

TO BE THE FIRST PUBLIC MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR AN AFRICAN AMERICAN

IN NEW YORK CITY'S HISTORY.

Tukufu: OUR NEXT STORY QUESTIONS WHETHER THIS PAINTING

OF NATIVE-AMERICAN LIFE ON THE FRONTIER IS AN ORIGINAL,

POSSIBLY WORTH HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.

MAY 1830: PRESIDENT JACKSON SIGNS THE INDIAN REMOVAL ACT,

EXPELLING ALL NATIVE AMERICANS

FROM LANDS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

ON THE EDGE OF THE FRONTIER, ONE MAN SAW THE FUTURE

AND VOWED TO DOCUMENT WHAT WOULD SOON BE LOST:

THE DAILY LIVES AND CULTURE OF NATIVE PEOPLES.

ARMY CAPTAIN SETH EASTMAN CAPTURES ON CANVAS

WHAT MANY PREDICT IS A DOOMED CULTURE.

TODAY, OVER 170 YEARS LATER, JACK COUCH FROM ILLINOIS

BELIEVES HE HAS FOUND AN AUTHENTIC EASTMAN,

A RARE WINDOW ON A LONG-VANISHED WORLD.

JACK COULDN'T BELIEVE HIS LUCK

WHEN HE CAME ACROSS A SETH EASTMAN PAINTING

ON AN INTERNET AUCTION SITE.

TO MY SURPRISE, IT CAME, A PAINTING.

I THOUGHT, "WELL, THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY."

JACK'S WINNING BID WAS JUST OVER $300.

COULD IT BE THAT HE'S FOUND

A LONG-LOST EASTMAN OIL PAINTING

WORTH TENS, EVEN HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS?

I'M TUKUFU ZUBERI,

AND I'VE COME TO SEE THIS PAINTING FOR MYSELF.

TUKUFU ZUBERI.

HI, IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU.

COME ON IN.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I OBTAINED THIS PAINTING ONLINE FROM A BELFAST, IRELAND, DEALER.

AND IT IS AN AMERICAN INDIAN SCENE.

I NOTICED IT WAS SIGNED DOWN HERE

WITH JUST INITIALS.

DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE PROVENANCE

OR THE HISTORY OF THE PAINTING?

UNFORTUNATELY, HE HAD NONE.

THE ONLY THING I HAVE IS THE INFORMATION

GIVEN ON eBAY BY THE DEALER.

OKAY, "SETH EASTMAN, AMERICAN PAINTING, OIL ON CANVAS."

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SETH EASTMAN?

HE WAS A PROFESSIONAL MILITARY MAN

WHO WAS KNOWN FOR PAINTING NATIVE AMERICAN INDIANS.

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW

IF IT IS AN ORIGINAL SETH EASTMAN PAINTING.

I'M GOING TO GO SEE WHAT I CAN FIND OUT

AND GET BACK TO YOU AS SOON AS I CAN.

OKAY.

ALL RIGHT.

DO YOU MIND IF I TAKE THE PAINTING WITH ME?

NO, TAKE IT WITH YOU.

ALL RIGHT, GREAT, THANK YOU.

THANKS A MILLION.

COULD THIS BE AN AUTHENTIC SETH EASTMAN?

I'M NOT FAMILIAR ENOUGH WITH HIS WORK TO JUDGE.

THE SCENE IS COMPELLING --

MEN AND WOMEN IN A NATIVE-AMERICAN VILLAGE --

BUT I DON'T KNOW IF EASTMAN PAINTED IMAGES LIKE THESE.

IN THE 1840s, SETH EASTMAN MADE

HUNDREDS OF OILS, WATERCOLORS, AND DRAWINGS

OF THE DAKOTA AND OJIBWE PEOPLE

WHILE SERVING AS THE COMMANDER OF FORT SNELLING

ON THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

BUT EVEN THOUGH HE USED SUCH A VARIETY OF MATERIALS,

THE COLORS IN OUR PAINTING SEEM MORE VIBRANT

THAN WHAT'S REPRODUCED HERE.

LIKE MANY WESTERN ARTISTS OF HIS TIME,

EASTMAN WAS CONFRONTING MAJOR THEMES

OF AMERICAN IDENTITY IN THE WEST,

AND CONGRESS COMMISSIONED HIM

TO PAINT NATIVE-AMERICAN SCENES

FOR THE HALLS OF THE U.S. CAPITOL.

ONE WRITER CALLS HIM

"THE PICTORIAL HISTORIAN OF THE INDIAN."

BUT UNLIKE MOST OTHER ARTISTS,

EASTMAN LIVED AMONG NATIVE AMERICANS FOR YEARS.

HE EVEN HAD A CHILD WITH A DAKOTA WOMAN.

SETH EASTMAN REPRESENTS A KIND OF CONTRADICTORY MOMENT.

ON ONE HAND, HE IS THIS HISTORIC, VISIONARY CHRONICLER

OF NATIVE-AMERICAN LIFE IN THE MINNESOTA AREA.

ON THE OTHER HAND, HE IS A CAPTAIN IN THE U.S. MILITARY,

SENT THERE TO DO A JOB WHICH IN PART MEANT DISPLACING

THE VERY DAKOTA WHOSE LIFE HE WAS DOCUMENTING.

I DON'T SEE JACK'S PAINTING HERE,

BUT THE IMAGERY IS VERY SIMILAR.

I CAN'T FIND ANY PAINTING WHERE EASTMAN SIGNS

WITH THE INITIALS S.E.

IT LOOKS LIKE HE WRITES OUT HIS FULL NAME

OR DOESN'T SIGN THEM AT ALL.

A QUICK SEARCH OUTLINE FOR AUCTIONS OF EASTMAN PAINTINGS

BRINGS UP SALE PRICES FROM AROUND $20,000

TO OVER $900,000.

I SUPPOSE IT'S POSSIBLE THAT JACK PICKED UP

AN ORIGINAL EASTMAN FOR 300 BUCKS,

BUT I'VE GOT TO WONDER.

I'M HEADING TO ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA,

WHERE FORT SNELLING IS NOW A NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK

AND LIVING HISTORY MUSEUM.

THIS STONE FORT WAS ONCE THE MOST ISOLATED POST IN THE ARMY.

ESTABLISHED IN 1820,

THE FORT SECURED AMERICAN POWER IN THE REGION

AS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TOOK POSSESSION OF THE LAND

PIECE BY PIECE.

GOOD DAY, SIR.

WELCOME TO FORT SNELLING.

THANK YOU.

WHICH WAY TO THE COMMANDING OFFICER'S QUARTERS?

STRAIGHT ON THROUGH THE GATE HERE

AND ACROSS THE PARADE GROUND.

ALL RIGHT, YOU STAY WARM.

THANK YOU, SIR.

THE COMMANDING OFFICER'S QUARTERS

IS THE OLDEST STANDING RESIDENCE IN MINNESOTA.

AND HERE BETWEEN 1841 AND 1848,

SETH EASTMAN COMMANDED A GARRISON OF SOLDIERS.

TODAY I'M MEETING WITH A UNIQUE EASTMAN EXPERT,

HISTORICAL ARTIST AND SETH EASTMAN INTERPRETER

DAVID GEISTER.

CAPTAIN EASTMAN, I PRESUME?

PROFESSOR ZUBERI, WELCOME.

DO COME IN, WARM YOURSELF BY THE FIRE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I DO KNOW YOUR NAME IS DAVID GEISTER.

YES, SIR.

WITH DAVID'S KNOWLEDGE OF EASTMAN'S WORK,

I'M EAGER TO SEE WHAT HE THINKS OF JACK'S PAINTING.

SO HERE'S THE PAINTING I SENT YOU THE PHOTOS OF.

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THIS PAINTING BEFORE?

IT'S INTERESTING, BUT NO.

BUT I HAVE SEEN SOME OF THE IMAGES.

OH, REALLY?

THIS GROUP OF MEN RIGHT HERE, FOR INSTANCE.

AH, THERE IT IS, THAT'S IT.

MUCH MORE DETAILED THAN WHAT WE SEE IN THE PAINTING THERE.

THIS IS ENTITLED CHIPPEWA INDIANS PLAYING CHECKERS.

DAVID ALSO RECOGNIZES THE IMAGE OF THE WOMAN

SCRAPING THE ANIMAL SKIN.

HMM, OKAY.

THERE YOU GO.

IT'S CALLED INDIAN WOMAN DRESSING A DEER SKIN.

THAT'S NICE.

THIS IS YOUR WORK?

YES, IT IS.

THIS IS BASED UPON AN EASTMAN THAT YOU SEE HERE IN THIS BOOK.

NOW, IT'S INTERESTING.

THIS WOMAN IS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE

FROM THE WOMAN IN THE PAINTING.

YES, BUT I THINK IT'S THE SAME CHARACTER.

DOES THAT MEAN THAT JACK'S PAINTING IS A COPY?

NOT NECESSARILY.

DAVID SAYS THAT EASTMAN'S PROXIMITY TO THE DAKOTA

GAVE HIM AN OPPORTUNITY TO OBSERVE THEIR DAILY LIFE.

WHILE OUT IN THE FIELD,

HE WOULD SKETCH NATIVE AMERICANS

AND THEN REUSE THEM IN PAINTING AFTER PAINTING,

IN EFFECT CREATING STOCK CHARACTERS.

THAT MEANS JACK'S PAINTING, WITH ITS EASTMAN-LIKE FIGURES,

COULD BE THE REAL THING.

I'VE LOCATED A DESCENDANT OF EASTMAN'S UNION

WITH THE DAKOTA WOMAN.

PERHAPS SHE CAN AUTHENTICATE THE PAINTING.

I'M HEADED TO AFTON, MINNESOTA,

AND THE AFTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY PRESS

TO MEET KATE BEANE,

SETH EASTMAN'S GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER

AND AN EXPERT ON THE EASTMAN FAMILY.

HI, I'M TUKUFU.

HI, I'M KATE.

COME ON IN.

THANK YOU.

WHAT DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS PAINTING?

I SEE DAKOTA LIFE.

THIS IS EVERYDAY LIFE, IT'S NOT STAGED.

DO YOU KNOW MUCH ABOUT SETH EASTMAN?

I KNOW WHAT I HEARD GROWING UP.

MANY PEOPLE AREN'T AWARE OF HIS DAKOTA RELATIVES,

OF THE DAKOTA SIDE OF HIS FAMILY,

AND WE'RE ALIVE AND WELL IN MINNESOTA.

OKAY.

IN THE 1830s, HE HAD A DAKOTA WIFE, WAKANINAJINWIN,

WHICH MEANS "STAND SACRED."

THAT MARRIAGE PRODUCED A DAUGHTER BY THE NAME OF WINONA.

KATE TELLS ME THAT THE ARMY CALLED SETH EASTMAN AWAY

AND HE LEFT HIS DAKOTA FAMILY.

WHEN HE RETURNED TO FORT SNELLING AS COMMANDER IN 1841,

HE MARRIED A WHITE WOMAN AND HAD FIVE MORE CHILDREN.

THOUGH HE REMAINED SILENT ABOUT HIS DAKOTA FAMILY,

KATE SEES THE KINSHIP HE MUST HAVE FELT

COMING THROUGH IN HIS ART.

IT'S ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS.

HE SHOWS DAKOTA WOMEN AS BEING MOTHERS,

AS CARING FOR THEIR CHILDREN.

HE DOESN'T JUST SHOW IT AS IF HE WERE A COMPLETE OUTSIDER.

HE HAD THIS SENSE OF ARTISTRY

THAT DAKOTA PEOPLE WOULD HAVE FOUND VERY SACRED.

HOW IS THE FACT THAT SETH EASTMAN

WAS AN AGENT OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT

AND SIMULTANEOUSLY MARRIED INTO A DAKOTA FAMILY,

HOW DOES THAT IMPACT THE LEGACY

OF SETH EASTMAN AMONG THE DAKOTA?

I CAN'T SPEAK FOR ALL DAKOTA PEOPLE,

BUT I CAN SPEAK FOR MYSELF.

WE ARE RAISED TO RESPECT OUR ANCESTORS,

AND THAT'S WHAT I DO, I RESPECT ALL OF MY ANCESTORS.

I HAVE TO IN ORDER TO HAVE RESPECT FOR MYSELF.

SOON AFTER SETH EASTMAN LEFT MINNESOTA,

THE DAKOTA SIGNED TREATIES

THAT FORCED THEM ONTO RESERVATIONS.

THEN IN 1862,

AFTER YEARS OF BROKEN PROMISES AND NEAR-STARVATION,

DAKOTA WARRIORS ATTACKED WHITE SETTLEMENTS.

HUNDREDS DIED.

IN THE AFTERMATH, THE ARMY LOADED

OVER 1,300 DAKOTA PEOPLE ONTO STEAMBOATS

AND REMOVED THEM FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA.

AND A LOT OF US DON'T LIVE IN MINNESOTA RIGHT NOW

BECAUSE WE WERE EXILED AFTER 1862.

AND WHEN WE SEE THESE PICTURES,

WHAT WE SEE IS THE WAY WE WERE MEANT TO LIVE.

SO THE EASTMAN IMAGES OF JACK'S PAINTING

SEEM TO BE AN AUTHENTIC RECORD OF NATIVE-AMERICAN LIFE

AND HOLD DEEP MEANING FOR MANY DAKOTA PEOPLE.

IF JACK'S PAINTING IS A REAL EASTMAN,

IT WOULD BE AN IMPORTANT FIND.

I'M BACK IN ST. PAUL

TO MEET WITH AN EXPERT ON EASTMAN'S ART.

LOCATED ACROSS FROM THE MINNESOTA STATE CAPITOL

IS THE MINNESOTA HISTORY CENTER.

AND HERE I MEET THE MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S

CURATOR OF ART, BRIAN SZOTT,

WHO PUTS JACK'S PAINTING SIDE BY SIDE

WITH TWO GENUINE SETH EASTMAN OIL PAINTINGS.

AND WHAT IS THIS FABULOUS PIECE HERE?

WELL, THIS IS ONE OF THE GEMS IN OUR COLLECTION.

THIS IS VIEW OF MENDOTA.

IT SHOWS A NATIVE-AMERICAN FAMILY IN THE FOREGROUND

ON THE FORT SNELLING SIDE OF THE RIVER.

TURNING HIS ATTENTION TO JACK'S PAINTING,

BRIAN NOTICES A COUPLE OF CONSISTENCIES RIGHT AWAY.

IF YOU COMPARE THE AGE OF THIS CANVAS,

THIS CANVAS DOES DEMONSTRATE SOME AGE ALONG THE EDGES.

IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU WOULD EXPECT

IN A 19th-CENTURY CANVAS,

AND IT'S SIMILAR TO THE AGE ON OUR CANVASES.

YOU START SEEING SOME OF THE SUBJECT MATTER

IN SETH'S PAINTINGS THAT ARE REPLICATED,

AND ESPECIALLY IN THIS PAINTING.

YOU SEE GROUPINGS OF NATIVE AMERICANS

IN VARIOUS POSES IN AND AROUND THEIR ARCHITECTURAL SETTING.

ALTHOUGH I WASN'T ABLE TO FIND A MATCHING SIGNATURE,

BRIAN EXPLAINED THAT'S NOT UNUSUAL.

SETH EASTMAN ISN'T VERY CONSISTENT ON HIS PAINTINGS.

SOMETIMES THEY'RE SIGNED, SOMETIMES NOT.

AND IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY ON THIS PAINTING,

YOU'LL SEE DEEP IN THIS PAINTING,

VERY SUBTLY WRITTEN IN, IS THE INITIALS "S. E., 1848."

THERE ARE A COUPLE CONCERNS, HOWEVER.

YOU'LL NOTICE IN THIS PAINTING AND IN THIS ONE HERE,

THE COLOR, THE PALETTE THAT SETH EASTMAN USES

IS MUCH MORE MUTED AND VERY SUBDUED.

IT'S DOMINATED BY GRAYS, EVEN A LITTLE PURPLE IN THE SKY.

AND IN THIS PAINTING HERE, YOU NOTICE THAT

THIS PAINTING EMPLOYS BRIGHTER GREENS AND BRIGHTER YELLOWS.

SO WHEN YOU STAND BACK AND DO SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISONS,

THIS IS A MUCH BRIGHTER PAINTING.

THE NEXT STEP YOU WOULD LOOK AT

IS HOW THE PAINT IS APPLIED TO THE CANVAS.

IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY IN THE SETH EASTMAN PAINTING HERE,

YOU NOTICE THAT SETH EASTMAN PAINTED VERY THINLY.

HE WAS A WATERCOLORIST FIRST AND FOREMOST,

AND TO CREATE A GOOD WATERCOLOR,

YOU LAYER THE PAINT ON VERY THINLY ONTO THE PAPER.

HE TOOK THAT SAME TECHNIQUE TO OIL AND CANVAS.

AND IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY,

YOU CAN ALMOST SEE THE CANVAS COMING THROUGH.

WHEN YOU GO BACK TO YOUR PAINTING HERE,

YOU SEE A MUCH BRUSHIER APPLICATION OF THE PAINT.

YOU CAN SEE WHERE IT IS THICKLY APPLIED

IN THE CORNER HERE, FOR EXAMPLE.

THIS EXAMINATION MAY BE INCONCLUSIVE,

BUT I CAN STILL TURN TO TECHNOLOGY

FOR MORE DEFINITIVE ANSWERS.

I'M BRINGING JACK'S PAINTING

TO THE MIDWEST ART CONSERVATION CENTER IN MINNEAPOLIS.

HERE, CONSERVATORS JOAN GORMAN AND DAVID MARQUIS

PUT THEIR C.S.I.

SKILLS TO THE TEST.

USING A SPOTLIGHT TO RAKE THE PAINTING'S SURFACE,

DAVID EXAMINED CRACKS AND OTHER CLUES TO ITS AGE.

SO AS NOT TO INJURE THE ARTWORK,

JOAN CHOOSES A TEST SPOT ON THE EDGE OF THE CANVAS

AND THEN PERFORMS A PAINT SOLUBILITY TEST

WITH A LIGHT HYDROCARBON SOLUTION.

Gorman: THE PAINT IS VERY SOLUBLE.

IN FACT, THE PAINT ISN'T JUST DISSOLVING, IT'S MELTING.

WELL, HERE WE ARE.

SO, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

WITH THEIR TESTS COMPLETE, JOAN AND DAVID CALL ME IN

TO SHOW ME WHAT THEY FOUND.

THESE RIDGES ARE WHAT WE CALL "CRAQUELURE."

THEY ARE FORMED WHEN A PAINT LAYER

HAS AGED A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT.

OKAY, AND THAT'S GOOD.

WELL, ACTUALLY, NO.

BECAUSE THEY AREN'T IN THE UPPER PAINT LAYER, WHICH YOU SEE HERE,

BUT THEY'RE IN AN OLDER PAINT LAYER

THAT'S BENEATH THE PAINTING THAT YOU SEE HERE.

SO YOU SAID THAT THIS WAS SOLD AS AN OIL PAINTING?

YES.

WELL, THERE IS OIL HERE, BUT IT IS THE LOWER LEVEL.

THE TOPMOST LAYER, THE DESIGN LAYER,

TESTED AS AN ACRYLIC PAINT.

ACRYLIC PAINTS WERE INTRODUCED TO ARTISTS COMMERCIALLY

IN THE LATE 1950s AND THE 1960s.

SO YOU'RE TELLING ME

THAT SETH EASTMAN COULD NOT HAVE PAINTED THIS PAINTING.

THAT IS CORRECT.

THE PAINTING MAY BE A FORGERY, BUT THE DISCOVERY

OF A LAYER OF OIL PAINT UNDERNEATH THE SURFACE

HAS PIQUED DAVID'S AND JOAN'S INTEREST.

THEY WANT TO X-RAY IT TO SEE IF THEY CAN GET A CLEAR IMAGE

OF WHAT IS BEING OBSCURED.

SO LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT WE HAVE.

THIS IS WHAT'S UNDERNEATH YOUR PAINTING.

THIS IS AMAZING!

I KNOW JACK WAS HOPING HIS $300 FIND

WASN'T TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE,

BUT IT'S TIME TO REPORT BACK AND DELIVER THE BAD NEWS.

YOU HAVE A FORGERY.

WELL, THAT'S TOO BAD.

THIS ISN'T THE REAL MYSTERY HERE.

THE REAL MYSTERY IS WHAT WE FOUND NEXT.

LOOK WHAT WE HAVE HERE.

WE HAVE A PORTRAIT.

WOW.

SO THIS IS UNDERNEATH THE SETH EASTMAN PAINTING.

RIGHT.

THAT AREA IS THE CRAQUELURE THAT DAVID POINTED OUT TO YOU.

THIS IS IT?

SO HE DOES HAVE A 19th-CENTURY PAINTING.

HE DOES INDEED.

YES, HE DOES.

JUST NOT THE ONE HE THINKS.

THAT'S RIGHT.

IT'S A PORTRAIT OF ANOTHER GENTLEMAN.

I DON'T KNOW WHO HE IS, BUT IT WAS PAINTED IN THE 19th CENTURY.

SO YOU DID BUY A 19th-CENTURY PAINTING,

IT JUST WASN'T BY SETH EASTMAN.

MY WORD.

WELL, WE'LL HAVE TO TRY TO TRACK THIS MAN DOWN

AND SEE WHO HE IS.

THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER WHOLE INVESTIGATION.

YES.

BUT GOOD LUCK ON IT.

THANKS A MILLION.

DESPITE THE LINGERING MYSTERY OF OUR PAINTER'S TRUE IDENTITY,

HE OR SHE CLEARLY STUDIED EASTMAN'S WORK.

THE NATIVE AMERICANS DEPICTED HERE

WERE LIVING LIKE THEIR ANCESTORS BEFORE THEM,

A TRADITIONAL WAY OF LIFE CAPTURED ON CANVAS

BEFORE IT WAS DESTROYED.

WONDERING IF THAT PAINTING YOU FOUND

IN THAT ATTIC OR GARAGE SALE IS THE REAL DEAL?

HERE'S HOW TO LAUNCH YOUR OWN INVESTIGATION.

START WITH A CLOSE EXAMINATION AND WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU FIND.

LOOK ON THE CANVAS, FRAME, AND STRETCHER

FOR A SIGNATURE, STUDIO NAME, OR TITLE.

SCANNING THE CANVAS UNDER ULTRAVIOLET OR BLACK LIGHT

CAN REVEAL SIGNS OF PAST REPAIR.

USE A MAGNIFYING GLASS OR JEWELER'S LOUPE

TO LOOK FOR OUT-OF-PLACE DETAILS

SUCH AS FRESH PAINT ON AN OLDER PAINTED SURFACE.

NEXT, WHAT'S THE STORY?

TRY TO DETERMINE THE HISTORY OF OWNERSHIP, OR PROVENANCE,

TO TRACE THE ARTWORK'S CONNECTION TO THE ARTIST.

USE REFERENCE MATERIALS TO COMPARE YOUR PAINTING

WITH OTHERS BY YOUR SUSPECTED ARTIST:

ARE THE SUBJECT MATTER, BRUSH STROKES,

AND COLOR PALETTE SIMILAR?

IF YOU STILL THINK YOU HAVE AN AUTHENTIC PIECE,

SEEK THE ADVICE OF AN EXPERT

WHO CAN HELP CONFIRM YOUR SUSPICIONS.

AND IF ALL ELSE FAILS, ASK US.

CONTACT US AT HISTORY DETECTIVES ON THE WEB AT pbs.org.

Gwendolyn: OUR LAST STORY EXAMINES A COLORFUL BUILDING

AND THE SOMETIMES SECRETIVE SOCIETIES

OF THE CHINESE IMMIGRANT PAST.

IN THE MID-19th CENTURY,

CHINESE IMMIGRATION IS TRANSFORMING THE AMERICAN WEST.

SOME NEW ARRIVALS DIG FOR GOLD,

BUT MOST BUILD RAILROADS AND TOIL AS FARM LABORERS.

MANY OF THE IMMIGRANTS BAND TOGETHER FOR SUPPORT.

ONE KIND OF COMMUNITY GROUP OR ASSOCIATION

IS KNOWN AS A TONG,

MODELED AFTER SIMILAR ORGANIZATIONS IN CHINA.

BUT NEWS ACCOUNTS OFTEN BRAND THE TONG SOCIETIES AS SINISTER,

AND SOME REPORTS TIE THEM TO VIOLENCE

AND OCCASIONAL CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.

NOW A PECULIAR BUILDING IN A SMALL CALIFORNIA TOWN

MAY GIVE US A CHANCE TO GO INSIDE

THE LITTLE-KNOWN WORLD OF THE CHINESE TONGS.

CHARLENE ANDERSSON

OF THE ISLETON BRANNAN-ANDRUS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

HAS LONG BEEN CURIOUS ABOUT THE BUILDING'S PAST

AND ITS CONNECTIONS TO THE CHINESE WHO ONCE LIVED HERE.

WE WOULD LIKE TO JUST KNOW MORE ABOUT IT

SO WE CAN PROPERLY PRESERVE THE TOWN'S HISTORY.

I'M GWENDOLYN WRIGHT,

AND I'M ON MY WAY TO ISLETON,

LOCATED IN THE SACRAMENTO DELTA,

ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF FROM SAN FRANCISCO.

HI, CHARLENE, I'M GWEN WRIGHT.

VERY NICE TO MEET YOU, GWEN.

WELL, I'M VERY INTERESTED IN THIS STORY,

SO TELL ME ABOUT THE BUILDING.

THIS USED TO HOUSE THE CHINESE TONG,

BUT I DON'T KNOW VERY MUCH ABOUT IT.

I TRIED TO DO SOME RESEARCH ON MY OWN,

BUT I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO FIND OUT A LOT

ABOUT THE BUILDING.

IT CLEARLY HASN'T BEEN USED FOR SOME TIME.

DO YOU KNOW WHEN THEY CEASED OPERATIONS?

I UNDERSTAND IN THE '40s, 1940s.

NOW, THIS MURAL IN THE FRONT SEEMS CONSPICUOUSLY NEW.

HOW WAS THAT DONE?

WE WANTED TO GET THE CHILDREN INVOLVED IN THE TOWN'S HISTORY,

SO WE ASKED AN AFTER-SCHOOL GROUP

IF THEY WOULD DO A TEMPORARY MURAL FOR US.

WELL, IT'S CLEARLY OLD.

DO YOU KNOW WHEN IT WAS CONSTRUCTED?

EVERYTHING ON THE STREET BURNED IN 1926,

SO IT WAS CONSTRUCTED RIGHT AFTER THAT.

CHARLENE TELLS ME A TERRIBLE FIRE IN 1926

LEVELED ISLETON'S CHINATOWN.

HUNDREDS OF RESIDENTS LOST EVERYTHING.

IS THERE STILL A SIZABLE CHINESE POPULATION IN ISLETON?

THERE'S JUST A HANDFUL NOW,

BUT WE DID ONCE HAVE A VERY LARGE POPULATION IN ISLETON.

WELL, TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT YOU'D LIKE FOR ME TO FIND OUT.

I'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE TONG, THIS BUILDING,

AND WHAT WENT ON THERE.

IT'S POTENTIALLY A FASCINATING STORY.

I KNOW THAT TONGS WERE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS,

BUT SOME OF THE PRESS OF THE DAY ALSO TARRED THEM

AS SECRETIVE AND DANGEROUS.

THERE ARE CHINESE CHARACTERS ON THE FACADE.

I WONDER WHAT OTHER CLUES THE BUILDING HAS FOR ME.

THIS IS, IN MANY WAYS,

A FAIRLY CONVENTIONAL LATE-19th/EARLY-20th-CENTURY

WESTERN FRONTIER-TOWN COMMERCIAL BUILDING.

THESE TYPES OF ROOFS, OFTEN CALLED FALSE FRONTS,

WERE TALLER THAN THE BUILDING THEMSELVES

AND MADE QUITE ELABORATE --

IN THIS CASE AN UNUSUAL SHAPE OF A PARAPET --

TO GIVE A SENSE OF IMPORTANCE TO THE BUILDING.

UNFORTUNATELY, I CAN'T CHECK OUT THE INSIDE MYSELF.

THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY HAS BEGUN RENOVATIONS

AND THE BUILDING IS TOO UNSTABLE.

THERE'S A TEMPORARY MUSEUM NEARBY

WHERE CHARLENE HAS MOVED SOME OF THE ITEMS FROM THE BUILDING.

THESE ARE THE WOODEN PANELS,

AND THEN THESE ARE THE SIX PANELS -- THE SILK PANELS --

WE DON'T HAVE THE TRANSLATION FOR.

IT'S EXQUISITE EMBROIDERY.

AND TWO OF THEM HAVE CALLIGRAPHY.

YES.

DO YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY DOCUMENTATION IN ENGLISH?

YES, I HAPPEN TO HAVE THE DEED.

THIS IS FROM THE BING KONG TONG BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION

OF SAN FRANCISCO.

SO THEY WERE THE OWNER OF THE BUILDING

AND THEY SOLD IT TO YOU?

NO, THEY GAVE IT TO US TO RESTORE IN 1994.

THE DEED DOESN'T EXPLAIN HOW THE BUILDING

MAY HAVE SERVED ISLETON'S CHINESE COMMUNITY,

BUT THERE IS A NAME.

NOW, THIS IS SIGNED BY A GORDON WONG,

WHO WAS THE PRESIDENT OF THE BING KONG TONG ASSOCIATION

IN SAN FRANCISCO.

DID YOU EVER TRY TO CONTACT HIM?

I TRIED TO REACH HIM SEVERAL TIMES,

BUT I WASN'T ABLE TO.

I DID FINALLY REACH A WIFE OF ONE OF THE PRESIDENTS,

BUT SHE SAID SHE COULDN'T HELP ME.

WELL, I'LL DO WHAT I CAN.

WONDERFUL, THANK YOU.

THE FIRST THING I WANT TO DO IS HEAD TO SAN FRANCISCO

AND FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS BING KONG TONG

LISTED ON THE DEED.

DID THE SAN FRANCISCO GROUP

USE THE ISLETON BUILDING AS THEIR LOCAL CHAPTER,

AS CHARLENE'S STORY SEEMS TO INDICATE?

I'VE MADE SEVERAL CALLS,

BUT THE BING KONG TONG ISN'T ANSWERING.

HERE'S THE ADDRESS LISTED ON THE DEED.

NO ONE'S ANSWERING THE DOOR.

AND IF THEY'RE HERE, THEY'RE STILL NOT RETURNING MY CALLS.

SO I'M HEADING TO THE CHINESE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA.

THEY DON'T KNOW ANYONE ASSOCIATED

WITH THE BING KONG TONG WHO CAN ANSWER MY QUESTIONS,

BUT THEY CAN HELP ME DELVE DEEPER INTO TONG HISTORY.

FROM THE MID-19th CENTURY,

LARGE NUMBERS OF CHINESE ARRIVED IN THE UNITED STATES,

MOST AS MANUAL LABORERS.

TONGS AND OTHER SIMILAR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS

DEVELOPED IN STRICTLY SEGREGATED CHINATOWNS.

IN THE U.S., THERE WERE MULTIPLE REASONS FOR TONGS

AND SOMETIMES DIFFERENT GROUPS.

THEY PROVIDED CULTURAL CONTINUITY AS THEY HAD IN CHINA:

PEOPLE SPEAKING THE SAME DIALECT,

FAMILIAR WITH CERTAIN WAYS OF LIFE,

A PLACE THAT WAS SAFE.

BY 1882, THE IMMIGRANT DREAM

OF FINDING A PROMISED LAND IN THE UNITED STATES

HAD BEEN SHATTERED BY HARSH REALITIES.

THAT YEAR, CONGRESS PASSED THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT,

WHICH BANNED CHINESE WORKERS FROM EMIGRATING FOR TEN YEARS

AND EVENTUALLY FOR DECADES.

LISTEN TO WHAT THE ACT DECREED:

"IN THE OPINION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

"THE COMING OF CHINESE LABORERS TO THIS COUNTRY

"ENDANGERS THE GOOD ORDER OF CERTAIN LOCALITIES,

"AND SO IT SHALL NOT BE LAWFUL FOR ANY CHINESE LABORER

TO COME OR TO REMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES."

MUCH OF THE REPORTING ABOUT TONGS

ALSO SEEMED SENSATIONALIST AND QUITE POSSIBLY RACIST.

"HIGHBINDERS AND TONG WARS."

"TONG WAR STILL A POSSIBILITY."

"TONG WAR AGAIN BREAKS OUT IN CHINATOWN."

"LET US HAVE NO MORE CHINATOWNS IN OUR CITIES."

[ sighs ]

I WANT TO DIG BENEATH THESE HEADLINES.

WHILE I'M IN SAN FRANCISCO,

I'M MEETING WITH A COLLEAGUE, CHRIS YIP.

HE'S STUDIED THE ARCHITECTURE OF CHINESE COMMUNITY BUILDINGS

IN THE AMERICAN WEST.

HOPEFULLY HE CAN CONFIRM

THE ISLETON BUILDING DID HOUSE A TONG.

YOU'RE THE PERSON WHO CAN TELL ME ABOUT A LOT OF THESE THINGS.

OH, THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT.

IS THERE ANY WAY OF TELLING WHAT WOULD BE A TONG BUILDING

AS OPPOSED TO SOME OTHER KIND OF PUBLIC BUILDING

FROM THE FACADE?

IT'S MORE THAT THERE WAS AN ASSOCIATION BUILDING TYPE.

THIS IS A GOOD STREET TO VIEW THE ASSOCIATION BUILDINGS

BECAUSE THERE'S SUCH A HIGH CONCENTRATION ON WAVERLY.

CHRIS EXPLAINS THAT TONGS

AND OTHER COMMUNITY OR ASSOCIATION BUILDINGS

TOOK A SIMILAR FORM IN WESTERN AMERICAN CHINATOWNS.

THE IMMIGRANTS PUT COMMERCIAL OR RETAIL ENTERPRISES

ON THE GROUND FLOOR

WHILE THE MAIN FUNCTIONS OF THE TONG

OCCUPY THE ORNATE UPPER LEVELS.

THE TOP SPACE WOULD BE THE MOST IMPORTANT,

AND THERE IS WHERE THE ASSOCIATION WOULD HAVE

THEIR MAIN OFFICES AND THE BIG SHOW.

AND SO YOU CAN SEE,

THAT'S WHERE THE ARCHITECTS CONCENTRATED THE DECORATION.

I SHOW CHRIS A PHOTO OF THE ISLETON BUILDING

AND ASK HIM WHAT HE MAKES OF IT.

WELL, IT FOLLOWS THE PATTERN OF ASSOCIATION BUILDINGS

ESTABLISHED IN SAN FRANCISCO'S CHINATOWN

AFTER THE '06 EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE.

BUT IT'S THE FADING CHARACTERS ON THE TOP OF THE FACADE

THAT APPEAR TO CONFIRM CHARLENE'S STORY.

YOU HAVE ACROSS THE TOP "BING KONG TONG."

HE'S ALMOST CERTAIN OUR BUILDING WAS USED

AS A BRANCH OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BING KONG TONG,

BUT HE CAN'T TELL ME MUCH ABOUT THIS TONG'S ACTIVITIES.

CHARLOTTE BROOKS IS AN EXPERT ON ASIAN-AMERICAN HISTORY,

SO I'M GOING TO PUT THE QUESTION TO HER.

NICE TO MEET YOU.

NICE TO MEET YOU, TOO.

I HAVE A DEED THAT SAYS

THE BING KONG TONG ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO

GAVE THIS BUILDING TO THE LOCAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

NOW, HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE BING KONG TONG?

THEY WERE ONE OF THE MAJOR TONGS IN SAN FRANCISCO,

ONE OF THE MAJOR FIVE OR SIX

THAT WERE REALLY A POWER IN CHINATOWN.

THE FIRST TONG CAME OUT OF A PROTEST

AGAINST MERCHANT ELITES IN CHINATOWNS

ARROGATING POWER TO THEMSELVES.

CHARLOTTE EXPLAINS THAT OVER TIME,

AS EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHINESE

WERE FURTHER RESTRICTED, THE ACTIVITIES OF SEVERAL TONGS

BECAME MORE ASSOCIATED WITH SOMETIMES CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES.

THEY WERE MORE INVOLVED, ACTUALLY, IN WHAT AT THE TIME

WAS CALLED THE VICE INDUSTRY:

PROSTITUTION, GAMBLING, EVENTUALLY OPIUM TRADING,

AND FINALLY IMMIGRANT SMUGGLING.

HOW MANY TONGS WOULD YOU SAY THERE WERE IN 1880 OR 1900?

YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY FUNNY, IT'S DIFFICULT TO KNOW

BECAUSE OF THE WAY IT'S PORTRAYED

IN THE 19th-CENTURY PRESS:

EVERY CHINESE ORGANIZATION IS A TONG AND THEY ALL FIGHT,

AND THAT WAS NOT THE CASE.

THE SO-CALLED TONG WARS?

YEAH, THE TONG WARS.

BUT THAT WAS SENSATIONALISM TO SOME EXTENT, WASN'T IT?

THERE WAS SENSATIONALISM, BUT THEY DID HAPPEN.

BY THE 1870s AND 1880s, AS THERE'S A GREAT DEAL OF PRESSURE

ON CHINESE AMERICANS AS A WHOLE,

A LOT OF THE DISPUTES OVER THINGS LIKE JOBS,

OVER THINGS LIKE A PIECE OF THE GAMBLING POT OR PROSTITUTION

WERE SETTLED BY TONG WARS.

CHARLOTTE INSISTS THAT EVEN WHEN TONGS WERE INVOLVED

IN ACTIVITIES THAT SKIRTED OR OUTRIGHT BROKE THE LAW,

THEY REMAINED LOYAL TO THEIR MEMBERS

AND HELPED A VULNERABLE COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER.

IN A LOT OF THESE SMALL TOWNS,

VIGILANTES WERE BURNING THESE PLACES TO THE GROUND,

THEY WERE BEATING UP CHINESE,

THEY WERE THREATENING EMPLOYERS WHO HIRED CHINESE.

IT WAS REALLY GOOD TO HAVE THAT ON YOUR SIDE,

SOMEONE WHO'S LOOKING OUT FOR YOU.

THE BING KONG TONG ALSO RAN SCHOOLS

TO TEACH YOUNG CHINESE AMERICANS

THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND ABOUT CHINESE CULTURE

AND ALSO TO TEACH THEM TO BE PATRIOTIC

TO CHIANG KAI-SHEK AND THE NATIONALISTS.

WHILE THE BING KONG TONG DID OPEN CHAPTERS

OUTSIDE SAN FRANCISCO, CONDITIONS IN SMALL TOWNS

WERE OFTEN VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE CITY.

CHARLOTTE CAN'T SAY EXACTLY HOW THIS TONG

MAY HAVE SERVED ITS LOCAL COMMUNITY.

BUT YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING

ABOUT THE ISLETON BING KONG TONG IN PARTICULAR?

I DON'T, I DON'T REALLY KNOW MUCH AT ALL.

CHARLOTTE'S MENTION OF ARSON REMINDS ME

OF THE TERRIBLE FIRES IN ISLETON'S CHINATOWN

THAT CHARLENE HAD TOLD ME ABOUT.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AND WHAT HISTORY HAS OUR BUILDING SEEN?

I'VE CONTACTED THE SACRAMENTO LIBRARY,

WHO'VE MAILED ME SOME NEWS CLIPPINGS ABOUT ISLETON.

HERE'S SOMETHING ON THE 1926 FIRE:

"OLD CHINATOWN DISTRICT WIPED OUT

BY $600,000 CONFLAGRATION."

"ACCORDING TO INVESTIGATIONS BY THE DEPUTY SHERIFF,

IT STARTED WHEN AN OIL STOVE IN THE HOME OF..."

THE NEWSPAPER MAKES NO MENTION OF ARSON.

STILL, THERE'S NOTHING HERE TO SUGGEST

THE ISLETON TONG WAS INVOLVED IN

SOME OF THE UNSAVORY ACTIVITIES THAT CHARLOTTE DESCRIBED.

"DELTA CHINESE HONOR LEADER."

THIS CLIPPING LEADS ME TO WHAT MAY BE AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.

AN OBITUARY ABOUT SOMEONE NAMED YEE TOY,

THE MAYOR OF THE CHINESE DISTRICT.

HE HAD ORGANIZED THE ISLETON CHAPTER OF THE BING KONG TONG.

IT SEEMS OUR TONG WAS FOUNDED IN 1903

AND REBUILT IN 1926 AFTER THE FIRE.

"THE DECEASED LEAVES THREE DAUGHTERS..."

IF I COULD FIND A LIVING RELATIVE OF THE FOUNDER,

MAYBE I WOULD HAVE A FIRST-PERSON ACCOUNT

OF WHAT ROLE THE ISLETON TONG HAD IN THIS COMMUNITY.

AND DO YOU HAVE A PHONE NUMBER?

I MAKE SOME CALLS AND GET LUCKY.

MY OFFICE HAS FOUND ROGER CHEN,

WHO MAY BE THE SON OF ONE OF THE DAUGHTERS

MENTIONED IN THE OBITUARY.

GREAT!

ROGER AND I AGREE TO MEET IN ISLETON.

HI, ARE YOU ROGER?

YES, YOU'RE GWEN.

YES, I AM.

GLAD TO MEET YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING UP HERE.

YOU'RE WELCOME.

NOW, JUST TO CONFIRM, THIS IS YOUR GRANDFATHER, IS THAT RIGHT?

YES, THAT IS MY GRANDFATHER, YEE TOY.

SO YOUR GRANDFATHER ESTABLISHED THE BING KONG TONG

IN ISLETON IN 1903, IS THAT CORRECT?

THAT'S CORRECT.

HE BECAME ONE OF THE LEADING MERCHANTS IN ISLETON.

HE FOUNDED THE TONG BY GOING TO THE TONG IN SAN FRANCISCO,

THE BING KONG TONG, AND ASKING THEM TO FORM AN AFFILIATE.

AND THERE WAS A LARGE CHINESE POPULATION THERE.

ROGER TELLS ME THAT AT ITS PEAK,

THERE WERE ABOUT 1,500 CHINESE IN ISLETON.

THEY FIRST CAME TO THIS AREA IN 1875 TO BUILD THE LEVEES.

THEY THEN DID AGRICULTURAL LABOR,

HARVESTING PEARS AND ASPARAGUS,

AND LATER WORKING IN THE CANNERIES.

MOST WORKED FOR ONLY A DOLLAR A DAY SIX DAYS A WEEK,

BOARDING IN FARM BARRACKS.

HE SAYS THE TONG WAS A HUB FOR THE ENTIRE CHINESE COMMUNITY.

THE DOWNSTAIRS WAS USED FOR A LANGUAGE SCHOOL,

A CHINESE LANGUAGE SCHOOL.

SO YOU WENT TO CHINESE LANGUAGE SCHOOL AT THIS TONG BUILDING?

YES, I DID.

ROGER OFFERS TO SHOW ME AROUND.

HE WAS ONE OF A NEW GENERATION OF CHINESE AMERICANS

THAT PLAYED IN THE SMALL LOT ADJACENT TO OUR BUILDING.

THIS WAS THE PLAYGROUND THAT WAS ESTABLISHED

BY THE TONG FOR THE CHINESE CHILDREN,

AND THIS WAS THE ONLY PLAYGROUND WE HAD.

THE UPSTAIRS, OF COURSE, WAS THE TONG FACILITIES.

MOST OF THE CHINESE SPENT THEIR WORKDAYS

IN THE FIELDS AND CANNERIES,

BUT ON THEIR DAY OFF, THEY CAME INTO ISLETON

TO UNWIND, TO SOCIALIZE, AND TO GAMBLE,

A POPULAR IF ILLEGAL PASTIME.

THIS EMPTY LOT, THIS BUILDING, AND THIS BUILDING

WERE GAMBLING HOUSES, AS WAS THAT ONE AND THAT ONE.

NOW, WHICH ONES DID YOUR GRANDFATHER OWN?

MY GRANDFATHER OWNED THIS ONE AND THAT ONE.

HE HAS A PHOTOGRAPH THAT HE THINKS MAY GIVE ME

A UNIQUE LOOK INSIDE THE TONG HIS GRANDFATHER FOUNDED.

OH, THIS IS WONDERFUL.

IT'S DECORATED FOR SOME FESTIVAL, IT SEEMS.

YES, PROBABLY CHINESE NEW YEAR'S.

THAT'S CHARLENE'S BUILDING ALL RIGHT,

AND THOSE ARE THE WOODEN PANELS I SAW EARLIER.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT SOME OF THESE PEOPLE DID,

SINCE YOU KNEW SOME OF THEM LATER ON?

YES, THEY CAME FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE

WITHIN THE CHINATOWN COMMUNITY.

THERE WERE MERCHANTS, THERE WERE GAMBLERS.

LIKE THIS MAN AND THIS MAN, THESE TWO WERE BUHAODOYS,

OR HATCHET MEN.

ROGER SAYS THERE WASN'T MUCH NEED FOR HATCHET MEN

IN A SMALL TOWN LIKE ISLETON.

JUST THE PRESENCE OF THESE STRONGMEN

HELPED KEEP THE PEACE AMONG THE CHINESE COMMUNITY.

BUT WAS THERE ANY VIOLENCE

WITHIN THE CHINESE COMMUNITY IN ISLETON?

THERE WAS...

WHAT ROGER SAYS NEXT GIVES ME AN ANSWER FOR CHARLENE.

WELL, CHARLENE, I HAVE A LOT THAT I CAN TELL YOU

ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THIS TONG.

I EXPLAIN TO CHARLENE SOME OF THE CONFLICTED HISTORY

OF TONGS IN THE CITIES AND TOWNS OF THE WEST.

AND THE HATCHET MEN...

BUT IT WAS ROGER'S ANSWER

TO WHETHER THERE HAD BEEN VIOLENCE

ASSOCIATED WITH THE ISLETON TONG

THAT HELPED ME UNDERSTAND ITS PLACE IN THE COMMUNITY.

I DON'T KNOW OF ANY DISPUTES OR WARFARE

THAT TOOK PLACE IN ISLETON.

AS FAR AS I KNEW, IT WAS A PRETTY ORGANIZED EFFORT

TO NOT ONLY RUN THE GAMBLING BUT ALSO, MORE IMPORTANT,

THE RUNNING OF ASSISTANCE TO THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.

ROGER SAYS THAT ALTHOUGH THERE MAY HAVE BEEN

VIOLENT INCIDENTS IN ISLETON

AND THERE WAS ALWAYS AN UNDERCURRENT OF MISTRUST

BETWEEN THE RACES, THE CHINESE EXPERIENCE THERE

IMPROVED WITH EACH GENERATION.

WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF A TONG FOR YOUR GRANDFATHER?

THE BASIC PURPOSE WAS TO PROVIDE A PLACE TO MEET,

A PLACE TO DISCUSS PROBLEMS AND SOLVE PROBLEMS,

AND TO HELP RESOLVE ANY DISPUTES THAT MAY BE GOING ON.

THAT'S WONDERFUL.

IT HELPS US UNDERSTAND THE CULTURE,

THE HISTORY OF THE TONG, AND WHAT IT MEANS TO US TODAY.

ROGER ALSO INTRODUCED ME TO SHARON FONG AND KIM CHEUNG,

WHO COULD TRANSLATE OUR PANELS.

[ speaking in Chinese language ]

THE SILK PANELS WERE LONG-AGO GIFTS

FROM OTHER LOCAL TONGS, ILLUSTRATING A WEB OF SUPPORT

AMONG CHINESE IMMIGRANTS IN THE AREA.

IT TURNS OUT THESE ARE POEMS THAT NEED TO BE READ ACROSS

AS WELL AS TOP TO BOTTOM TO REVEAL THEIR MEANINGS.

[ both speaking in Chinese language ]

YEAH, UH-HUH.

THERE WILL BE A BALANCE, THERE WILL BE A PEACE,

FAIRNESS, AND JUSTICE WITHIN THE ENTIRE NATION.

THAT'S A WONDERFUL ASPIRATION STILL.

THIS HAS BEEN A FASCINATING STORY TO WORK ON.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THANK YOU.

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF CHINATOWN TONGS,

GO TO HISTORY DETECTIVES ON THE WEB AT pbs.org.

ISLETON'S ASIAN-AMERICAN HISTORIC DISTRICT

IS JUST ONE OF THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF LISTINGS

ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES.

CREATED ON OCTOBER 15, 1966 BY PRESIDENT LYNDON JOHNSON,

THE REGISTER WAS DESIGNED TO PROTECT

AMERICA'S UNIQUE CULTURAL, ARCHAEOLOGICAL,

ARCHITECTURAL, AND ENGINEERING HISTORY.

TODAY, THERE ARE OVER 85,000 LISTINGS ON THE REGISTER,

INCLUDING BIRTHPLACES OF HISTORICAL FIGURES,

MUSEUMS, BRIDGES, BURIAL GROUNDS,

AND EVEN LIGHTHOUSES.

FROM SOME OF THE EARLIEST ENTRIES,

LIKE THE FREDERICK DOUGLASS HOME

AND THE MALL IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,

TO MORE RECENT ADDITIONS, LIKE THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM,

THE LIST KEEPS GROWING.

ANYONE CAN NOMINATE A PROPERTY TO BE CONSIDERED

BY THEIR STATE'S HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEW BOARD.

IN 2007, COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS CLAIMED

THIS BRONX, NEW YORK, BUILDING WAS THE BIRTHPLACE OF HIP-HOP.

THE NEW YORK STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEW BOARD

CLEARED THE WAY FOR THE NEXT STEP:

A FORMAL APPLICATION FOR THE INCLUSION

OF 1520 SEDGWICK AVENUE ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

Elvis Costello: ♫WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES♫

♫IT'S JUST LIKE WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES♫

♫WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES♫

♫WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES♫