Hong Yen Chang, Lawyer and Symbol

Abstract

Hong Yen Chang, Lawyer and Symbol Gabriel J. Chin * In March 2015, the California Supreme Court admitted Hong Yen Chang to the bar; in 1890, the Court denied him admission because of his race. 1 The Court acted on the petition of the UC Davis Asian Pacific American Law Students Asso- ciation, 2 with me as faculty advisor, represented by our pro bono counsel, Munger, Tolles & Olson. Hong Yen Chang was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1888, making him the first Chinese American lawyer in the United States. 3 He came to America in 1872 as a participant in the Chinese Educational Mission, a group of young men sent from China to receive Western educations. The goal was to create a cadre of professionals familiar with Western knowledge and practices. 4 Chang was twelve years old when he came to the United States. He graduated from Phillips Andover Academy in 1879, and then attended Yale College until 1881. 5 However, China cancelled the mission in 1881, and Chang was recalled to China. However, Chang returned to the United States on his own in 1882. 6 He attended Columbia Law School, where he was the only Asian student on campus, and he graduated in 1886. 7 At Commencement, the Dean of Columbia mentioned Chang specifically: I would like to add a word of special greeting to one of your number who has come here from a far distant land, pressed by an irresistible desire to acquire a Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law & Affiliated Faculty, Aoki Center for Critical Race & Nation Studies, UC Davis School of Law. This article is based on remarks made at the 2016 NAPABA Annual Meeting, at the Asian Bar Association of Sacramento, and at William “Mac” Taylor Inn of Court in Dallas. 1. In re Chang, 344 P.3d 288 (2015), overruling In re Chang, 24 P. 156 (1890). 2. The APALSA members participating in the project include: Christopher Alvarez ’13, Caspar Chan’13, Sue Chang ’15, JoAnne Jennings ’13, Jocelyn Koo ’15, Robert Marcelis ’13, Kian Magana ’14, Matthew Peng ’13, Sally Son ’13, Erin Tanimura, ’14, Steven Vong ’16, Tina Wang ’14, Tammy Weng ’13, and Elaine Won ’16. 3. Li Chen, Pioneers in the Fight for Inclusion of Chinese Students in American Legal Education and Legal Profession, 22 A sian A m . L.J. 5, 31–32 (2015). Most of the details of Hong Yen Chang’s life and career are drawn from this excellent work, as well as from L ani A y T ye F arkas , B ury M y B ones in A merica : T he S aga of a C hinese F amily in C alifornia , 1852–1966 (1998). 4. Origins of the Chinese Educational Mission, C hinese E duc . M ission C onnections , http://www. cemconnections.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=34&limit=1&limit- start=0. 5. Chen, supra note 3, at 16. 6. Id. 7. Id. at 19. © 2016 Gabriel J. Chin. All rights reserved.