Filmmaker Felicia Lowe Opposes NARA Closures

Award-winning filmmaker Felicia Lowe (Chinese Couplets, Chinatown, Carved in Silence, China: Land of My Father) has issued the following statement about the proposed closure of the National Archives at San Francisco.

“The proposed closure of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) facility in San Bruno would be a huge blow to our communities. But what would be even worse is to move the collection and block ACCESS to it. These vital documents, evidence of the immigrants’ journeys and status upon their arrival to America among other equally significant records must continue to be made available and supported by learned NARA staff. Our history and contributions in America were ignored, hidden, for the better part of the 20th century, but through the diligence and scholarship of historians, researchers, who used these NARA resources, our stories/histories have emerged. I couldn’t have made my documentaries without them.”

In this clip from her film Chinese Couplets, Lowe discovers her mother’s records at the National Archives at San Francisco.