Preserving the Untold History of Chinese Grocers in the Delta: A Documentary Screening and Discussion

During the Jim Crow era in the American South, an untold narrative unfolded that defied the traditional Black-White binary of Southern history: the history of Chinese grocers in the Mississippi Delta. Emerging filmmaker and Hopewell resident Bryan Zhao examines this rich, forgotten legacy in Eighty Years at Young’s, an Official Selection of the 2026 Princeton Student Film Festival. Centered on an 80-year-old grocery store in Earle, Arkansas, the film weaves together past and present via oral histories, community interviews, and archival photographs to detail the impact of the region’s few remaining Chinese-owned grocery stores. Join us for a virtual screening of the film followed by an engaging discussion with Zhao about his documentary research process, the legacy of Delta grocers, and his work in AAPI advocacy and community solidarity.

Registration with an email is required, so we can send you a link to connect through GoToMeeting. You will receive the link approximately 24 hours before the program.