Documentary | English | DVD
Writer, Producer, Directors: Amy Y. Chan, Jim Choi
Executive Producers: Stephen Gong, Don Young
Ethnicity: Chinese
Subjects: History, Immigration, Labor, Transcontinental Railroad
Grade Levels: High school & up
Folk musician Charlie Chin narrates this accessible introduction to an important part of Asian American history. Although over 10,000 Chinese immigrants helped build the western half of the Transcontinental Railroad, their crucial contribution was largely overlooked for almost an entire century. THE GOLDEN SPIKE is the story of these forgotten workers with photographs, paintings and political cartoons from the period.
Even though these workers were absent from the famous photograph of the completion of the railroad at Promontory Summit, their strength and courage are clear from what they accomplished. As Chin remarks, “These Chinese literally moved mountains by hand.”