By Olivia Wall
I look to a future where people of all backgrounds in Houston succeed.
–Gordon Quan
Houstonian Gordon Quan, who moved to the United States from China as a child in 1951, as worked to better his community through teaching and practicing law throughout his career. As an immigration attorney, he assists people wanting to emigrate to the United States negotiate the difficulties they face. Thus, Quan helps to bridge a gap between their homeland and America. Quan’s childhood experiences enabled him to understand the value of family and the struggles immigrants faced, including being the odd one out in their neighborhood. Gordon Quan’s inspiring story illustrates the contributions he has made to creating a Houston where people of all backgrounds can succeed.
Born in Guangzhou, China, to American parents, Quan moved to Houston with his family during the Chinese Civil War when the Chinese Communist Party came to power. Quan grew up in the 1950s and 1960s and lived in the East End, where his family was one of the few Chinese American families in the neighborhood.
Quan’s family bought a grocery store on Avenue E and 78th Street near the Houston Ship Channel, where they could run the store and live in the back. They called it the Eastern Food Market. The store created a close connection for the family to the community and sense of security, as Quan recalled, “Everybody knew each other’s name, and we didn’t lock our doors.” Residing in the East End, which was largely Latino, meant Quan and his family stood out amongst the other community members. Unfortunately, and inevitably in the 1950s, children teased Quan because of his ethnicity; however, he remembered this diminishing as they got to know him. Nevertheless, he reflected, “People will recognize you more for being different as opposed to just blending in like everyone else.”
Honoring their Chinese culture, the Quans connected with nearby Chinese American families. Quan’s family is part of the Lung Kong Family, an association that began about three thousand years ago in China and includes the Liu, Quan, Jeu and Cheung. His parents were part of local Chinese organizations, including the Chinese American Citizens Alliance and the Chinese Baptist Church, where the children attended Sunday School and socialized with their Chinese peers on weekends. Despite being Americanized living in Houston’s East End, Quan always appreciated his Chinese roots. He and his family consistently paid respect to their culture and ancestry, which included celebrating Chinese holidays and traditions such as Lunar New Year.
The Quan family developed a strong, tight-knit relationship as they lived and worked together in the family grocery store. This closeness played a significant role in the person Quan became during his school years and beyond. His parents expected him and his siblings to do well in school, and his academic success at Franklin Elementary School led him to become the chief of patrol for his class. Placed In advanced classes due to his grades, Quan excelled compared to other students. At Edison Junior High School, he participated in the speech club, traveling to different schools to do extemporaneous speeches and perform poetry readings. This pushed him out of his comfort zone to become more vocal. Additionally, Quan received a nomination for the American Legion Awards as an outstanding student.
In the 1960 presidential election, Democrat John F. Kennedy defeated Republican Richard Nixon by just .02 percent of the popular vote. Quan admired Kennedy even though his father’s political ideas leaned conservative. He recounted, “I remember having a Kennedy/Johnson bumper sticker, and in my English class, my teacher threatened to pop me for every letter on that if I didn’t put it away.” Seeing how people’s opinions differed taught him that he could make a difference and to stay strong in his beliefs.
Quan heard President Kennedy deliver his “Going to the Moon” speech at Rice Stadium in September 1962 and credited it with inspiring him to consider politics. JFK encouraged Americans to support the space race, saying, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.
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Watch this video of Gordon Quan talking about him being born in China, working with different cultures, and the development of the Chinatown in Houston
Click here to see the Houston Public libraries Gordon Quan papers: a collection of Gordon Quan during his time on city council (2000-2005)
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