05/21/2026
May is Asian American Heritage Month, and we honor and celebrate Evanstonians of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage throughout our City's history, and today.
One Asian American with an intriguing history was Kuo-chen Wu (1903-1984), who arrived in Evanston from China in 1953 with his wife Hsiu-hwei, known as Edith. K. C., as he was known here, had served with Chiang Kai-Shek and held a number of high profile positions in the Chinese Nationalist Party. When the party had fled to Taiwan after the Communist takeover of mainland China, Wu served as governor of the island. He disagreed with Chiang Kai-Shek’s shift toward authoritarian rule, was the target of an assassination attempt, and immigrated to the United States.
You can read the full story of the Wu family, including K.C's son, Sherman, who attended Evanston Township High School and Northwestern University, where his racial exclusion from the Psi Upsilon fraternity was chronicled in the Pete Seeger song "The Ballad of Sherman Wu," here: https://evanstonhistorycenter.org/kcwu/
Today, Evanston ASPA a local ASPA (Asian, South Asian, Pacific Islander American)-led organization, "provide(s) resources and support for the local Asian American community, and increase(s) the visibility and representation of the Asian American diaspora in civic, cultural and community spaces through the arts." More stories of Evanstonians of Asian descent can be found in their Placemaking Project.
