Press Release
Remembering Fay Chew Matsuda, 1949 - 2020
Fay Chew Matsuda, a social worker, community activist, and former director of the Museum of Chinese in the Americas (MOCA) in Manhattan’s Chinatown, died on July 24, 2020 at the age of 71. We send our condolences to her husband, Karl; her daughter Amy; and the Chew and Matsuda families.
Fay served on the AALDEF board of directors for more than a decade in the 1980s and 1990s and played a key role in several community institutions, including Hamilton-Madison House, Chinatown Health Clinic (now Charles B. Wang Community Health Center), and New York Chinatown History Project, (now Museum of Chinese in the Americas).
Fay brought her experiences as a social worker and community activist to the AALDEF board, working with public interest lawyers to build an organization committed to protecting the civil rights of Asian Americans. She understood the importance of improving people’s lives while preserving their legacy with truth and dignity.
Margaret Fung, AALDEF Executive Director, said: “We were fortunate to have Fay’s involvement during AALDEF’s early years, and all of us will miss her insights and her ability to bring people together to promote a more just and fair world.”
Fay’s family has organized a service to celebrate her life and legacy on Sunday, August 16, 2020 at 4 pm ET. You can join at the Zoom link here:
https://gatheringus.zoom.us/j/92279220661?pwd=S2dzdjZjbmVhN2EvR0E0eUJiVnZJZz09
Meeting ID: 922 7922 0661
Online Passcode: Gathering
To learn more about Fay’s remarkable life, read this New York Times obituary and visit faychewmatsuda.com.
Photos of Fay (from top to bottom):
1- AALDEF board 1984.
2- AALDEF board 1990.
3- AALDEF lunar new year gala 1993 - with Justice in Action award recipient Yoko Ono and Nam June Paik.
4- AALDEF lunar new year gala 1994 - with Justice in Action award recipients Kazu Iijima and Minn Matsuda of Asian Americans for Action, Rep. Norman Mineta, and Lani Guinier. Also Gordon Hirabayashi, journalist Ying Chan, musician Charlie Chin, and AALDEF staff and board.
5- Asian Pacific American Heritage Day Festival 1998 at Lincoln Center, New York City.