Latest news with #CHSA
CBS News
08-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
After long wait, plans underway to build Bruce Lee statue in San Francisco's Chinatown
A project is now in the works to build a bronze statue of Bruce Lee in San Francisco's Chinatown neighborhood. The Chinese Historical Society of America Museum wants to pay tribute to the martial arts icon and film star, who was born at the Chinese Hospital on Jackson Street on Nov. 27, 1940. "This is a long wished for and now active project," said Justin Hoover of the CHSA. "It is time to bring our native son home." The statue is a long-time dream of Jeff Chinn, who has one of the largest collections of Bruce Lee memorabilia. His hope is to follow in the footsteps of Hong Kong, Croatia and Los Angeles who have all built statues to the action star legend. "I think this is a very big deal… because a statue is the form of honor that you can bestow upon someone," Chinn told CBS News Bay Area. For Chinn, the statute is personal. He was born in San Francisco's Chinatown and moved to the East Bay where he says he was bullied and teased as a kid. His only escape was watching Bruce Lee films, including Enter the Dragon (1973) and Game of Death (1979), where he gained confidence seeing a larger-than-life star on the silver screen who looked like him. "I never met him, but he actually helped me out," said Chinn. "And until my dying day, I will do my best to pay him back in any way that I can." Currently, the CHSA is looking to commission an artist to create the statue. They will be working with community organizations and private donors to raise $250,000 for the project, with $50,000 in seed money already secured from the Rose Pak Community Fund. "I grew up watching Bruce Lee's films with my parents and relatives," said Gorretti Lo Lui, vice president of the fund. "His films are part of our family's collective memory. Having a public statue to educate about Bruce Lee in the Chinatown where he was born is both a fitting tribute and will serve as a pilgrimage destination for people across the world." The goal is to build the bronze statue of Bruce Lee in Chinatown's Portsmouth Square. The project is expected to take three to five years to complete.
Axios
08-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Bruce Lee statue to be installed in SF Chinatown
San Francisco is finally getting its very own Bruce Lee statue. Why it matters: Locals had for years advocated for a statue in his honor amid the city's efforts to take down those with racist histories. The martial arts icon and film star was born in Chinatown in 1940. Driving the news: The Chinese Historical Society of America Museum (CHSA), which is leading the project, has hired artist Arnie Kim to bring Lee's sculpture to life and will work with community representatives to identify the ideal location in Chinatown for the statue. Lee's statue will immortalize a moment from his 1973 movie "Enter the Dragon" in which he prowls on the ground in a fight to the death. Context: The project is a collaboration with the Rose Pak Community Fund, the Bruce Lee Foundation and Stand With Asians. The Rose Pak Community Fund will provide $50,000 as first-round seed money, and CHSA is asking the community to help fundraise the $150,000 needed in total. What they're saying: Lee broke barriers not just in film and martial arts but also in the way he handled adversity throughout his life, especially in an industry that emasculated him because of his racial identity, Mark Young, Stand With Asians co-founder, said as part of a launch event Friday. The statue will be a tribute to Lee's role in galvanizing the local community to understand its own history, according to CHSA. It will also serve as a "pilgrimage destination" for people around the world, said Gorretti Lo Lui, vice president of the Rose Pak Community Fund. Between the lines: The statue builds on CHSA's efforts to spotlight the life and times of what it calls "Chinatown's native son." That includes the " We Are Bruce Lee" exhibit examining his creative talents, athletic prowess, philosophical inclinations and role as unifier between Black and Asian communities. Flashback: Lee's connections to San Francisco run deep. Even though he lived and trained in Hong Kong as a child, he made a name for himself after returning to the city at 18. He later opened Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute in Oakland and went on to debut his famous one-inch punch and two-finger push-up during an exhibition at the International Karate Championships in Long Beach, where he was discovered by Hollywood. The big picture: Under former Mayor London Breed, San Francisco took down multiple statues with racist implications, including one of Christopher Columbus and another one that portrayed the colonial subjugation of Native Americans. The city later formed the Monuments and Memorials Advisory Committee (MMAC) to assess the future of its public art collections. The MMAC issued its final report in June 2023 after surveying almost 680 community members. When asked what they like most about the city's monuments and memorials, 53% said they "represent the histories, stories, and/or events I want San Francisco to be known for."
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Big changes coming to MLK Jr. Boulevard: affordable housing project breaks ground in Savannah
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – The City of Savannah is breaking ground on a new affordable housing project today on MLK Jr. Boulevard that will provide stability and support for families in need. Homeless numbers decreased last year in Savannah, and the City plans to continue the trend this year in 2025. Leaders will break ground this morning on a new affordable housing project will bring 16 two-bedroom apartments to the area, offering a fresh start for families. City leaders alongside housing partners will gather this morning at 11 a.m. for a groundbreaking ceremony at 916 Martin Luther King Boulevard. This event will kick off the construction of the apartments designed to help families facing homelessness or housing instability due to rising costs. The new units will provide safe, stable housing for small families and individuals at risk of being displaced. This project is part of the City's larger Housing Savannah Action Plan aimed at increasing affordable housing options. It a collaboration that has been more than two years in the making. 'We have many working families that are not able to secure housing,' said Anita Smith-Dixon, the Executive Director at Community Housing Service Agency (CHSA). 'As you can see, what's around us is market rate housing. And they can't afford it. So, this project is important in that it will provide stability to families, so they can continue to be a valuable part of our community.' The City intends to continue to build more affordable housing in the future. The project is expected to take 12 months to build and should open around spring of 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
