Betty Lee Sung was an American activist, author, and professor at City University of New York( CUNY). She was the founding professor of Asian American Studies program focusing on Asian diaspora at CUNY. She was also the author of nine books. Sung was born in Baltimore, Maryland to Chinese immigrant parents who left their country after the Japanese invasion. She credits her interest in the history of Chinese Americans to have been shaped by her own experience as a child of Chinese immigrant paren... moreBetty Lee Sung was an American activist, author, and professor at City University of New York( CUNY). She was the founding professor of Asian American Studies program focusing on Asian diaspora at CUNY. She was also the author of nine books. Sung was born in Baltimore, Maryland to Chinese immigrant parents who left their country after the Japanese invasion. She credits her interest in the history of Chinese Americans to have been shaped by her own experience as a child of Chinese immigrant parents. After her divorce from her her first husband Hsi Yuan Sung in 1966, she moved to New York. She started working as a script writer for the Voice of America. It is during her time there that inspired her first book Mountain of Gold: The Story of the Chinese in America, to correct inaccurate and often stereotypical assumptions about Chinese culture viewed by American culture. After publishing Mountain of Gold, Sung was invited to join the Asian American Studies program at The City College of New York. She advanced to the Chair of the Department of Asian Studies. She held this position from 1970 until her retirement in 1992.
