DALLAS — There is a lot of Asian American history in North Texas, but it needs to be written down.
In April 2022, Stephanie Drenka co-founded the Dallas Asian American Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to begin preservation efforts.
“For a lot of people, it’s unexpected. When you think about Asian American history, people think about it happening on the West Coast, on the East Coast,” she said.
There’s a gap when it comes to AAPI stories in the southern and central regions.
In one year, the Dallas Asian American Historical Society has already collected dozens of stories to add to their digital collection, including photographs, artifacts and interviews. From individual community members to families to restaurants, they are scanning historical items before they are lost.
Drenka’s passion was driven by her personal story. She was adopted from South Korea at three months old. The adoption agency told her that her birth parents were not married and that her biological mother may have another family, which shouldn’t be disrupted. That was far from the truth.
Drenka spent five years searching for her story and found her biological family in 2012.
Drenka said, “My birth mother told me that it was my birth father who forced her to relinquish me because he wanted a son. And when she was in the hospital holding me, she said that she had wanted to hold me until she died. His mother took her out of her arms and gave me to the social worker.”
She was adopted by her loving American family as an infant, but Drenka always wanted to know her past. She realized that if history isn’t saved, it will fade and fail to be told.
Of the many digital collections at the Dallas Asian American Historical Society, it includes that of Charles Park, a Korean American leader in Dallas. His Korean names is Yung Nam Park and he was born in 1937 in North Korea.
At 86 years old, Park tells a detailed story about his memories from wartime. He fled North Korea in 1946. He suffered through the Japanese occupation in harsh conditions. It led him to the United States, where he’s made Dallas his home for the last 45 years.
“We need a place where we can call our hometown,” said Park.
Today, Park pushes North Texas to be a haven for Asian immigrants, while building relationships with other communities of color. His leadership and legacy is saved in the society’s archive.
After hours of interviewing and scanning photographs at Park’s home, his voice can be heard and paired with visuals through the Dallas Asian American Historical Society.
Drenka hopes to amplify more stories of Asian Americans in the Dallas area. They have several upcoming projects. To submit items for the archives, visit the Dallas Asian American Historical Society website.