THROUGH THE FIRE: The Luminous Spirit of Bea Tam Dong

By MARY UYEMATSU KAO

It has been a month since the passing of Bea Tam Dong. Bea had an indescribable inner light that radiated from her presence. She lived a life of hope and optimism for the betterment of people, and her life leaves an unforgettable legacy of a revolutionary spirit.

At Oakland High School in 1968, Bea was part of the Asian Bloc building Black-Asian solidarity. Her group came to UC Berkeley campus to give physical support to the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) Ethnic Studies strike in 1969. Bea was on the negotiating committee for the Asian American studies budget at UC Berkeley as a freshman recruit. 

By the end of Bea’s freshman year, she was married and gave birth to her son. She dropped out of college to raise her son. After experiencing isolation raising her child, she helped establish a daycare cooperative. She was divorced in 1973.

The 1970s saw Bea creating an alternative to sweatshops, organizing and working for the Chinatown Cooperative Garment Factory. She was actively involved in the Jung Sai (garment) strike in 1974 and was later elected to the executive board of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union — representing garment workers in contract negotiations.

Bea married Harvey Dong on Oct. 1, 1974, and by the end of the decade, they were raising two sons and a daughter. Then their lives took a turn for the worse. Bea was shot by a mentally unstable woman at Newark’s Penn Station, leaving her paralyzed in 1981. Her children were 11, 3 and 1 when she was faced with raising them from a wheelchair.

Bea and Harvey vowed to live full lives. At her funeral, her children shared memories of kids surrounding and hanging from her wheelchair, as she immersed herself in raising them as any able-bodied mother would.

Bea proved that being wheelchair-bound would not stop her from doing the work that she loved. Effectively balancing a strict regimen of self-care and actively raising her kids, she finished her degree at UC Berkeley in ethnic studies in 1990. Upon graduating, she became co-owner/manager with Harvey of Eastwind Books of Berkeley.

Bea said, “Books are what makes revolution.” For the next 27 years, Bea’s vision became a reality where the bookstore became the hub for underrepresented and marginalized Asian American groups, writers, and artists — having a place to promote their works. 

Bea organized book talks and events on Asian American history, gentrification and future of Oakland Chinatown, immigrant and refugee rights, and support for Palestine, making Eastwind Books a place where people were drawn into the movement. As Harvey has said, “Bea was the heart of Eastwind Books.”

Bea led a full life that included painting in watercolor and acrylic scenes of nature as well as acts of resistance. Bea and Harvey traveled to Vancouver, Beijing, Hawaii, and her favorite, Monterey. And she cared for her mother in her remaining years.

Bea’s last projects were an Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Solidarity Statement with Palestine and an oral history project with Berkeley High School students on the bookstore, activism and social change.

One of the lessons we learned from the ’70s movement was that a life of serving the people was of great significance, while those who died serving the oppression and exploitation of people are trivial. A famous Chinese proverb uses the phrase “Death is heavier than Mount Tai.”

It is befitting to quote Chairman Mao to describe Bea’s life: “To die for the people is weightier than Mount Tai, but to work for the fascists and die for the exploiters and oppressors is lighter than a feather.” Bea was a tireless fighter for the people.

Bea Dong is survived by her husband, Harvey Dong, two brothers and a sister; her three children; and three grandchildren. Her extended family included former Eastwind staffers and Asian Community Center friends from the past. All of her family, including aunts, uncles, and cousins, were her pride and joy.

Donations on Bea Dong’s behalf can be made to: Eastwind Books Multicultural Services, J-Sei Senior Services and the Oakland Asian Cultural Center.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Beatrice’s birthday on Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 Ninth St., Ste. 290, Oakland. For more information, please view the Eastwind Books of Berkeley website: www.asiabookcenter.com