Gus and Emma Thompson, a black couple, are being acknowledged for his or her brave resolution to hire their Coronado, California, property to Lloyd Dong Sr. and his spouse in 1939, regardless of widespread racial restrictions on house possession and rental on the time.
Right this moment, the Dongs possess the Thompsons’ unique house at 832 C Ave. in addition to an eight-unit condominium constructing subsequent door, with a mixed worth of $8 million, in response to members of the family.
In appreciation, Lloyd Dong Jr. and his elder brother, Ron Dong, the sons of Lloyd Dong Sr., are giving $5 million of their share of the property’s sale earnings to Black school college students across the U.S.
The household can also be trying to rename the Black Useful resource Heart at San Diego State College in honor of Emma and Gus, who have been born into slavery in Kentucky.
Lloyd Dong Jr., now 81 years outdated, advised NBC Information that the Thompsons gave their household a begin with the land, and now it’s their flip to provide others the identical alternative. He stated, “With out them, we might not have the training and every little thing else.”
His 86-year-old brother Ron Dong and his spouse Janice Dong, retired educators, are joyful that the funds will assist training as a result of they imagine it has the ability to rework lives. “It’s simply precisely what’s applicable,” Ron went on to say.
In response to the publication, the Dong household has been in California for the reason that late nineteenth century. Previously a farmer within the Central Valley, Lloyd Dong Sr. went to Coronado to work as a gardener. His son Ron recounted that his father put in additional effort even on the seventh day of the week to assist his American-born youngsters’s training, skilled growth, and actual property investing.
Then, in 1939, Gus and Emma Thompson offered the Dong household with a spot to reside, a dedication to promote them the land, and the chance to construct a greater life.
Not by chance, although, as Gus Thompson’s boarding home on the higher flooring of his barn was the one place in Coronado on the time the place immigrants and members of minority teams may keep.
Gus Thompson had come from Kentucky to California to work on the Lodge Del Coronado. He was not restricted from establishing the home and barn on C Avenue in 1895 as a result of town’s racial housing covenants had not taken impact on the time. Thompson turned his barn right into a boarding house for the weak.
In response to Kevin Ashley, a Coronado historian, Emma Thompson offered the Coronado house and adjoining barn to the Dongs in 1955, making them the primary Chinese language-American household to accumulate actual property in Coronado.
The Dong household stayed on the home at 832 C Ave. till 1957, once they changed the barn with an condominium advanced. Ron Dong went on to change into a highschool instructor, whereas Lloyd Dong Jr. labored in a wide range of fields, together with tax preparation. The brothers relocated from Coronado to numerous elements of California, managing the homes on C Avenue from afar.
