Lee Sing

Joe Yan Lee Sing’s father lived a life marked by resilience, adaptability, and a quiet pride in his heritage that carried through generations. In 1925, his father Joe Ping Sing, just five years old, left Guangdong, China, for Altheimer, Arkansas, to escape dire conditions in his homeland. Under the care of a family he believed to be relatives, “J.P.” Sing stepped into a world where he didn’t know the language and had to navigate life as an outsider. Still, he thrived in school, showing an early spark of the perseverance that would define him. Years later, that same determination saw him through a decades-long separation from his mother, whom he finally reunited with after years of paperwork.

The struggles of being a Chinese immigrant in the segregated South extended into his adult life. Lee’s father worked hard to provide for his family,–opening grocery stores across Pine Bluff–but financial success was elusive. When the stores struggled to stay afloat, he turned to working for chain stores like Safeway. In 1958, the family moved to Los Angeles seeking better opportunities, only to return to Arkansas after two months when Lee’s mother, who was White, found the transition unbearable.

Cultural identity played a complex role in Lee’s upbringing. His father believed in maintaining certain traditions like Sunday Chinese meals, but he also believed in adapting to American life. He taught them the importance of blending into American society while quietly holding onto the values passed down from China. Although the family faced prejudice, especially in the early years of his parents’ interracial marriage, they found acceptance over time, and the Chinese community came to embrace Lee’s mother, especially after the birth of three sons.

Through it all, J.P. Sing instilled in his children values of hard work, education, and self-reliance. He often reminded them that life wasn’t fair, urging them to work for what they wanted. Despite modest means and constant setbacks, he managed to save and invest wisely, creating stability for his family. His legacy—of cultural pride, quiet adaptability, and unshakable perseverance—is one that Lee carries forward, a living testament to the strength and values that shaped his father’s life in Arkansas.

Story by Franchelsa Francisco

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