Join the NYG&B for a screening of The Six: The Untold Story of RMS Titanic’s Chinese Passengers. When RMS Titanic sank on a cold night in 1912, a little more than 700 people barely escaped with their lives. Among them were six Chinese men. Arriving in New York City with the other survivors, the six were met not with compassion but rather with suspicion and slander. Less than 24 hours later, they were expelled from the country and vanished.
What became of them, and why did they disappear so completely? In an epic journey that crosses continents, an international team of investigators sets out to uncover the truth about the six Chinese survivors and to right a century-old injustice. For the first time, we discover who these men really were, tracing their origins and tracking down descendants who were denied access to their history. The Six tells this extraordinary story of survival and dignity in the face of racism and anti-immigrant policy.
After the screening, we will be joined by three of the researchers who assisted in the making of the film. They will discuss how they used genealogical research to uncover the stories of these six forgotten men and the importance of bringing their stories to light.
About the Researchers
Steven Schwankert
Steven is an explorer and writer based in Beijing. He is the co-creator and lead researcher of The Six. In 2006, he discovered the unknown fate of Royal Navy submarine HMS Poseidon, which became both the book Poseidon: China’s Secret Salvage of Britain’s Lost Submarine and the documentary film The Poseidon Project. In 2007, he and his team discovered two century-old wooden shipwrecks in Mongolia’s Lake Khovsgol. His other explorations include the Underwater Great Wall of China and the Lion City, a sunken Ming dynasty town.
Cynthia Lee
Cynthia is an interpretive planner with nearly 25 years of experience in the museum, public history, and exhibit design fields. As the VP of Exhibitions, Programs & Collections at the Museum of Chinese in America, Cynthia spearheaded history and art exhibitions inspired by its community-driven collections that firmly positioned the Chinese American experience within the American story. In her work as an independent public history consultant, Cynthia embraced a range of projects that brought little-known stories to life, serving as associate producer on the documentary The Search for General Tso (2014) and researcher on The Six.
Cynthia is Senior Curator of Experience and Interpretation at Thinc Design in New York City, where she applies a place, culture, and community lens to a wide range of projects, including the National Museum of Jordan, Desert EDGE at the McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavilion, and the National Pulse Memorial and Museum in Orlando.
Grant Din
Grant has conducted genealogical research for more than 35 years, focusing on West Coast and Asian immigrants. His specialties include tracing Asian Americans, with particular knowledge about “paper sons,” “paper daughters,” and other Chinese immigrants; the World War II Japanese American experience and Japanese immigration; and the development of Asian American communities. He has spent many days researching at National Archives offices and obtaining information from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Grant has also explored the history of California migrants to the Gold Rush and railroad workers. Grant was part of the research team for The Six and has spoken extensively to genealogical societies, including the NYG&B and the National Genealogical Society.
Program Support
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
