Celebration of the Life and Work of Loni Ding

By UCBerkeleyAAADS

Loni Ding (1931-2010)

On September 26, 2010, a commemoration of filmmaker Loni Ding, who taught Ethnic Studies classes on documentary film making for more than 30 years, was held at the Multicultural Student Center. Ding passed away in February.

The commemoration was co-sponsored by the Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies Program, the Ethnic Studies Department, and the Center for Asian American Media, which Ding helped found as the National Asian American Telecommunications Association in the early 1980s.

The commemoration featured retrospective remarks by Ding’s community and campus colleague, Professor Emeritus Ling-Chi Wang; a video and remarks by Stephen Gong, Executive Director of the Center for Asian American Media; and remembrances by labor activist Pat Lee; former head of KPFB Sharon Maeda; filmmakers Spencer Nakasako, Louise Lo, Chung Hoang Chung, and Duc Nguyen; media educator Dharini Rsiah; community activist and former student Kei Fischer; former student Folola Takapu; Ethnic Studies Graduate Program alumnus and Lecturer in Asian American Studies Harvey Dong; and widower David Welsh. The event planning committee included Elaine Kim, Pat Mimoto, and Jere Takahashi.