Asian American and Pacific Islander History

"Lam came from Canton in 1914 when he was 21 years old. The U.S. Congress in that year enacted special legislation (Section 6), to allow a few hundred Chinese high school students to come to study. (That act was repealed the next year.) At the time of his arrival, there was not much money in his pocket, and there began the hard fight for education. After attending Lincoln High School for some time, he entered the Medical School at the University of Oregon in 1924. He was forced to quit his studies by the school one year later because of his wife's occupation--chiropractor....Several years later he passed the examination for neurologist in Oregon which enabled him to practice as a Chinese herbalist." Interview with Dr. Y. T. Lam, Portland, by Chia-lin Chen, 1973.