Edmond J. Gong facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edmond J. Gong
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Member of the Florida Senate from the 40th district |
|
| In office November 8, 1966 – November 7, 1972 |
|
| Preceded by | Redistricted |
| Succeeded by | Don Gruber |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives | |
| In office 1963–1966 |
|
| Succeeded by | Sandy D'Alemberte |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 7, 1930 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | May 19, 2015 (aged 84) Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | Sophie (deceased); Dana |
| Children | Peter (d. 1978), Frances, Madeleine, Joe and E. J. Gong |
| Alma mater | Harvard University University of Miami School of Law |
| Occupation | attorney |
| Profession | politician |
Edmond Joseph "Eddie" Gong (born October 7, 1930 – died May 19, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician from Florida. He made history as the first Asian American person to be elected to the Florida House of Representatives.
Eddie Gong was born in Miami. His parents were immigrants from China. They started out as grocers and eventually owned a chain of small grocery stores in Miami's Overtown area. Eddie became a lawyer after studying at Harvard University and the University of Miami School of Law. As a member of the Democratic party, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, serving from 1963 to 1966. He was then elected to the State Senate in 1966 and served there until 1972.
Growing Up and Family
Eddie Gong's father came to the U.S. in 1915 when he was just 15 years old. He worked in his own father's laundry business in Tifton, Georgia. In 1925, he went back to China to get married. Eddie's father often said that people wanted to come to America, which they called the "golden mountain," because life was hard back home.
Eddie's father was very interested in politics and always voted. This encouraged Eddie and his four sisters to get involved in politics even in high school. At Miami High School, Eddie was elected president of the student body. In 1947, he was chosen for Boys State and later became president of Boys Nation.
Eddie won a special scholarship from the Harvard Club of Miami to attend Harvard University. He graduated with honors in political science in 1952. His father believed strongly in education because he didn't have much schooling himself. He encouraged all his children to be well-rounded students. Eddie's four sisters all went to college, being the first in their family to do so. Two of his sisters even became doctors! They all supported Eddie when he went to law school. He finished his law degree at the University of Miami School of Law in 1960.
At Harvard, Eddie became lifelong friends with Ji Chaozhu, who later became China's Ambassador to the UK. Eddie felt they had similar lives, especially after Ji left Harvard when the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949.
Early Career
After college, Eddie Gong moved to Hong Kong and worked as a journalist for a newspaper called the Hong Kong Tiger Standard. While there, he met and married Sophie Vlachos.
Eddie decided he wanted to be a lawyer, so he moved back to the United States. He worked as a reporter for the Miami Herald newspaper while attending the University of Miami School of Law. He graduated in 1960.
After working for a short time in his own law office, he met Robert F. Kennedy, who was the Attorney General at the time. Kennedy offered him a job with the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. Eddie turned down the offer because he wanted to stay close to his family. So, Kennedy instead appointed him as an assistant U.S. attorney, which allowed him to stay in Miami.
Florida Politics
In the 1960s, Eddie Gong became well-known. He was very passionate about helping the public. At the same time, Florida was changing its voting districts, which created new seats in the Legislature. Eddie decided to run for State Representative and was elected in 1963. People called him "one of Dade County’s most popular politicians."
In 1947, Eddie met two other young men at Florida's Boys State: William "Wig" D. Barrow and Lawton Chiles. All three of them were elected to the Florida Senate in 1966. Lawton Chiles later became a U.S. Senator for Florida (1970-1989) and then served as Governor (1991-1998). Eddie and Lawton remained friends throughout their lives.
In 1963, Eddie Gong became the first person of Chinese background to be elected to the Florida House of Representatives. He served there until 1966, when he successfully ran for the Florida Senate. Eddie and Lawton Chiles worked together on an important law that is now known as Florida's Sunshine Law. This law helps make government actions more open and transparent to the public.
In 1971, he also worked as an Associate Director at the Institute of Politics at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Looking back on his political life, Eddie Gong once said, "That's what America does. I mean, here we had the grocery store in the black ghetto... It could only happen in America. My father, my grandfather, all had to come half way around the globe for us to have a chance because we wouldn't have had this chance. We'd have been working in the rice paddies in China." This shows how much he valued the opportunities America gave his family.
Death
Eddie Gong passed away in Miami on May 19, 2015.
