2026 Voices Heard Film: From Section 48 to King Drive

From Section 48 to King Drive by MKEOCA Collective & Yinan Wang
Wisconsin (Wisconsin Premiere)

Running Time: 14 minutes

Documentary

 

September 

Avalon Atmospheric Theater

2473 S Kinnickinnic Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53207

In Milwaukee, two historical markers surface a buried history: a Chinese laundry in Bronzeville and Section 48 of Forest Home Cemetery, where bachelor laborers once rested. Through fragments of archive, memory, and place, From Section 48 to King Drive reflects on migration, erasure, and the fragile work of remembrance.

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Director's Bio:

A collective of a filmmaker, an urban explorer, a community organizer, a retired professor, and a descendant of a Chinese laundry owner come together to tell overlooked stories of Milwaukee’s early Chinese American history through archives, memory, and place.

Director's Statement:

As an immigrant who has made Milwaukee home for more than a decade, I feel deeply connected to this city. After becoming a parent, that connection grew into a responsibility — to think about the future my daughter will inherit and how culture shapes a child’s sense of belonging.

Through Lorna Young, I was introduced to Anna Wong, Adrian Chan, and Adam Carr, whose dedicated work toward establishing Chinese historical markers revealed a chapter of Milwaukee’s past I had never encountered.

This film is my way of honoring the early Chinese immigrants whose contributions have too often been forgotten, and of supporting the ongoing efforts to recognize them publicly. It is also a gift to my daughter — so she may grow up knowing that her story, too, has roots in this place.

Written by Yinan Wang