Being overlooked or unseen at a moment in time doesn't mean you were never there, or forgotten: sometimes it just means someone still has to do the work of remembering, or simply being asked.
I am delighted to welcome my fourth guest to The Quiet Mic: Alan Lau, founder of the Frank Soo Foundation and an EDI Community of Practice Ambassador at the FA.
We connected through a hashtag - #BritishChinese - and quickly found more in common than we expected: both Hakka, both raised in the British Chinese takeaway trade. I'm delighted to be sharing our conversation during East and Southeast Asian Heritage Month
In this episode, we trace Alan's path from grassroots football coaching to founding the Frank Soo Foundation - named for the first player of East Asian descent to represent England, capped nine times during World War Two, and achieving managerial success in Scandinavia, before largely being forgotten and his achievements unrecognised. That changed when Alan played an instrumental role in addressing that.
We also talk about what it means to be Hakka Chinese - our shared family heritage. Hakka literally means 'guest people' - self-identified by a history of displacement, claiming space in the literal margins.
Alan reflects on discovering, almost by accident, a footballing past of his own father's that was never once mentioned, as well as his mother's love for music - moving examples of cultural transmission - the stories shared and words unsaid, shaping what is carried forward to the next generations.
Part two is coming soon: belonging and unbelonging, the takeaway experience, and what it means to call more than one place home.
Thank you Alan, for your openness, generosity, and trust.
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