Loni Ding
Notably, two of her films played a critical role in the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 which granted reparations to Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during World War II.[3] Ding grew up in San Francisco, initially living Chinatown where her parents ran an herb shop.[4] Ding studied at the University of California, Berkeley, receiving a master's degree in sociology.[5] She also taught as a visiting faculty member at Cornell University in 1991, New School for Social Research in New York City in 1999, and Mills College.[5] She produced many films that documented early Asian immigrant stories including Nisei Soldier in 1984 and Ancestors in the Americas in 1997—she was one of the first directors to do so.