SAN DIEGO (KGTV)— The San Diego State University Black Resource Center is now renamed to honor Gus and Emma Thompson.
Historian Kevin Ashley discovered in his research that Gus, a former slave from Kentucky, and Emma, from Texas, were the original owners of a house and stable in Coronado before racial restrictions were in place.
That was in 1899.
Then, in the late 1930s, the Dong family came to San Diego and struggled to find housing.
“Well, unfortunately, it was a time when the Chinese didn't have much of a chance, and that's the way it was,” said Ronald Dong, whose family rented from the Thompsons.
Thompson was the only one willing to rent to the Chinese Americans at the time, later selling them the home.
That was in 1939.
“But back in those days, they had, you know, minorities; they helped each other, and that's all it really was. They saw a need, and they could help, and they did,” said Lauren Few, the great-granddaughter of Gus and Emma Thompson.
Now, in 2024, the Dong family is doing just that.
After they decided to sell the house on C Avenue, the profit didn’t go straight to their wallets.
“Not $5 thousand. $5 million!” said Dr. Tonika Duren Green, the Associate Vice President for Identity Inclusion and belonging at SDSU.
It's going back to the community that first welcomed them to San Diego.
“I hope it leads to other people thinking about doing the same because there are probably many sources of money that could be used this way and they aren't,” said Dong.
The funds will be used to expand academic and mental health programs and to upgrade facilities.
It will also remind every student who walks through the doors about the generous family who said yes.
