Our object for this exhibition is the original certified copy for the renewal of the charter, granted by the state of Georgia on July 1, 1949; it has been displayed in the CCBA facility since that time. Prior to 1915, due of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Chinese community in Augusta was composed mainly of men who operated small grocery stores. After 1915, wives and children began to arrive and the community grew. In September 1927, fifty-nine men of the community petitioned the Richmond County (Augusta) Superior Court to incorporate their association as the Augusta Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. The charter was granted on October 26, 1927 for a period of 20 years with the option to renew, making the Association one of the oldest Chinese organizations in the Southeastern United States.

This object was featured in the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA)'s exhibit, "Gathering: Collecting and Documenting Chinese American History," October 17, 2019 - March 22, 2020.

– Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of Augusta, GA

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