Anti-Chinese Union of Los Angeles

Below are excerpts from Gum Saan Journal, June 1985, Vol. VIII, No. 1, pp. 2-7.

Title of article, "An 1886 Chinese Labor Boycott in Los Angeles." Material created by E.G. Hager, G.E. Kinney and A.F. Kroll.

"In March, 1885, a Workingmen's Club was formed, in Los Angeles, later to be known as the Independent Labor Union No. I, and finally as the Anti-Chinese Union.  During the City's 4th of July parade, the Union acquired 1,271 signatures and presented the memorial to the City Council requesting the removal of Chinese  beyond the city limits, but this was ruled unconstitutional by the City Attorney. As Anti-Chinese agitation was an essential ingredient for the success of the Workingmen's Party this decision caused its disappearance from the labor scene. However, in 1886, the Los Angeles Trades and Labor Council took up the Anti-Chinese movement."

"In spite of the open disapproval of the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Trades and Labor Council, on February 27th, adopted a program covering the following restrictions. Six of the major platforms covered were:

1. To discontinue patronage of Chinese vegetable gardens and laundries, and of all establishments employing Chinese.
2. To encourage and support non-Orientals engaged in raising produce or operation of laundries, hotels, restaurants, etc., without Chinese labor.
3. To withhold patronage from individuals employing Chinese, renting or leasing property to Chinese, or selling goods manufactured by Chinese.
4. To recommend immediate replacement of all Chinese servants by white help.
5. To request the Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles County to send delegates to a state antin-Chinese convention summoned to meet in Sacramento on March 10.
6. To find a legal and peaceful solution to the Chinese question."

"The Los Angeles anti-Chinese movement died out almost as suddenly as it had begun. In the first place advocating the discharge of Chinese employees for whom no replacements were available posed an insoluble problem; secondly, the refusal of Chinese vegetable peddlers (almost the city's sole source of supply) to serve families who had dismissed their countrymen caused many people to forget their boycott pledges."

Five Pioneering Chinese American Women of Los Angeles

On October 14, 1978, five Los Angeles Chinese American women pioneers were honored by the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. They broke down barriers and achieved leadership in their professions in the early 20th Century.  At the Society’s annual dinner, California’s then Secretary of State March Fong Eu gave welcome remarks and the awards were presented by Superior Judge Delbert Wong. The five women are:

Caroline Chan - Education

Caroline Chan's father provided for her schooling at the University of Southern California and encouraged her to become a teacher. Ms. Chan earned a B.A. in English and credential to teach English at the high school level. But there were no opportunities for a Chinese woman in the Los Angeles public schools system in the 1920s. She was offered a job teaching English to Chinese women newly arrived in the United States.  Eventually she broke the glass ceiling and became the first teacher of Chinese ethnicity in the Los Angeles public schools system where she remained for thirty year. She was highly respected by her fellow teachers and beloved by her students.

Lily Lum Chan - Community Service

Lily Lum Chan was involved in the establishment of the Chinese Catholic Center, a lecturer in the Chinese Culture Society, a court interpreter and an advocate for Chinese women’s rights. Ms. Chan was the first woman elected to the Board of Directors of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, a position she held for several decades.

Grace Wong Chow in Business

Ms. Chow, along with her husband Emeroy started a small market in the Fresno area beginning in 1918 but lost it because of the Great Depression. They then started The Chow Tea Company. Mrs. Chow traveled throughout the country selling tea and ginger. In 1941, Mrs. Chow started selling insurance and became the first Chinese to sell one million dollars’ worth of insurance in one single year.  She continued this feat for six years and became the first woman to achieve life membership in the Million Dollar Round Table. Additionally, Mrs. Chow devoted much of her time and abilities to civic and community service.

Louise Leung Larson - Journalism

In 1926, Louise Leung Larson graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern California with a major in English and Journalism. Mrs. Larson applied at the various newspaper offices in Los Angeles. The then Los Angeles Record bought one of the articles she wrote in her journalism classes and hired her on the spot. She was assigned to cover the Hall of Justice. Years later, she worked for the San Francisco News, the Chicago News, the Los Angeles Daily News, and the Santa Monica Evening Outlook. Among the many prominent stories she wrote are articles on Madame Chiang Kai-Shek’s tour throughout the United States to seek aid for China during the war with the Japanese.

Bessie Sue Loo - Motion Picture Industry

Bessie Sue Loo left Hanford, a farming community in central California, after graduating from high school. She enrolled at the University of California at Los Angeles in the 1930s. She became an actor, a casting director and an actor’s agent. She was the first woman of Chinese ethnicity to break the racial barrier in the film industry. For forty years she was the agent for most of the Asian talent in Hollywood. In addition, Mrs. Loo participated in organizations such as the China Relief in WWII, the Jewish Home for the Aged, the Committee to Preserve Chinese Culture and the Motion Picture Relief Fund. She was a president of The China Society of Southern California, and the Los Angeles Chinese Women’s Club. In 1978, Mrs. Loo became a member of California’s State Economic Development Commission.

Locke, California

Historic Locke is in the heart of the Sacramento Delta roughly midway between Sacramento and Stockton in California. It was founded in 1915 and holds the distinction of being the only town in the United States to have been built entirely by Chinese and for the Chinese.

In the late 1800's there was a large Chinese community, 600 to 700, in nearby Walnut Grove. Many of the first levees in the Sacramento Delta were built by Chinese. They came too seek jobs after the Gold Rush and the completion of the railroad that connected the span of the United States. The Chinese population grew very fast after it became known that this delta is fertile for farming. The Chinese labored with pick and shovel, earning very little for the earth that they moved.

A piece of land was leased from George Locke following a fire that destroyed the entire Chinatown in Walnut Grove in 1915. Since it was illegal for Chinese to own land, George Locke agreed to lease nine acres to a group of Chinese who wanted to build a Chinatown to replace the one that was completely burned down in Walnut Grove.

Locke became the new Chinatown, it grew and prospered as many Chinese from San Francisco area settled here. By the 1920's, it was alive with businesses of all types. However, after WWII, the residents drifted away, lured by the promise of big cities. Today it is a quiet town of about 160 residents, fewer than half are Chinese. The original buildings remain. There is a Locke Memorial Park dedicated in 2006, to the Chinese who built the railroad, levees, agriculture and the town of Locke.

In August 2, 1970, Locke was added to the national registry of historical places.
For more information on its history, current and upcoming events in Locke please visit www.locketown.com.

Fiddletown, California

Fiddletown is a small hamlet in California, USA. Its Chinese population there once was second only to that in San Francisco. Below paragraphs are quoted from the Fiddletown Preservation Society's website.

"Fiddletown began as a mining camp during the height of the Gold Rush, with ample placer gold deposits that attracted miners from all parts of the world. The story goes that it was named by early settlers from Missouri who fiddled during slow times when there was no water in the creeks for mining, a frequent occurrence in the summer. Music was always a part of this town, but so was fiddling around. "

"By 1853 Fiddletown evolved into a trading center for nearby mining camps and for farms in the neighboring Shenandoah Valley. Its commercial area during this period of growth featured fifteen to twenty stores, four hotels, several blacksmith shops, a carpenter’s shop, four taverns, a couple of bakeries, two or three restaurants, dance halls, and even public baths. With a church, post office, and school, it was quite a civilized town. In its heyday, the town’s population was about 2,000."

"Chinese miners and merchants also gravitated to Fiddletown, occupying the southwest part of the town. By 1880, half of Fiddletown’s population was Chinese. Though the Chinese departed in the first part of the 20th Century, they left behind several early gold rush buildings that make Fiddletown unique among Sierra foothill towns. The Chew Kee herb store was inhabited for more than 100 years by Chinese residents. It is now open as a museum, containing fascinating objects from the lives of its occupants."

There are three remaining Chinese buildings, Chew Chee Store Museum, Chinese Gambling Hall, and Chinese General Store. For updates on the preservation of these and other buildings in Fiddletown, please visit www.fiddletown.info.  The last Chinese resident, Jimmy Chow, died April 1965. The three remaining buildings tell the story of the Chinese in Fiddletown.

First Chinese American Movie Star - Anna May Wong

Below is a youtube video of the making of "Anna May Wong: In Her Own Words." It is 42 minutes long.

 

Below is the video of "Anna May Wong: In Her Own Words," 56 minutes long.

 



Chinese Historical Society of Southern California

Chinese immigrants have made significant contributions to the progress and development of the United States, particularly California. But this fact was and still is omitted in the curriculum of social studies in schools. To fill this unfortunate and unjustified gap in formal education, a small group of concerned citizens met and decided to form a historical society with the mission of preserving for present and future generations the significant contributions of the Chinese pioneers. This group met on May 29, 1975 in Los Angeles. An ad hoc committee was formed with Stan Lau as convener and Norman Wong as Vice-Chairman. On November 1, 1975, 27 people attended a general meeting which formed the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC). Officers elected at this meeting were Stan Lau, President, Jerry Shue, Vice-President, Emma Louie, Corresponding Secretary, Ann Lau, Recording Secretary, George Yee, Treasurer, Paul Louie, John Ching and Chuck Yee, Members-at-Large. A constitution for the Society was adopted January 7, 1976.

The mission statement of the CHSSC is:

To bring together people with a mutual interest in the important history and historical role of Chinese and Chinese Americans in Southern California;

To pursue, preserve and communicate knowledge of this history; and

To promote the heritage of the Chinese and Chinese American community in support of a better appreciation of our rich, multi-cultural society.

 

Chinese Labor and California Wine Industry

The content of this post is gleaned from the article, "Wine Makers of the Past" by Margie Lew, published in Gum Saan Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1, August, 1977, pp2-3, Chinese Historical Society of Southern California.
 
A group of 228 persons got together for a gourmet Chinese dinner with wine at the Golden Palace Restaurant in Los Angeles Chinatown May 14, 1977. Among the guests were:

Elne Meline, President of the Conference of California Historical Societies; Merrill Baugham, Vice-President of Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society; Claire Crain, Conference Vice-President (14B). There was a large number of people from the wine making regions of California. The guest speaker was William F. Heintz (1933-2012) of Glen Ellen (Sonoma Valley) who had the distinction of being the only professional wine and viticultural historian in the country at the time of this dinner. I do not know whether this distinction still hold true today.

Below are excerpts from the above mentioned article.

“Through diligent and persistent research, Mr. Heintz has discovered that the Chinese built many of the wineries in California, as well as working on numerous wine cellars (also known as tunnels) which entailed a great amount of blasting and excavating. These buildings and tunnels were so well buiolt that many of them are still standing and are being used.”

“Mr. Heintz states, ‘It is my conclusion that most of the wine made in California during the 19^th century was made by Chinese or with Chinese help. This is based on the simple, inescapable fact that Chinese made up 90% of the vineyard and winery help in those years. They not only pruned the vines in the spring and picked the grapes in the fall, they made or helped make the wine in the wineries in the 1880’s”

“Without reservation, Mr. Heintz feels that viticulture in California would have been set back 30 to 50 years were it not for the Chinese vineyard worker. At least two circumstances bear this fact:

For the first 40 years of grape-growing in California, it was believed that the vines should be no higher than 18 inches from the ground. Picking grpaes required continuous bending and stooping in addition o lifting 30-50 lb boxes of the fruit under a hot sun for hours at a stretch. Caucasian laborers could not work under such conditions, so it was the Chinese who did this heavy, painful work from the 1850’s to about 1890.

In the 1870’s, a vine disease called “Phylloxera” (native to our East Coast) threatened to wipe out the vineyards in California. Twenty years of experimentation finally brought forth the discovery that Eastern American grape roots, grafted with the fine European grape, was the only solution. Since most of the grapevines had been wiped out by the phylloxera, the vineyards had to be replanted. Thi was done by the Chinese laborers, who also took over the tedious work of grafting the vines, a delicate the technical undertaking. (Field grafters of vines today are among the most highly paid professions in viticulture). Mr. eintz further states, ‘The phylloxera story is one of the highlights in the history of the grape and win in this state. You can read about it in most history books. But nowhere will you find any reference to the Chinese contribution.’”

Mr. Heintz’s books include “California’s Napa Valley: One Hundred Sixty Years of Wine Making,” which was published in 1999.

He also wrote “Wine Country - A History of Napa Valley (the Early Years 1838-1920)” and “San Francisco’s Mayors 1850-1880.”

Last but not least, he published “The Chinese in California, a brief bibliographic history,”  by Gladys C. Hansen (selected by) & Heintz, William F. (annotated by) Heintz (Jan 1, 1970)

Chinese American Citizens Alliance

Chinese American Citizens Alliance (CACA) was founded in 1895. Its original name was Native Sons of the Golden State. Its original intent was for purposes of fellowship and mutual protection because of the hostile social environment against Chinese immigrants at that time in the United States, particularly in California.

According to Mabel Lum Lew, in 1904 her father, Walter Lum and his friends Ng Gunn and Lum Joe Gay, reactivated the Native Sons of the Golden State. By 1915, a large number of Chinese both in California and outside of California are became interested in the organization. A new charter was taken out and the name changed to CACA. Mabel says that her father was elected first Grand President.

"To empower Chinese Americans, we promote American citizenship, practice responsible patriotism, pursue the highest ethics, morals and values of the community, preserve historical and cultural traditions, and provide youth education."

The modern CACA's vision is "for every Chinese American to be a fulfilled American citizen with an equal opportunity to discover and enjoy the American way of life."

For more information on CACA, go to http://www.cacala.org/about-us.