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Introduction
The Steve Louie Asian American Movement collection(opens in a new tab) showcases significant highlights of Asian American activism during the 20th century, with many of the modern-day achievements of the community being built upon a foundation of protest and movement undertaken by previous generations.
Louie (b. 1949) was an Asian American activist who, as a student at Occidental College, worked with the Asian Community Center in San Francisco and Wei Min She, an Asian American anti-imperialist organization. Stewarded by UCLA Library Special Collections, Louie’s collection focuses on the Asian American Movement that spanned the late 1960s and 1970s and includes newspapers, subject files, posters, t-shirts, buttons and other ephemera primarily from California.
The investigation of materials in this collection will touch on sensitive topics, including racism, stereotypes and unequal opportunities faced by early Asian American communities in order to highlight the complex forces that shaped the community’s heritage and diverse identities of Asian Americans today.
These movements challenged the social constructions of early American society, paving the way for first-generation immigrants and their descendants to be integrated into society and create whole new intersectional cultures of their own. The materials within the collection serve as a testament to the ongoing struggle for acceptance, while simultaneously celebrating the rich cultural heritage that Asian Americans have established in the United States.
Community Struggles: The Early Asian American Job Market
For early generations of Asian Americans, career opportunities were sparse due to limited resources available for people to learn English and obtain access to higher education. Commonly available jobs were in low-wage and/or high-risk environments, such as garment manufacturing, agriculture and restaurants. Recognizing the community’s willingness to find work, governments and employers often exploited Asian Americans by putting them to work under harsh conditions or targeting them via taxes, such as those placed on fishermen or molasses producers.
In the late 1800s, white laborers believed that Chinese individuals were “stealing” their jobs, as they often accepted the work for lower pay or worse working conditions. This resulted in the 1882’s Chinese Exclusion Act, which suspended any Chinese immigrants from migrating over to the United States and put restrictive verification processes on those who had already entered the country. While policies like these prevented immigration, they often redirected exploitation. Farm owners and other employers shifted their focus to exploit other immigrant communities, such as farm leaders targeting Japanese, Filipino, Mexican and Hawaiian groups
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These poor conditions fueled the beginning of labor activism within Asian American communities. In the 1960s, strikes in the agricultural industry began, predominantly within the Filipino farmworker community. Both Filipino and Mexican farmworker unions came together as one, forming the United Farm Workers union, led by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. The union left a legacy of reforms and standards that improved civil rights for minority farm workers.
Similarly, Chinese seamstresses pushed against exploitation. In 1972, many organized a one-day work stoppage after the commission pay per dress was reduced from $1.05 to $.80 (a change of about $1.86 today when adjusting for inflation) without any explanation on Lunar New Year. Each dress typically took about 30-45 minutes to work on.
Despite this history, Asian Americans have made significant strides towards equality within the American workforce. The 20th century strikes allowed them to challenge exclusion and assert both their voices and identity. One example of a significant change was within the broadcasting industry. In 1969, newspaper-magazine Gidra – the self-proclaimed "voice of the Asian American movement" – noted that large networks such as ABC, CBS and NBC had no Asian news reporters despite the US Equal Employment Act. This was also the case for those hoping to find careers in the radio or television industry, as opportunities were often sparse. Finding resources such as acting or theater classes for Asians were difficult to attain. There was a turning point in the 1970s when both Ken Kashiwahara and Connie Chung became the first male and female Asian American news reporters for larger networks. While the struggle for representation in Hollywood continues, there has been significant progress in incorporating more diversity.
Education
Educational opportunities were often a struggle for
early Asian Americans, primarily due to an early adjustment to the
American school system and racism in American society. Many accounts
throughout articles in Gidra and Getting Together, a community newspaper
published by the organization I Wor Kuen in 1970, recounted
difficulties with language barriers, strict and unreasonable discipline
and racial bias from school counselors or administrators.
This reality prompted communities to develop alternative education methods, such as the Japanese Community Youth Council’s (JCYC) day camp program for elementary school students. Noting that some of the critiques of the American education system was its perceived overemphasis on individualism, they aimed to teach more collectivistic values along with creative skills and tools such as ice cream making and crafts. The program's outcome highlighted one of the main shortcomings of American education – many of the children felt sad when they had to leave the program, since the counselors there showed a strong sense of care absent from their teachers.
For those who reached higher education, many students were willing to protest and fight for their identity and rights. For example, at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), multiple groups developed with a goal to enhance Asian American awareness and establish a dedicated Asian Studies program. While they originally received skepticism from administration due to an unexpressed need or desire from other students and a lack of funds, the Asian American Studies program was established in 1969. The student-led initiatives ultimately brought change; many universities followed a similar path of establishing an Asian Studies program through the voice of students.
Universities also began to address the financial barriers faced by lower-income Asian Americans through new programs. UCLA began the Asian American High Potential program (also referred to as Hi-Pot), which offered 25 students a second chance at higher education if they were not high-performers while in school or for those who lacked financial resources to pursue a college education.
International Hotel
The economic marginalization of the Asian American community resulted in many Asian Americans, especially within the elderly population, relying on low-income housing. One such location was the International Hotel, located on Kearny Street, San Francisco. The hotel was comprised of 104 units that housed the elderly from both Manilatown and Chinatown. Nearly all of the tenants were seniors in the working class or relied on Social Security. This served as one of the few places in the area that was affordable while also fostering a strong sense of community.
Amidst the International Hotel transferring ownership, an urban renewal movement beginning in the 1960s impacted San Francisco’s Asian American communities. Manilatown was one of the most heavily impacted communities. As the financial district began to expand, many low-income housing options were demolished, and tenants were evicted to make way for luxury apartments. In 1977, investment chain Four Seasons bought out the hotel and forcibly evicted all the tenants.
The eviction sparked fierce protest from community organizers and
residents of surrounding San Francisco neighborhoods. All rehousing
options were unaffordable in comparison to the International Hotel rent.
Eventually, the residents were taken out of their homes in handcuffs. A
tenant’s account in the San Francisco Journal reflected the brutality
of the event: “The police treated us as if we were not human beings.
Horsemen with nightsticks were beating and dragging supporters.”
Despite frustrated protests and sympathy from the public as they saw the displaced seniors, the protest was not an immediate success. Yet, even with the evictions, the community’s voice never died down, as the International Hotel Tenants Association made demands and continued to fight for the tenant’s rights, with the new goal being temporary shelter and reparations for the eviction aftermath. The investment chain’s vision for the luxury apartment development never materialized, leaving the property a vacant lot for 20 years. Eventually, the Archdiocese of San Francisco rebought the building and partnered with International Hotel Senior Housing, Inc. with the goal to, once again, rebuild the hotel for affordable housing opportunities. The hotel reopened in 2005.
Reflection
A central theme emerged from my deep dive into the collection: the power of the Asian American community. Asian Americans have built their name for themselves due to constant fighting of not one, but many individuals advocating for rights in education, affordable housing, gender equality and similar themes. It is because of the activism of the past that there is such an impact and heritage left here today.
Some of the papers within the collection explore the theme of Asian Americans as exclusionists, often sticking to communities and areas of their own background such as “Chinatown” or “Little Tokyo.” However, when analyzing this from a collectivist lens, this was more to share a sense of solidarity. Due to the intense and harsh conditions early on, people from similar backgrounds often came together as a community because they knew they could understand and protect one another. These communities today help to serve the rich heritage of Asian American culture, showcasing the vast variety of identities. Today, Asian Americans have made significant contributions in entertainment, sports, education, science and a multitude of other fields. Thousands of first-generation Asian Americans come to the United States each year with the same hopes of the past – for better opportunities. Nevertheless, due to the foundations past families have left behind, there is always a community waiting for them in the unfamiliar land.
Sources and further reading
The following sources were consulted:
- Asian American Timeline - Immigration, Achievements & Famous Firsts | HISTORY(opens in a new tab)
- Snapshots of Asian America: Author Bios(opens in a new tab)
- Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) | National Archives(opens in a new tab)
- Where Are They Now? Ken Kashiwahara | TVNewser(opens in a new tab)
- When Mexicans and Filipinos joined together – UFW(opens in a new tab)
- The I-Hotel - San Francisco(opens in a new tab)
This collection primarily explores the experiences of
Japanese, Chinese, Filipino and Korean Americans, with this blog
focusing primarily on the Gidra, Getting Together and the San Francisco
Journal newspapers. Other Southeast Asian, South Asian, Central Asian
and Pacific Islander communities also played a vital role in shaping
AAPI history but have a tendency to be underrepresented in many easily
accessible historic narratives. While this blog did not touch upon these
cultures due to its investigation of overarching themes within the
Steve Louie collection, I encourage readers to look into other materials
regarding these communities if they want to learn more.
Header image: Sung Lee, Miss Korea, and Naomi Dguchi, Miss Nisei posing with lotus flowers at Lotus Festival in Los Angeles, 1975(opens in a new tab). Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection, UCLA Library Special Collections.