Asian Pacific Americans,
once regarded as a silent, insignificant minority,
now claim their place in Washington state history.
Their cumulative achievements-achieved in the face of
incredible hardship and discrimination-make up a story
spanning several generations, rediscovered here through
pictures and keepsakes from an earlier time.
With patience, sacrifice and hard work,
our early Asian Pacific pioneers eked out for themselves
a frugal living and earned for their children passage into
a better life with fuller opportunities. They settled the land,
built communities, planted their traditions and nourished
the economy of this American homeland.
Their names, tracing lineage to
distant villages and cities across an ocean,
reverberate here in a roll call of many sounds:
Wong, Nguyen, Hanada, Kim, Farinas, Singh, Sudthayakorn,
Patu, Vue, and Bun. Their diverse achievements, forged along
paths of the same roads, leave us now with a common legacy
from which to draw inspiration, strength and direction.
We listen for one song, many voices.
20. International District introduction.
We have decided to make a website about the history of Chinatown in Seattle and it's immigrants. This topic is important because Chinese and other Asian immigrants had a significant impact on Seattle. They contributed a lot, yet received no recognition except instead harsh words and racism, they were treated as second class citizens and were shunned away from society and put into little areas of Seattle: Chinatown. This area has a lot of history to it, yet it is always overlooked. So we want to educate Chinatown/ International District, its immigrants and its social reality shaped their life. The treated differently by the rest of society through racist laws passed by government.
Museum, Wing Luke. "One song, many voices." . Wing Luke Asian Museum, Seattle. 8 Aug 2005 http://www.wingluke.org/permannentnew.html
