My Wing Luke Experience
My trip to The Wing Luke Museum was somewhat unplanned, or at least on this day anyway. The night before my girlfriends and I celebrated our new monthly “girl’s night“ which consisted of breakfast-for-dinner and movies. The following morning my best friend Kat and I were lounging around her beautiful apartment contemplating our next plan of action. We were considering walking her dog along Alki when I started thinking of all the homework I should be doing instead. Being a second grade teacher at Midway Elementary, Kat thought it was a great idea when I mentioned the two of us going on a little learning excursion to the museum. Thrilled to have a tag-along buddy, we jumped in her Mini Cooper and headed for the International District.
After a half hour of trying to find parking, we landed a perfect spot twelve blocks away from King Street (ok, maybe not quite but let’s just say the girl doesn’t mind walking). Walking down the hill I realized I had never actually walked through Chinatown: I had driven through, but walking through really allows you to embrace the culture. When we finally arrived, we walked through the doors and were greeted by a sweet young girl who sent us on our way. We headed for the main wall to the right which was dedicated to the founder of the museum, Wing Luke. I found it inspiring to read that in the midst of prevailing racism, he earned a seat in the Seattle City council in 1962 so he could continue to fight for ‘civil rights, open housing, urban renewal and historic preservation.’ And then we saw a quote by Judge Charles E. Smith that read “I think [Wing] would be delighted to see what the Wing Luke Asian Museum represents in the community- a significant cultural institution in the community that brings together the commutal understanding of all the cultures that make Seattle the rich place that it is.” On that note, we started up the elevator, excited for what was to come.
The doors opened to the second level which led us into a small, colorful room that was decorated with all kinds of children’s artwork that seemed to express their approach on culture. It really brought to life the benefit that this museum has on the younger generation. By seeing and learning about their ancestors and how they fought and struggled to get where they are today they are allowed to find and accept their identify, and better yet express and display it with avail for all to see.
As Kat and I marched up a short flight of the stairs, we were bombarded with loud voices that small wooden bench below studied us briefly before going back to listening and taking notes. Not being able to understand what the voices were saying we set aside our curiosity and walked into the room to our right. I love the peacefulness of an art gallery, so I was pleased to walk into the zen-like space and see beautiful art dispayed on the walls. The work belonged to George Tsutakawa, who created the Fountain of Wisdom in 1958, which is displayed outside the Seattle Public Library. By doing this and creating other works of art in the Seattle area he has “transformed the environment by providing places for rest and contemplation as well as creating local identity.”
Crossing the hall we walked into a second set of doors which led us into a room with a very different kind of feel. It was a lot more factual, with bits and pieces of history here and there and beside it told the story. This room really grabbed me and made my tummy hurt. Everywhere we turned there was more proof of wrongdoing to Asian Americans. As I was reading the wall that printed some of the countries reasons for immigration to the US, I recognized some information that I had already learned about the colonists from other countries that were pushed to settle here. Like, for instance, the Chinese and the Taiping Revolution, which lasted three decades and forced many farmers to give up their land and settle here in United States because of the effect it had on China’s economy. And then the thousands of refugees pushed here from Cambodia to seek relief after the Khmer Rouge killed around two million Cambodians proceeding the Cambodian Civil War. Below is a picture of me reading about the unfortunate circumstances that initiated their move.
My trip to The Wing Luke Museum was somewhat unplanned, or at least on this day anyway. The night before my girlfriends and I celebrated our new monthly “girl’s night“ which consisted of breakfast-for-dinner and movies. The following morning my best friend Kat and I were lounging around her beautiful apartment contemplating our next plan of action. We were considering walking her dog along Alki when I started thinking of all the homework I should be doing instead. Being a second grade teacher at Midway Elementary, Kat thought it was a great idea when I mentioned the two of us going on a little learning excursion to the museum. Thrilled to have a tag-along buddy, we jumped in her Mini Cooper and headed for the International District.
After a half hour of trying to find parking, we landed a perfect spot twelve blocks away from King Street (ok, maybe not quite but let’s just say the girl doesn’t mind walking). Walking down the hill I realized I had never actually walked through Chinatown: I had driven through, but walking through really allows you to embrace the culture. When we finally arrived, we walked through the doors and were greeted by a sweet young girl who sent us on our way. We headed for the main wall to the right which was dedicated to the founder of the museum, Wing Luke. I found it inspiring to read that in the midst of prevailing racism, he earned a seat in the Seattle City council in 1962 so he could continue to fight for ‘civil rights, open housing, urban renewal and historic preservation.’ And then we saw a quote by Judge Charles E. Smith that read “I think [Wing] would be delighted to see what the Wing Luke Asian Museum represents in the community- a significant cultural institution in the community that brings together the commutal understanding of all the cultures that make Seattle the rich place that it is.” On that note, we started up the elevator, excited for what was to come.
The doors opened to the second level which led us into a small, colorful room that was decorated with all kinds of children’s artwork that seemed to express their approach on culture. It really brought to life the benefit that this museum has on the younger generation. By seeing and learning about their ancestors and how they fought and struggled to get where they are today they are allowed to find and accept their identify, and better yet express and display it with avail for all to see.
As Kat and I marched up a short flight of the stairs, we were bombarded with loud voices that small wooden bench below studied us briefly before going back to listening and taking notes. Not being able to understand what the voices were saying we set aside our curiosity and walked into the room to our right. I love the peacefulness of an art gallery, so I was pleased to walk into the zen-like space and see beautiful art dispayed on the walls. The work belonged to George Tsutakawa, who created the Fountain of Wisdom in 1958, which is displayed outside the Seattle Public Library. By doing this and creating other works of art in the Seattle area he has “transformed the environment by providing places for rest and contemplation as well as creating local identity.”
Crossing the hall we walked into a second set of doors which led us into a room with a very different kind of feel. It was a lot more factual, with bits and pieces of history here and there and beside it told the story. This room really grabbed me and made my tummy hurt. Everywhere we turned there was more proof of wrongdoing to Asian Americans. As I was reading the wall that printed some of the countries reasons for immigration to the US, I recognized some information that I had already learned about the colonists from other countries that were pushed to settle here. Like, for instance, the Chinese and the Taiping Revolution, which lasted three decades and forced many farmers to give up their land and settle here in United States because of the effect it had on China’s economy. And then the thousands of refugees pushed here from Cambodia to seek relief after the Khmer Rouge killed around two million Cambodians proceeding the Cambodian Civil War. Below is a picture of me reading about the unfortunate circumstances that initiated their move.
As Kat and I wandered around the room, I studied the wall that showed real coaching papers that were a part of booklets, in which Chinese families would use to prepare for the interrogation process for entry into the United States. I found it interesting to learn that even immigrants going by their real identities felt the need to study and memorize such papers. I am assuming they had to do what they had to do to ensure that their family would stay together and not be seperated if they were misunderstood.
The next exhibit really saddened me and one display in particular I had to read aloud. The Chinese Exclusion Act, as said in the script, was so blatantly racist. The fact that white laborers actually devoted a day to be named the Anti-Chinese Demonstration Day, which was celebrated a holiday in California shocks me. If they were so Christian, it makes me wonder how people really believed that God would approve of that. And then proceeding the birth of that, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed which banned Chinese laborers “from entering the country and becoming naturalized citizens, devastating families and stunting communities for the next 60 years.”
In the end I was racking my brain trying to think of a disadvantage of having a museum like this for people to see and I really could not think of one. It is there because this is all history and it all happened and now all we can do is see it and let it change us for the better. We learned a tremendous amount and believe this is a museum that could not only benefit Asian Americans, but eveybody as a whole. My girlfriend Kat for instance is planning to marry her boyfriend Quauhtli of 11 years who’s family is from Mexico. Even being half white, her kids someday are going to have to deal with the pressures of society. I hope by then people will have a better understanding of other cultures and learn to except everyone and I believe a museum like this can benefit that cause. Because in all reality we are all the same.
The next exhibit really saddened me and one display in particular I had to read aloud. The Chinese Exclusion Act, as said in the script, was so blatantly racist. The fact that white laborers actually devoted a day to be named the Anti-Chinese Demonstration Day, which was celebrated a holiday in California shocks me. If they were so Christian, it makes me wonder how people really believed that God would approve of that. And then proceeding the birth of that, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed which banned Chinese laborers “from entering the country and becoming naturalized citizens, devastating families and stunting communities for the next 60 years.”
In the end I was racking my brain trying to think of a disadvantage of having a museum like this for people to see and I really could not think of one. It is there because this is all history and it all happened and now all we can do is see it and let it change us for the better. We learned a tremendous amount and believe this is a museum that could not only benefit Asian Americans, but eveybody as a whole. My girlfriend Kat for instance is planning to marry her boyfriend Quauhtli of 11 years who’s family is from Mexico. Even being half white, her kids someday are going to have to deal with the pressures of society. I hope by then people will have a better understanding of other cultures and learn to except everyone and I believe a museum like this can benefit that cause. Because in all reality we are all the same.
1 comment:
I love your girls night activities. How fun. I'm glad you got to go with someone. It makes it a lot more interesting because you can talk about things you're seeing. Especially since the museum is in a new, large space, there's so much more to see.
Your focus on the immigration issue is relevant. I think it's really easy to make comparisons to today's immigration issue. For me, it makes me think twice about how much our country has changed. It seems like with some things, it's very similar to how it was 100 years ago...or 150 years ago. And I think you make a good point about your friend and her children. Race is still an ongoing issue in our country, so the question is, when will we learn to deal with it differently or when will it become irrelevant? Or should it always be relevant?
About the disadvantages of the museum, I've heard people complain that it's so negative toward Anglo European Americans, that it's more divisive than anything else. But I suppose that if we can connect with any one of the exhibits there, it is relevant to us, regardless of race.
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