The Story Behind ‘Chinatown Rising’: A Seminal 85-minute Documentary Film
Harry Chuck (born 1935) is a prominent figure in the history of San Francisco's Chinatown, known for his contributions to film and community activism. He was born and raised in Chinatown, where his father managed a gambling parlor and his mother worked various jobs, including as a welder.
Chuck developed a passion for photography early in life. In his mid-thirties, he pursued formal education in film as a student at San Francisco State College, mostly to gain access to movie camera equipment. A friend employed at a local television station provided him with leftover film reels, known as film ends, which would otherwise be discarded.
As a resident of Chinatown and a Presbyterian pastor, Chuck was deeply involved in his community, particularly with local youth through his work at Donaldina Cameron House, a nonprofit organization. He frequently documented community events, ultimately amassing over 20,000 feet of footage throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s. However, these reels remained largely untouched in his garage for nearly four decades.
At the age of 80, while cleaning his garage, Chuck consulted his youngest son, Josh, about the future of the film reels. Upon reviewing the footage, Josh was struck by the unique imagery and high quality of the work. Conversations revealed that Chuck had intended to create a documentary film as his master's thesis project at San Francisco State College but had been unable to complete it due to time constraints. Together, they embarked on a project to highlight the stories of Chinatown activist leaders who contributed to the Asian American movement.
‘Chinatown Rising’ highlights first-person accounts of Harry Chuck and many of his colleagues who share their story of Chinatown’s history of activism, community, and social change. Set in the Civil Rights era of the 1960’s and 1970’s, the film depicts how San Francisco’s Chinatown was deeply changed by the revolution that swept up most of the country. Some of the monumental shifts that occurred in this compact, dense, and complex community would also impact the rest of the country and propel the Asian American movement forward nationally.
Chinese American Historical Background
From their first steps onto American soil in the mid-1850’s, Chinese people in America have faced employment, housing and racial discrimination. Despite major contributions to the development of the American West, including the Gold Rush, construction of the Transcontinental Railroad and other infrastructure development, Chinese in America remained marginalized and informally segregated into Chinatowns across the country.
Chinese immigrants were favorably advertised by labor brokers as more obedient, industrious, and cleaner than freedmen. This, combined with their willingness to work for low wages, saw Chinese Immigrants being labeled as “Model Workers”. The great and sudden influx of these “Model Workers” in the late 1850’s and 1860’s created intense conflicts between Chinese laborers and White, African American, and Irish laborers. Soon, a strong Anti-Chinese movement developed from people’s fear of losing jobs to Chinese laborers.
In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by Congress to bar Chinese from immigrating to America and prevent Chinese immigrants already in the country from obtaining citizenship, even though they only made up 0.002 percent of America’s population at the time. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first law to deny a group of people from immigrating to the United States based solely on race. Chinese immigrants remained ineligible for U.S. citizenship until 1943.
Many Chinese circumvented the discriminatory immigration laws to enter the country and reunite with family members. "Paper sons" were Chinese immigrants who used false identities and fabricated documentation to enter the United States. They claimed to be the relatives of established American citizens, often with the aid of bribery or forged papers. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire left much of the city’s government records destroyed, opening the opportunities for Chinese immigrants to make successful claims of relationships. This resulted in a slow, steady flow of Chinese immigrants into the United States.
Chinese Immigrants were met with restrictions from renting and purchasing property outside of Chinatown through formal and informal mechanisms. Formal policies came in the form of Alien Land laws, a series of legislative attempts to discourage Asian and other “non-desirable” immigrants from settling in the United States by limiting their ability to own land and property. These laws were the genesis of one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the United States - San Francisco’s Chinatown. Generation after generation of Chinese Americans survived by remaining in Chinatown, keeping their heads down and staying under the radar.
“You learned how to be submissive.”
-Ed Sue, Chinatown Rising
Changing Tides
The 1960’s started off as the dawn of a golden age to many Americans. On January 20, 1961, the charismatic John F. Kennedy was elected as the President of the United States. His confidence that, as one historian put it, “the government possesses big answers to big problems” seemed to set the tone for the rest of the decade. However, the promises of this golden age were never fulfilled.
In the wake of the Kennedy assassination, President Lyndon B. Johnson developed a set of programs that would help low-income families and elderly, unofficially called the ‘War on Poverty.’ This included programs like Head Start which supports early education for children of low-income families and Job Corps, a job training program for low-income or at risk young people. President Johnson also signed the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1965. This law ended the unfair treatment immigration policy that restricted immigration of people from Southern and Eastern Europe and Asia based on quotas.
These social support programs and newly opened immigration channels had a significant effect on San Francisco’s Chinatown as thousands of new immigrants entered the neighborhood, creating even more pressure on housing and services in Chinatown.
“When you have thousands of new residents coming into a very congested place already… problems started to emerge.”
-Gordon Chin, Chinatown Rising
The increasing pressure on the neighborhood coincided with the many social movements that were occurring across the country. The 1960’s saw the rise of the Black Power, Feminist and Anti-War movements, as well as the Summer of Love. Students and young people actively participated in these movements, motivated by a desire to fight injustice and inequity.
Meanwhile in Chinatown, Chinese Americans were recognizing the inequity and injustice in their own community. Non-English speaking immigrants struggled in school and joined gangs for support and survival. They, along with young American born Chinese youth, challenged the status quo in Chinatown.
The neighborhood was plagued by overcrowded and below standard housing, mono-lingual classrooms, and lack of employment opportunities. Both local government and traditional community groups, like the Chinese Six Companies, did not seem responsive to the needs of the wider community.
The Chinese Six Companies
The Chinese Six Companies (also known as the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association) was formed in the mid 1850’s to serve the Chinese community in the United States. It was a conglomerate of the six largest and most powerful family associations. Those Associations largely represented early immigrants from the Guangdong region of China, providing support that wasn’t being provided to the Chinese by the federal or local government. An unspoken agreement with the City of San Francisco left the management of Chinatown largely to the oversight of The Chinese Six Companies.
“This was (sic) the original defendants of the Chinese.”
-Mel Lee, Chinatown Rising
“They’re supposed to take care of us, but also control us.”
-Warren Mar, Chinatown Rising
In the 1960’s, tensions in Chinatown were rising due to conflicts over resources and social changes. Some residents viewed The Chinese Six Companies as hindering progress in housing, education, job creation, and new liberal immigration policies.
The divide widened when many younger Chinatown residents began supporting Mao Zedong’s communist movement in China. Mao promised a radical transformation of China, pledging to overthrow the feudal and capitalist systems, redistribute land and wealth, end foreign exploitation, and build a more equitable society. His vision of a “continuous revolution” appealed to those wanting a dramatic shift from the past, portraying himself as a defender of the common people against imperialism and the old order. He was seen as a hero by many oppressed and colonized groups around the world, including some American civil rights leaders. Mao's support for African Americans' struggle for equality and his theories on violent resistance, cultural revolution, and the urgency of change resonated with many Black nationalists.
In contrast, the traditional leadership in San Francisco’s Chinatown, including the Chinese Six Companies, backed the Kuomintang (KMT)/Nationalist Party of China, which had been in power when the group’s leaders were last in China.
“The role models, for decades, had been the Six Companies. Now I could sense they were losing favor with people.”
-Harry Chuck, Chinatown Rising
Youth Movements in Chinatown
The Chinatown community reacted to the changes in population and discontent with their leadership by forming several youth led community groups. George Woo, the young leader of the Wah Ching organization, coordinated a press conference in the Chinese American Citizens Alliance auditorium on February 26th, 1968. The purpose of the Press Conference was to give the community an opportunity to air grievances about the lack of community leadership in Chinatown.
“People were very upset. The argument is if you’re making noise, we’re making Chinese look bad.”
-George Woo, Chinatown Rising
Later that year, on August 17, 1968, a historic march and protest took place in Chinatown, advocating for improved living conditions, fundamental rights, and an end to systemic racism. College students, young activists, professionals, and local residents assembled in Portsmouth Square to vehemently denounce the prevailing conditions and demand change.
“We all felt there was something different about these demonstrations. We had all been involved in student demonstrations, anti-war demonstrations, civil rights demonstrations, but not in a place like Chinatown.”
-Gordon Chin, Chinatown Rising
San Francisco State College Strike
On November 6, 1968, tensions came to a head in the form of a student strike led by a diverse coalition of college ethnic/cultural groups which made up the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF). Various ethnic groups acting in unprecedented racial and ethnic solidarity included the Latin American Student Organization (LASO), the Black Student Union (BSU), the Intercollegiate Chinese for Social Action (ICSA), the Mexican American Student Confederation, the Philippine (now Pilipino) American Collegiate Endeavor (PACE), La Raza, the Native American Students Union, and later the Asian American Political Alliance.
“The whole essence is, that to be an American, no longer means that you have to be white. The younger generation broke that myth, so to speak.”
-Philip P. Choy, Chinatown Rising
Sparked by demands for a more inclusive curriculum and greater representation of minority groups, protestors moved from classroom to classroom declaring a “strike” and dismissed students. There were many demands, but two issues stood out above the rest: admission policies that excluded non-whites from enrolling in the college and the white-centric curriculum.
The protests raged on for five months (the longest student-led strike ever held in higher education history) and drew national attention due to violent, bloody conflicts between students, teachers, administrators and San Francisco Police forces.
“There were people, and horses, and policemen pushing us back. And then they started whacking everyone. Then I saw one of my friends getting his head bashed in. I saw another African American guy get his head bashed in. Blood was gushing everywhere. It was horrific… Essentially that was my graduation present, you know, I was going to go to jail for 20 days”
-Laureen Chew, Chinatown Rising
Eventually, the college emerged with a new commitment to equity and justice in higher education, including the establishment of the first College of Ethnic Studies in the nation. This pivotal moment in the civil rights movement demonstrated the power of student activism in shaping educational institutions and advancing social justice. Besides the lasting national implications of the strike, many Chinatown residents who got involved gained a social consciousness that would lay the foundation for the Asian American movement.
“Part of the strike was because we wanted to set up the School of Ethnic Studies. The purpose of those studies was to show how much contribution we made to this country and to make sure that we’re not left out.”
-Mason Wong, Chinatown Rising
Battle in the Classroom: Lau v Nichols
“With one small voice, in a parent, a student, a teacher, you could actually change the course of history.”
-Lucinda Lee Katz, Chinatown Rising
At Jean Parker Public Elementary School, teachers found that they frequently had classes filled with students who could only speak Chinese. One mother asked if the teacher, Lucinda Lee, could teach in Chinese as well as English.
“I was using English mainly because it was the mandated language for the San Francisco Unified School District. And I said to myself, “How is this logical? I should be using some Chinese here.”
-Lucinda Lee Katz, Chinatown Rising
Lee, who had participated in the San Francisco State College student strike, decided to become part of the movement to change the district’s policies for all non-English speaking students. In the 1974 ruling of Lau v. Nichols, the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the school district, requiring school districts to provide non-English speaking students with instruction in their native language, so that they receive an equal education.
“It impacted the State of California. It impacted Spanish speaking students. It impacted Polish speaking students in Chicago…”
-Lucinda Lee Katz , Chinatown Rising
“Now I’m a bilingual teacher and I’m supposed to use Chinese in an American school setting? That was really kind of like, wow change has arrived!”
-Laureen Chew, Chinatown Rising
However, for a generation of youth who had immigrated to San Francisco with little to no English skill, the landmark ruling would come too late.
Youth Gangs, Groups and Organizations
Adding to the tumult of the 1960’s and 1970’s was gang and street violence in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Disenfranchised youth often turned to violence to settle disputes which resulted in a spate of murders in Chinatown during this period.
“Kids [who were killed] were far too young and this is not what they had expected when they immigrated here.”
-Harry Chuck, Chinatown Rising
The response developed by the San Francisco Police department was to create a division of their vice squad to focus on Chinatown. Unfortunately, police harassment of youth became commonplace.
“They have a language difficulty. They go to school. They get frustrated. They drop out. They haven’t got a job. It’s really a hopeless situation for them.”
-William Keys, Juvenile Bureau, San Francisco Police Department, Chinatown Rising
The new generation of immigrants in Chinatown required a new type of leader. One of those leaders was Barry Fong-Torres. Fong-Torres served as the director of the Chinatown Youth Service Center and focused on quietly providing services to youth. Sadly, he was assassinated in front of his home just nine months after starting his job. A note left at the crime scene suggested that Fong-Torres was a police informant. His murder remains unsolved.
“It is a defining moment because, until then, no one [who] worked with kids got hurt.”
-George Woo, Chinatown Rising
“We really struggled to find solutions to some of the violence.”
-Harry Chuck, Chinatown Rising
On September 4, 1977, the gang violence exploded at the Golden Dragon restaurant at 822 Washington Street in Chinatown. In a gang related shooting, three gunmen raided the crowded restaurant, targeting rival gang leaders, and instead killed five other diners and wounded eleven others. The shooting had long lasting ramifications on Chinatown, including reduced business and increased policing. Most significantly, the massacre led to the creation of San Francisco Police Department’s Gang Task Force which some credit with ending the gang war in Chinatown. Many, especially youth, have accused the Gang Task Force of employing heavy-handed tactics.
“Hated the police. A cop would come in… the first thing he did is grab me by the hair, slam me into the glass of the pinball machine and break the glass.”
-Warren Mar, Chinatown Rising
Chinese American Representation in San Francisco
From this turbulent era, several prominent Chinese American representatives emerged. Fred Lau, a Chinatown native, dreamt of serving his community as a police officer. Unfortunately, he did not meet the height requirements set out by the SFPD. This activated the community who brought attention to the fact that the SFPD’s physical requirements were discriminatory against Asians. The policies were changed in 1970 and Lau became the fifth Chinese American officer to join the SF Police Department and would eventually become Chief of Police in 1996 - the first Chinese American to lead a police force of a a major city in the continental United States.
“My Mom cried when she found out I wanted to become a police officer. I wanted to help the community.”
-Fred Lau, Chinatown Rising
In 1970, Christopher Chow became the first Asian American reporter to be hired by a major television station in Northern California. He was also the first Asian American to win an Emmy Award for Best Documentary in the Bay Area (“Pastures of Plenty”).
Gordon J. Lau was the first Chinese American to be elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. He was an activist for San Francisco’s Asian American and LGBT communities.
Land Use and the 701 Study
A century of bachelor societies, restrictive real estate laws, housing discrimination, overcrowding and lack of urban planning left Chinatown’s aging population in a severe housing crisis. Existing buildings, characterized by run down buildings with small Single Room Occupancy units and shared bathrooms and kitchens, as well as decaying public housing, were no longer sufficient to serve the community. Many of these units housed multi-generational families in one or two rooms as alternatives in other parts of the City were either restricted or unaffordable.
To counter the housing shortage, the San Francisco City Planning Department conducted the “701 Study” in 1970. The 701 Study found that Chinatown was badly in need of new housing and open space.
Over the decades, great efforts were made to preserve Chinatown’s history and open spaces. The Chinese Playground, 832 Sacramento Street, is one of the few open spaces in Chinatown. In 1968, developers proposed to raze the playground and replace it with a multi-level parking structure. Harry Chuck and other community leaders fought to oppose the development due to its detrimental effects on the neighborhood’s children. A neighborhood campaign gathered 4,000 signatures and eventually ended the project.
The Chinatown Housing Challenge - The International Hotel
Filipino immigrants had also created an enclave adjacent to Chinatown on Kearny Street called Manilatown, which centered around the International Hotel (I-Hotel). The “hotel” was in fact a permanent residence made up of Single Room Occupancy units. In the late 1960’s, developers with an eye towards gentrification devised a plan to demolish the existing building and redevelop the site - evicting and displacing all of the tenants, most of whom were elderly.
This plan triggered an eight-year series of protests and demonstrations aimed at protecting the structure and its residents. Protesters came in solidarity from all walks of life, including college students, members of the Black Panthers, Glide Church, and the now-infamous People’s Temple church.
“It was a political issue about people’s right to live in their community.”
-Gordon Chin, Chinatown Rising
In 1977, the tenants were evicted by force despite thousands of protestors forming a human barricade surrounding the building. The building was demolished in 1981 and for 24 years remained a hole in the ground. Due to the organizing efforts of tenants and community organizations, the new I-Hotel opened its doors in 2005, providing 104 units of low-income housing for seniors. The first people offered a rental unit were the evicted tenants of the original I-Hotel, but there were not many of them left (read more).
The Chinatown Housing Challenge - Mei Lun Yuen
Subsequently, a project named Mei Lun Yuen (Garden of Beautiful Neighbors) was proposed to be located at the intersection of Stockton and Sacramento Streets. The project was planned on a site that would displace very few people but was opposed by its Nob Hill neighbors. Those neighbors claimed their opposition was based on the loss of views created by the construction of Mei Lun Yuen.
“I’d like to say that no one, but no one in this world has an absolute right to a view of San Francisco. If we do, then we wouldn’t have had some of the buildings in existence.”
-Alice Barkely, Chinatown Rising
Protestors descended on the Housing and Urban Development headquarters, marking the first time Chinatown protested before the Federal government for better housing for Chinatown.
“You can hold up our project, and you have threatened to, but we have people. And I believe if you have any sense of conscience or any sense of compassion that you will truly support our project.”
-Linda Wang speaking at the Chinatown Housing Meeting, Chinatown Rising
This effort unified all generations and factions of the community, including the Chinese Six Companies and young activist leaders. Rev. Harry Chuck co-founded the Chinatown Coalition for Better Housing, which used creative ways to get their message across. They rented buses and packed dramatic city hall hearings with Chinatown residents. Chuck would end up using his film footage in the Supervisor’s chambers.
“Since you can’t come into Chinatown and meander through our housing, we thought we’d bring our housing conditions to you.”
-Harry Chuck, Chinatown Rising
After years of determination, the Mei Lun Yuen project was approved and completed in 1982, featuring 185 units of affordable housing for seniors and families, 12 years after the 701 Study was completed.
‘Chinatown Rising’ Update
‘Chinatown Rising’ documentary premiered as the Opening Night Film of the 2019 CAAMFest in San Francisco and was subsequently broadcast nationally as part of World Channel’s award-winning series America Reframed. Many local PBS stations also aired the film in their regions and the film is also available for streaming rental/purchase on Amazon, AppleTV+, and YouTube/Google.
The team has conducted over 300 screenings, presentations, and social justice walking tours, continuing to share this vital history of Asian American activism with audiences of all ages. They currently offer in-person and virtual engagements to school groups, organizations and private companies and can be reached here.