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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

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584 results for: Asian American

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Image of Bob Santos entering police van at protest at the South African consulate, Seattle, December 9, 1984
Photograph

Bob Santos entering police van at protest at the South African consulate, Seattle, December 9, 1984

Beginning in October 1984, demonstrations were held outside the home of the honorary South African consul in Seattle’s Madison Park neighborhood to protest the South African government's polices of racial segregation known as apartheid. In this image, Seattle civil-rights activist and community organizer Robert (Bob) Santos, wrists zip tied, steps into a police van. He and 22 others were arrested…
ID Number:2014.49.033.057.06
Date:1984
Image of Kohga Photographic Society at the Maneki Café, Seattle, circa 1949
Photograph

Kohga Photographic Society at the Maneki Café, Seattle, circa 1949

Seattle photographer Al Smith began taking photographs as a hobby as a teenager and continued documenting his experiences, both abroad and at home, throughout his life. Best known for his photos of Seattle's Jackson Street area jazz clubs and musicians, Smith also photographed family, friends, and local people in their everyday lives.After World War II, Al Smith was invited to…
ID Number:2014.49.Box31Folder001004
Date:1949
Image of Cheryl Chow for School Board campaign mailer, 2005
Ephemera

Cheryl Chow for School Board campaign mailer, 2005

Cheryl Chow (1946-2013) was a Seattle educator, politician, and advocate for children. Chow was the daughter of Ruby Chow, a restaurant owner and King County Councilwoman, and Ping Chow, an opera singer, US Army veteran, and chef. Born in Seattle, Cheryl Chow attended Franklin High School and Western Washington University. Early in her career, she taught physical education at Hamilton…
ID Number:2014.58.16.1
Date:2005
Image of Ruby Chow's menu, circa 1955
Menu

Ruby Chow's menu, circa 1955

Ruby Chow and her husband Ping opened Ruby Chow's restaurant in an old mansion at Broadway and Jefferson Street in 1948, the first Chinese restaurant in Seattle located outside of Chinatown. Ruby Chow would spend a lifetime as a community leader, including service as the first Asian American on the King County Council, first elected in 1973 and serving for…
ID Number:2016.20.7
Date:Circa 1955
Image of Nikkei Manor brochure, 1995
Ephemera

Nikkei Manor brochure, 1995

Nikkei Manor is an assisted living community in Seattle's Chinatown - International District which offers meals, activities, and social opportunities aimed at "Nikkei," a term that refers to Japanese emigrants and their descendants who permanently reside in a foreign country.The brochure pictured here was created in May 1995 to promote Nikkei Manor before it was constructed. The brochure contains a…
ID Number:2016.98.1
Date:1995
Image of Wa Chong Company letter, April 20, 1909
Correspondence

Wa Chong Company letter, April 20, 1909

On December 15, 1868, the man believed to be Seattle's first Chinese immigrant, Chun Ching Hock (1844-1927) opened the Wa Chong Company at the foot of Mill Street (now Yesler Way). The store sold imported Chinese goods, tea, rice, coffee, flour, and fireworks, but the company's most profitable business was labor contracting - recruiting and placing Chinese immigrants in domestic…
ID Number:2018.3.3.91
Date:1909
Image of Philippine Independence Day Celebration, Seattle, June 13-14, 1981
Poster

Philippine Independence Day Celebration, Seattle, June 13-14, 1981

Since the 1950s, the Philippines Council in Seattle has celebrated the anniversary of Philippine independence from Spain in June 1898 with a reception or festival. This poster advertises the 1981 Philippine Independence Day Celebration, sponsored by the Philippine Consulate General and the Filipino-American Intercommunity Council of the Pacific Northwest, with an abstracted sunset behind a silhouette of palm trees. The…
ID Number:2019.3.36
Date:1981
Audio recording

Oral history interview with Shirley and Shoji Kino, February 27, 2007

Interview with Shirley and Shoji Kino conducted by Lorraine McConaghy at the interviewees' home in Renton for the Speaking of Seattle Oral History Project on February 27, 2007. In the interview, the Kinos' discuss their experiences before, during, and after Japanese American incarceration camps during World War II.
ID Number:2019.35.1.36
Date:2007
Videorecording

Oral history interview with Al Young, March 12, 2008

Interview with Al Young, a former world champion drag racer and local high school teacher. He donated his famous 1970 Dodge Challenger to MOHAI in 2007. He was inducted into the National Hot Rod Association Hall of Fame (NW Division) in 2018. This interview was conducted by Shelly Leavens for the Speaking of Seattle Oral History Project on March 12,…
ID Number:2019.35.1.71
Date:2008
Audio recording

Oral history interview with Bibiana Castillano, September 16, 1987

Bibiana Castillano (1904-1995), one of the first generation of women to come to the Pacific Northwest from the Philippines. In this interview conducted by Lorraine McConaghy for the Winter Holidays Oral History Project on September 16, 1987, she discusses her Christmases in the Philippines and in Seattle after she immigrated in 1928.
ID Number:2019.35.2.2
Date:1987
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MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
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Phone: 206 324 1126
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