Chinatown Associations: Anchors of the Community spotlights various organizations based in Los Angeles Chinatown. This exhibit aims to contextualize how these organizations came into being and their lasting impact on the Chinese American community. While the associations exemplify the lasting resilience and solidarity within Chinese America, they are largely absent from major historical discourse. By engaging in place-based history, this project works to unravel and preserve the memory of the associations that shaped the very communities we live in today.

       During the 19th Century, the Chinese in America formed organizations to provide support for new immigrants. These “associations” or “huiguan”, which had centuries-old antecedents in China, were formed through commonalities between members, including origin, family lineage and surname, and one’s business operations. Some of the earliest and most famous of these organizations were San Francisco’s “Six Chinese Companies,” named after six clan or district associations representing those whose members hailed from Kong Chow 岡州, Ning Yung 寧陽, Sam Yup 三邑, Yeong Wo 陽 和, Hop Wo 合 和, and Yan Wo 人 和. Through their combined political and social reach, these associations worked to better the lives of the Chinese in America. Some of their functions included facilitating the arrival of new Chinese immigrants, whether to reunite family members or transport new labor, starting a Chinese language school in San Francisco, organizing general community medical and hospitalization services (the Chinese were not allowed to be admitted to the county hospital), providing banking services to connect those with relatives back in China, or fighting anti-Chinese legislation through legal counsel. Eventually, affiliate organizations were formed in Los Angeles. As 19th Century Chinese were essentially treated as outsiders of American society, these associations allowed members to both compete and to nurture relationships within their communities. Members engaged in many business and recreational activities. With some fraternal associations being referred to as “tongs,” or  “huiguan,” which literally means “gathering places,” they offered the Chinese a space of their own.