Greater Seattle OCA Awarded Grant to Write History of Chinese in Washington State

King County’s cultural services agency, 4 Culture, awarded $6,000 to the Greater Seattle OCA (Organization of Chinese Americans) and its affiliate, the Greater Seattle Chinese American Historical Society, to write and publish the history of Chinese in Washington State.

Doug and Art Chin, who have written extensively on the Chinese and other Asian Americans in the state, will prepare the publication. In 1973, the Chin brothers co-authored “The Settlement and Diffusion of Chinese in Seattle Washington.” It was the first book ever published on the social history of Chinese in Seattle. Later, Art Chin published “Golden Tassels,” a brief history of Chinese in Washington up to 2000. Doug Chin wrote “Seattle’s International District: The Making of an Asian American community,” in 2001. That book has been the best-selling book at the Wing Luke Asian Museum’s bookstore.

“We are thrilled to receive the 4 Culture grant to write and publish the history of Chinese in Washington state,” said Doug Chin, who is also the head of the local Chinese Historical Society as well as the president of the Greater Seattle OCA. “The 4 Culture grant, will allow us the opportunity to expand our educational material on the Chinese American heritage in this state,” he added.

The society previously received a $20,000 grant from the City of Seattle’s Department of Neighborhood to establish a local Chinese American historical society. With those funds, the society has produced an exhibit on a timeline of the Chinese American legacy in Washington State. A comprehensive website on the Chinese in the state, which will cover
such subjects as the history, social institutions, culture, sports and entertainment, politics, commerce, personalities, and media related to the Chinese will shortly be ready.