Today Grandma Sally chaperoned the 8th grade field trip to the International District, fondly referred to as China Town, and a visit to the Wing Luke Museum. We caught the #14 bus right outside the school and headed down Jackson into the colorful and interesting district. Once at the museum, I immediately made friends with the two hostesses there who insisted...
...I wear the visitor wrist band.
Russel, our informative tour guide, filled us in on the general information about the interesting Chinese-American citizen, Wing Luke, for whom the museum is named. Mr. Luke, who was born in China in 1925, immigrated to the United States - Seattle to be exact, when he was only six years old. After attending school, earning a Bronze Star in the military, and earning a law degree at the University of Washington law school, Wing became the first Asian-American to serve on the Seattle City Council. Believing that the culture and traditions of Chinese and other Asian immigrants should be preserved and taught, Wing envisioned a place to present the history and important issues of Asian Americans. The Wing Luke Asian Museum was founded to fulfill that vision.
Russel also took us through the most interesting art exhibit entitled Yellow Terror: The Collection and Paintings of Roger Shimomura. I learned a lot about the racism that has been such a part of the American cultural images of Asians in the media.
At the end of the tour, I made sure to leave a dollar in the donation box...
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