3.2 The Chinese Response

Chinese immigrants banded together in response to the oppression they faced. Chinese communities in California developed a variety of social units as a means of protection. Those from similar areas in China developed associations. The associations welcomed new arrivals with a place to stay and some form of employment. The number of associations grew. Eventually, these associations came together to form the Chinese Six Companies, also known as the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. The association hired lawyers to battle exclusionary immigration laws and encouraged immigrants not to register with the government.

Chinatowns became more isolated as a result of racial prejudice. They were viewed by white people as exotic and dangerous. This did not help to downplay Chinese “otherness,” but it was beneficial in the fact that it deterred outsiders from visiting. Chinatowns were a place where Chinese immigrants could take refuge from white society. Unfortunately, life in Chinatowns during the Great Depression was bleak. The Chinese struggled to "take care of their own." By 1935, more than 350 families living in San Francisco's Chinatown were receiving aid from the San Francisco Relief Administration. "A survey of 119 of the families receiving relief aid showed that there were on average 2.2 person to a room, only 40 families with private kitchens, and 25 with private bathing facilities" (Chun, 18).