In the Beginning
Though that prophesy appeared in the Daily Alta California on May 12,
1852, Chinese immigrants were slow in achieving such expectations. The
inevitable economic adjustments in an unsettled new world, as well as
old world conservatism contributed to the apparent lack of progress. By
the end of the 19th century, the Chinese, who had been brought to this
country in great numbers as cheap labor to help build the railroads,
later became this country's scapegoats when poor economic conditions
and high unemployment became prevalent. Public opinion became openly
prejudiced against Chinese, so much so that in denying a Chinese the
right to testify in court against a white person, the California
Supreme Court stated that the Chinese were "a race of people whom
nature has marked as inferior, and who are incapable of progress or
intellectual development beyond a certain point;" and to allow them to
testify would "admit them to all equal rights of citizenship, and we
might as soon see them at the polls, in the jury box, upon the bench,
and in our legislative halls. (People v. Hall, (1854)4 Cal. 339, 405)
Formation of New Organization
Against this backdrop, a small group of young Chinese
Americans, born and raised in the United States, assembled in San
Francisco and decided that they would have to take matters into their
own hands if they were going to combat this sentiment and accelerate
the process of assimilation. They found that they not only had to fight
the hostile public opinion against their Chinese ancestry, but they
also had to overcome the skepticism of their own elders who felt that
these young upstarts were becoming too Americanized and were forgetting
the ideals of the old country. Despite this opposition, this group of
Chinese Americans believed in the importance of their American birth
and felt that they nevertheless had a role to play in shaping this
country. They were not easily discouraged and believed that, in the
final analysis, they could be judged on the basis of their own actions
and achievements. The Chinese American community needed leaders with
their background and their crusading spirit to actively participate in
and partake of the advantages of American ideals, traditions, and
institutions.
Thus, the fraternal order of the Native Sons of the Golden State came
into existence in San Francisco. First incorporated in the State of
California by Chun Dick in 1895, the group was later reorganized in
1904 by Walter U. Lum, Joseph K. Lum, and Ng Gunn. By 1912, other
Chinese Americans in communities outside of San Francisco learned of
the organization and wanted to form local chapters. Oakland, San
Francisco, and Los Angeles soon became the nucleus of the Grand Parlor.
One year later, units in Fresno and San Diego were added, making it a
statewide organization.
New Charter
Membership in the organization was at first confined to Chinese males
born within the State of California, but as more and more requests came
to establish branches elsewhere, it became apparent that a complete
reorganization was necessary. The name,'"Native Sons of the Golden
State," no longer adequately described the national organization that
was planned, so a new charter was taken out in 1915 under the name, the
"Chinese American Citizens Alliance." The Grand Lodge became the
highest governing body of the Alliance with its officers elected duing
each biennial convention. Local lodges in San Francisco, Oakland, Los
Angeles, San Diego, Fresno, Portland, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and
Boston each had their own board of officers and associates. In
addition, each local lodge annually chose a Grand Representative to
serve in a Liaison capacity between their own lodge and the Grand
Lodge.
By 1920, the building housing the National HeadQuarters at 1044
Stockton Street in San Francisco was completed. The grand opening
celebration on August 10th of that year brought into full realization
the plans conceived in Los Angeles in 1914, perfected in San Francisco
in 1915, and carried out in Oakland in 1917.
In later years, other lodges were opened in San Antonio, Houston,
Albuquerque, Tucson, Phoenix, Sunnyvale (now renamed Peninsula Lodge),
Washington DC, New York, and Sacramento. From that small group of men
in San Francisco, the Alliance became a national organization. In 1977,
another milestone in membership was achieved when women were admitted
as members for the first time. Since then, a number of women have been
elected to hold office in local lodges, including the office of
president. By the national convention in Houston in 1993, the numbers
of male and female presidents of regional lodges were almost equal. In
1997, at the convention in Phoenix, Nancy Ann Gee was elected as the
first woman to hold the office of National Grand President .
Chinese Times
The Chinese Times, founded in 1924, became the official
newspaper of the Alliance. It grew to have the largest circulation of
all Chinese language newspapers in this country. Unlike other Chinese
language newspapers distributed in the United States, it did not have
ties to any foreign country or political group, becoming the only
Chinese daily newspaper to be owned, edited, and published by American
citizens. At its peak, the Chinese Times commanded the respect of those
of Chinese descent throughout the world because of its unbiased
editorials and authentic news coverage. Later, the Chinese Times became
a corporate business entity separate from the Alliance, but many of its
shareholders were Alliance members, and Alliance members served on its
Board of Directors. After many years of operation, however, as Chinese
Americans became more and more assimilated into American society, fewer
and fewer needed to rely on a Chinese language newspaper for
information. In fact, after many generations of living in the United
States, some Chinese Americans could no longer read the Chinese
language. As a result, the Chinese Times readership dwindled to a point
where it was no longer economically feasible to continue operations,
and in 1988, all of the Alliance's interest in the Chinese Times was
sold to independent buyers.
Insurance
Because of discriminatory requirements imposed by insurance companies
at the turn of the century, very few Chinese Americans were able to
provide any financial protection for their families. In 1920, to
further the principles of fraternal brotherhood, a "death benefit fund"
was created by the Chinese American Citizens Alliance. Upon the death
of a lodge brother, the sum of one thousand dollars, collected through
assessment of the surviving members, was paid to the member's widow and
family.
By 1947, liberalization of insurance regulations had progressed to such
an extent that it was no longer necessary for members to continue to
shoulder this financial burden for their fellow members, and this
program ceased. In the course of its 27 years of operation, thousands
of widows and orphans benefited from this program. To this day, the
Alliance still receives an occasional request for this benefit from a
family who, after the death of a long-time Alliance member, uncovers a
certificate for the benefit amongst the personal effects of the
deceased member; over time, of course, the number of such requests have
diminished.