The following digital exhibit highlights the personal experiences of Chinese immigrants in Seattle, Washington during the early 20th century. These letter translations add the Wing Luke Museum's extensive archive of Chinese Exclusion era primary source letters into the canon of U.S. history. This lesson is designed to capture the visually-aesthetic, emotional, and era-specific conventions via letter-writing and correspondence.

The content within this exhibit includes historical background information and references in further developing students’ understanding of what Push factors and Pull factors are in immigration — specifically China and the United States. The exhibit will additionally take students through a visual storyline of important events and policies such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the aftermath of migration, and the perspectives and real voices of Chinese immigrants behind such letters.

This Learning Lab collection was created by Emelynn Arroyave, David Salinas, and SovannKagna Hou in the summer 2021 Smithsonian Affiliate Digital Learning and Engagement Internship, in partnership with Emerson Collective and Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, a Smithsonian Affiliate. #SAintern #SAinterns #RaceAndSocialJustice #Immigration #ChangingAmericanNarrative