Challenging
a white-washed
History
CHINESE LAUNDRIES IN THE U.S.
CHSA Launches Student Showcase
Student-Centered Collaboration
Challenging a White-washed History is the product of months of thoughtful research, creative expression, and academic partnership with students from San Francisco State University’s Asian American Studies Department, who conducted in-depth historical research and developed the interpretive wall text. Their work connects academic study with community storytelling, offering visitors a deeply informed perspective on Chinese laundry workers’ lived experiences. Click here to view the San Francisco State University’s students’ Laundry Exhibit Curriculum Guide.
In tandem, students and faculty from the Academy of Art University were inspired by archival materials, oral histories, and the legacy of laundry work in Chinese American communities. Their original illustrations and visual narratives blend historical accuracy with creative interpretation, bringing these histories to life the dignity, struggle, and resilience embedded in their everyday labor, as well as making connections to ongoing immigrant rights issues.
Together, through their research and artistry, these students articulate and honor the labor, resistance, and enduring spirit of Chinese laundry workers across the United States.
Research and Oral Histories:
Students from San Francisco State University contributed original research, conducted oral history interviews with laundry business owners past and present to create the text of the showcase. Their work uncovers the struggles and resilience of Chinese laundry workers, giving voice to stories that have long been overlooked. Through careful scholarship and personal narratives, they illuminate a vital chapter of American history. Please click this link for the full oral histories .
Visualizing the Laundry Legacy
Drawing inspiration from archival research and the CHSA collection, their pieces explore themes of labor, identity, resilience, and community, students and faculty from the Academy of Art University created original artworks that honor the history and experiences of Chinese laundry workers. These creative interpretations add powerful visual storytelling to the showcase, bridging past and present through art.
Together, these student voices from the heart of the exhibit—bridging past and present through scholarship, artistry, and collective memory.
Historical Laundry Artifacts
Featured historical objects from CHSA’s collections include early-1900s, starched Ide Collars from Arrow, coal irons, vintage water spraying cans, and other artifacts across different eras of Chinese laundries throughout the United States.
These historical artifacts from Chinese laundry businesses offer powerful insight into the everyday lives and struggles of early Chinese immigrants starting their own businesses while adapting to their new lives in America.
Laundry Water Spraying Cans
Brass
Date Unknown
Before steam irons, cans like these were used to spray water on laundry before ironing. The lid of the gold-colored can is inscribed with the Chinese character 祥 (xiáng) that is associated with good luck and harmony.
Chinese Historical Society of America Collection
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Benny Lau
FIC-B-000218
Large Iron
Date Unknown
This iron is very heavy–between 8 and 9 pounds. The top portion comes off so that hot coals can be put inside. The holes around the bottom section allow for air circulation, which keeps the charcoal burning. The nozzle in the back of the iron is thought to have been connected to a water hose, thus making spray cans unnecessary.
Chinese Historical Society of America Collection
FIC-B-000655
Shirt Collars
“HEMPSTEAD, 14²”- 10 Ide Collars by Arrow
1900-1920
Disposable collars became popular starting in the mid-19th century as a way to avoid the time and labor of washing an entire shirt.
Chinese Historical Society of America Collection
Gift of Pass Sony Loy
1984.215.1c
Coal Iron
Date Unknown
When this iron from the 19th century was used, a hot coal would be placed in the pan and then the iron would be run in a circular motion over a piece of clothing. The smaller size made it easier to lift and prevent scorching; thus this iron was also called a “silk iron” because it was used on silks and other delicate fabrics. The lip of the pan is higher closer to the handle; this was to prevent embers from falling out and burning the launderer’s hand. Look closely at the etchings on the outside of the pan; they recall the designs seen on ancient Chinese bronze vessels, turning this object from an everyday tool into a work of art.
Chinese Historical Society of America Collection
Gift of Charles Leong
1969.6.2
Laundering Identity: Race, Work, and Belonging
This powerful collaboration invites deep and connected reflection on historical Chinese American themes of labor, resilience, and identity through the lens of laundry businesses, their owners and workers. In reflection, we appreciate the importance of laundry businesses for not only sustaining Chinese families but also helping build early Chinese American communities, even as they faced legal and social discrimination. Today, they are recognized as symbols of both hardship and perseverance in Asian American history.
“We’re living at a point in time where racist history is beginning to feel familiar. Particularly, aspects of Chinese American history and those of laundry workers—where we’ve been and what we’ve experienced as an immigrant group—is coming back and manifesting itself in newer ways.”
— Janice Pettey, Interim Executive Director of CHSA
Visit the Showcase
Location: Chinese Historical Society of America Museum
Address: 965 Clay Street, San Francisco, CA
Join us as we amplify student voices and honor the legacies of Chinese laundry workers through powerful storytelling and visual expression.
Please contact us with any questions online or at (415) 391-1188 x109. Thank you for your support!
Location
965 Clay Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
Contact Us
Hours
OPEN: Wednesdays and Saturdays
HOURS: 10 A.M. – 5 P.M.
CLOSED: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday