Ah Louis and his Family’s Legacy at Cal Poly and the Area of San Luis Obispo (original) (raw)

This paper examines the history and unique experience of Ah Louis and his children and their effects on making the area of San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly more accepting to Chinese and Chinese Americans. The paper will also examine past and current issues of discrimination towards Chinese and Chinese Americans at Cal Poly and in the area of San Luis Obispo in comparison to the state of California. The oldest son of Ah Louis, Young Louis, was incredibly instrumental in creating acceptance at Cal Poly and the community through his founding and work in the Chinese Student Association. The success of the families influence was due to their ability to assimilate to American culture. The increase of immigrant Chinese students that spurred Young Louis to create the Chinese Student Association was due to elite anti-Communist Chinese leaving China for uncertainty in the future. Fiske2 Ah Louis, an immigrant from Guangdong province of China was one of the most important pioneers in helping develop and grow the city of San Luis Obispo in the late 1800s. 1 According to H.K. Wong, biographer of Ah Louis and the Louis family, in his historical monograph, Gum Sahn Yun= Gold Mountain Men, Ah Louis moved to San Luis Obispo in 1870 and became one of the city's most successful businessmen and labor contractors. 2 Louis, known as the mayor of Chinatown, was the labor contractor of most of the Chinese men who worked connecting the railroads along California. 3 Louis is notable for managing the workers that created the passage through the dangerous Cuesta Grade which, according to historian Jim Loveland in a letter to Louis's son, had "Unlock[ed] the blockade to the growth of central coast California." 4 Louis was a successful businessman and prospered in San Luis Obispo not only among the Chinese community but with the white community during one of the most discriminatory periods for Chinese immigrants along the Pacific Coast. Even though Ah Louis was popular among the community, the Louis family still experienced prejudice and discrimination in San Luis Obispo. Ah Louis and his family's success and acceptance among a largely white community in San Luis Obispo begs the question: what kind of impact did he and his children make on Cal Poly?