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CITY COUNCIL PROCLAIMS FEBRUARY 2026 AS 140TH ANNIVERSARY OF OLYMPIA’S STAND AGAINST ANTI-CHINESE VIOLENCE

At their Tuesday March 3 meeting, the Olympia City Council adopted a proclamation commemorating the 140th anniversary of events from February 1886 in which city leaders repulsed a planned attempt to forcefully remove Olympia’s Chinese immigrant community. The proclamation reads like a civics lesson of how cool-headed citizens banded together to thwart violent acts and maintain law and order. A significant historic theme called out in the proclamation contrasts Olympia’s response to planned violence with events in other western cities, such as Seattle and Tacoma, where Chinese were physically removed and communities destroyed. Credit for bringing attention to this historic event to the City Council goes to Locke Family Association member Brian Locke and to the Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum’s super-volunteer Ron Locke. Special thanks go to Mayor Pro Tem Yen Huynh and Assistant to City Council staff member Melissa McKee for authoring the proclamation. Local historian Ed Echtle was consulted for historical accuracy of the proclamation. Arts and Heritage Alliance (AHA) Museum Exhibitions and Programs Manager Ruth Kodish-Eskind invited everyone to visit the museum’s new exhibit Remembering Exclusion, Honoring Community: Chinese Life in Olympia that will be on display through April 11. To view the presentation, click on this link:  https://youtu.be/bBqp42fO1Hw?si=m2-jjETTf4qV9U-j&t=2160