Anti-Chinese Club
In November 1885, the anti-Chinese club was formed, and they adopted Denis Kearney’s motto: “The Chinese must go!”.
Denis Kearney was a labor contractor in California known for his racist views against Chinese immigrants
A mob in Arroyo Grande order the Chinese to leave
Chinese men working on the railroad in Nipomo were ordered to leave by another crowd from Arroyo Grande
Anyone who refused to listen to the order were threatened to be hanged
A lynch mob hanged a father and his fifteen-year-old son, accused of murder, from the Pacific Coast Railway Bridge near the foot of Crown Hill
Chinese Washhouses
Chinese washhouses were successful, until a white laundry opened on Osos Street in 1876
1880 - city limits the hours that Chinese washhouses can operate
1883 - Chinese laundry workers go on strike after a disproportionate fee increase to their business licenses
Works Cited
Gregory, Jim. San Luis Obispo County Outlaws: Desperados, Vigilantes and Bootleggers. The History Press, 2017.
Image Source
[Portrait of Denis Kearney.], no date, photograph, California Faces: Selections from The Bancroft Library Portrait Collection, UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library, Calisphere, https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/13030/tf8v19p3dv/.