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When Dr. and Mrs. David Murdoch moved to Tacoma in 1982, they sensed something was amiss. After learning about the Chinese expulsion, Dr. Murdoch said, "Then it clicked because...if a family member has been hurt, ostracized or embarrassed, that has an effect on the family for years."
Dr. Murdoch joined with City councilman Robert Evans, former State Representative Art Wang (D-Tacoma) and community activists in 1992 to initiate the reconciliation process. They formed a citizens committee which, assisted by the City’s Planning and Development Services Department, spent 14 months planning, making community contacts and creating the preliminary design of a memorial facility. On November 30, 1993, the City Council unanimously approved Resolution No. 32415 to acknowledge that the 1885 expulsion was "a most reprehensible occurrence." The City Council recognized the efforts of the citizens committee and endorsed the concept of building a Chinese Commemorative park and international pavilion at the former National Guard site on Commencement Bay. Appropriately, the property is near the site of the early Chinese Settlement called Little Canton. Continue to Goals and Objectives. |
Image Credit: Washington State Historical
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