History of Washington Through Food: Desegregation Through Food

10/22/2004

Governor Gary Locke may be the most prominent Asian-American to hold office in Washington, but there were others before him who paved the way. The first Asian-American woman to break into local politics was restaurateur Ruby Chow. Her restaurant was one of the first Chinese spots outside the International District. It became a gathering place for politicians. In the fourth installment of our series on how food shaped Washington history, KUOW’s Ruby de Luna profiles the woman who bridged the Asian community and mainstream society…through food.

A SPECIAL BANQUET HONORING CHINESE SENIORS IS GETTING STARTED IN SEATTLE’S CHINATOWN INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT. EIGHTY-FOUR YEAR OLD RUBY CHOW DIRECTS PEOPLE TO THEIR TABLES. THIS IS WHAT CHOW DOES BEST. SHE’S THE QUINTESSENTIAL HOSTESS.

CHOW: “Hey, Victor! Take care of her.”

CHOW’S SOCIAL TALENTS HELPED HER RISE FROM A YOUNG CHINATOWN WAITRESS TO BECOME THE FIRST ASIAN AMERICAN WOMAN TO DESEGREGATE KING COUNTY POLITICS. AT HER SEWARD PARK HOME, OVER ICED LEMONADE, CHOW RECALLS GROWING UP IN CHINATOWN. AT 16 SHE DROPPED OUT OF SCHOOL AND TOOK A JOB WAITING TABLES.

CHOW: “That was the place where I was able to build a clientele for myself because when I worked in the restaurant I used to recommend to the customers what to eat, not just the usual stuff. They would say Ruby, order for us. So I used to order for them… it was a word of mouth business.”

IN 1948 RUBY CHOW AND HER HUSBAND PING STARTED THEIR OWN BUSINESS, OUTSIDE OF CHINATOWN. THEY FOUND AN OLD MANSION ON BROADWAY AND JEFFERSON STREET THAT WOULD BECOME RUBY CHOW’S RESTAURANT. SHE SAYS HER CUSTOMERS FROM THE PREVIOUS RESTAURANT, MOSTLY WHITES, FOLLOWED HER TO THE NEW LOCATION.

CHOW: “The people in Chinatown were saying to me go ahead, you go up there. In 60 days you’ll be bankrupt and back down here. We were there 31 years.”

RUBY CHOW’S WAS A POPULAR HANGOUT AT A TIME WHEN SEGREGATION WAS STILL THE RULE. SOON, EVEN CELEBRITIES CAME TO EAT: ENTERTAINER SAMMY DAVIS JR. AND ACTOR SYDNEY POITIER WERE GUESTS. POLITICIANS WERE REGULARS. IN FACT, IT BECAME A PLACE TO SCHMOOZE, CUT DEALS AND RAISE MONEY.

CHOW: “I don’t know how it became that way. They all started coming there and I had a room in the back where they had a lot of privacy. I think after they’d been out and had a hard day, they probably wanted some privacy. I’d take them back there and let them enjoy themselves without having to be exposed to the public.”

RUBY CHOW PROVED THAT FOOD AND POLITICS MIX. THIS IS NOT UNUSUAL. DAVID OLSON IS POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON.

OLSON: “If you go to Chicago or New York, it’s often the case that politics revolves around what I call third places. The third place can be a tavern, it can be a restaurant, it can be an ethnic clubhouse. It’s a third place because it’s neither work nor home.”

THE RESTAURANT BROUGHT THE CITY TO RUBY CHOW’S DOORSTEP AND OVER TIME IT INCREASED HER VISIBILITY AS A COMMUNITY LEADER. SHE BECAME A BRIDGE BETWEEN CHINATOWN AND THE REST OF SEATTLE. CHOW SAYS RUNNING FOR OFFICE SEEMED ONLY NATURAL.

IN 1973 SOMETHING HAPPENED THAT WOULD CEMENT HER DECISION. AS THE INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT WAS CELEBRATING CHINESE NEW YEAR, POLICE RAIDED A NEIGHBORHOOD SOCIAL CLUB.

CHOW: “…there were 3 paddy wagons lined up in front of this place. It was an organization that just had their party. They all came back there to listen to Chinese opera. So I went down there and there was an officer standing and I said what’s going on and he wouldn’t answer me.”

THAT EVENING 75 PEOPLE WERE JAILED BY SEATTLE POLICE, SOME OF THEM ELDERLY WOMEN AND CHILDREN. CHOW WENT TO MAYOR WES UHLMAN NEXT DAY TO FIND OUT WHY.

CHOW: “I said what the hell do you think you’re doing? He called the chief of police in and the vice squad and asked them what’s going on. They said they were gambling there. Then he asked the chief of police, what do you do when you conduct a raid like this with the Caucasians? They issue a ticket. And what are you doing with the Chinese? They couldn’t say anything.”

CHOW COLLECTED MONEY TO BAIL OUT THE DETAINEES. IT BECAME A TURNING POINT FOR HER, JUST AS THE ‘70S WERE A TURNING POINT FOR MUCH OF AMERICA. BLACK PERFORMERS LIKE STEVIE WONDER WERE AT THE TOP OF THE CHARTS IN 1973. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAMS WERE BEGINNING AT UNIVERSITIES AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. AND RUBY CHOW DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO RUN FOR POLITICAL OFFICE. SHE CAMPAIGNED FOR AN OPEN SEAT ON THE KING COUNTY COUNCIL.

ON ELECTION NIGHT NEWSPAPER REPORTERS WERE QUICK TO NOTE THAT THE COUNCIL WAS ALL MALE, AND ALL WHITE.

SEATTLE TIMES: “Ruby Chow, Chinese-American restaurateur and Walter Hubbard, black civil rights leader were locked in a close battle today to determine which will become the first minority person on the County Council, representing District 5.”

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER: “Ruby Chow, the ebullient Chinese restaurant owner appears to have narrowly defeated Walt Hubbard in the Democratic sudden-death race for the King County Council’s 5th District seat, late returns show last night.”

CHOW WAS ELECTED BY 220 VOTES. WHILE IN OFFICE, FOOD CONTINUED TO MIX. EVERY YEAR CHOW HOSTED DINNERS FOR THE SITTING GOVERNOR - FROM DIXIE LEE RAY TO DAN EVANS. HER USE OF FOOD BECAME LEGENDARY WHEN CHOW WANTED TO PREVENT USE OF A FEDERAL BUILDING IN CHINATOWN FOR A PRISON WORK RELEASE PROGRAM.

DOUG EGLINGTON: “That of course, as you might imagine was not well accepted by the community.”

DOUG EGLINGTON IS A FORMER AIDE TO RUBY CHOW.

EGLINGTON: “And so Ruby got on a plane and went to Washington D.C. to meet with Sen. Magnuson. The colorful thing… is that Ping roasted up a duck and she took it with her to give to Sen. Magnuson.“

ROAST DUCK DIPLOMACY - THAT’S WHAT HER STAFFERS CALLED IT. IT’S UNCERTAIN IF THE DUCK SWAYED THE SENATOR, BUT PLANS FOR THE WORK RELEASE PROGRAM DIDN’T GET FAR. ON THE COUNTY COUNCIL CHOW IS BEST REMEMBERED FOR HER EFFORTS IN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, ESPECIALLY THE ENFORCEMENT OF MINORITY SET-ASIDES IN GOVERNMENT CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. ALONG THE WAY SHE RUFFLED SOME FEATHERS. CRITICS SAY SHE ONLY LOOKED OUT FOR THE CHINESE. CHOW DISPUTES THAT, BUT ACKNOWLEDGES HER PRESENCE IN THE COUNCIL DID GIVE THE CHINESE COMMUNITY A PERSON TO WHOM THEY COULD TURN.

CHOW: “I have always done things for, just almost anybody that asked me. Just because I have more Chinese that doesn’t mean I’m going to do it for Chinese only… there are some people that don’t seem to like me because I’m getting things done. I’m not going to sit here and worry about it. You don’t like me, so be it.”

RUBY CHOW SERVED THREE TERMS ON THE KING COUNTY COUNCIL. DURING THAT TIME HER RESTAURANT ON BROADWAY AND JEFFERSON STREET CLOSED. IN ITS PLACE NOW IS A PARKING LOT FOR A MEDICAL OFFICE. STILL CHOW’S LEGACY LIVES TO THIS DAY. HER SON, MARK, IS A KING COUNTY DISTRICT COURT JUDGE. HER DAUGHTER CHERYL SERVED EIGHT YEARS ON THE SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL. A FAMILY TRADITION OF PUBLIC SERVICE, STARTED BY A WOMAN WHO PIONEERED A CHINESE RESTAURANT ON SEATTLE’S FIRST HILL. I’M RUBY DE LUNA, KUOW NEWS.