Justice Walk
San Francisco’s Chinatown is a vibrant, living community and home to generations of Cantonese-speaking residents. Established in 1848, it is the oldest Chinatown in North America and remains a hub of cultural life, community organizing, and immigrant resilience. Visitors will find popular dim sum spots, family-run shops, and important cultural landmarks like the Dragon Gate, Portsmouth Square, and Chinese Historical Society of America.
This self-guided tour highlights stories of activism and resilience — from the civil rights era to present-day advocacy for immigrant justice led by CAA.
A Message From Your Tour Guides: Nick & Shuangyan
Thank you for joining us on the Chinatown Justice Walk — a civil rights and political walking tour through San Francisco’s Chinatown. This tour was developed in collaboration with Justice Walks DC founder Kate Denson, as a way to preserve and share the rich history of Chinatown and the struggles and victories of the community.
We created this tour to inspire a deeper understanding of Chinatown’s legacy — not just as a cultural destination, but as a place shaped by activism, resilience, and belonging. Drawing from interviews with longtime community leaders and organizers, we’ve highlighted key moments and locations that reflect Chinatown’s ongoing fight for justice.
We are especially grateful to those who generously shared their stories and insights to help shape this tour: Jeannette Lazam, International Hotel activist; Caroline Cabading, executive director of Manilatown Heritage Foundation; Kit Dai, dean of City College of San Francisco, Chinatown/North Beach & Civic Centers; Reverend Norman Fong; historian David Lei; and Sarah Akutagawa.
Since launching in March 2024, we’ve led several in-person tours and are excited to now offer this self-guided version. We hope it sparks reflection, dialogue, and a sense of connection — and invites you to consider how you, too, can play a role in shaping a more just and inclusive future.
Let’s begin!
How to take the audio tour:
Below you’ll find a neighborhood map with several tour stops. We recommend starting your tour outside CAA’s office on Walter U. Lum Place followed by Portsmouth Square, City College of San Francisco–Chinatown, International Hotel, and Grant Avenue.
When you arrive at each location, click on the audio associated with each stop. Each audio recording is about two to three minutes.
We recommend using your mobile device and using headphones to listen along the way.
Introduction
1. 17 Walter U Lum Place
We start at CAA’s office, located at 17 Walter U Lum Place. Our team provides direct, in-language services for Chinese-speaking community members to help people apply for jobs and connect them to advocacy opportunities. CAA is also a co-founding partner of Stop AAPI Hate. This building itself is part of the history.
2. Portsmouth Square
When you look outside of the window from CAA’s office, you see Portsmouth Square. This is also known as Chinatown’s “living room.”
3. City College of San Francisco-Chinatown
City College is an important resource for community members. The building opened in 2012 after a long fight to secure its placement and construction. Many community members, residents, and organizations like CAA joined the fight!
4. International Hotel
Kearny Street was once the heart of Manilatown. The International Hotel (I-Hotel) was a vital part of the Filipino community, a community center, and one of the first affordable housing in San Francisco. But in 1966, developers plans to replace it with high-rises threatened to evict its low-income elderly residents. During a nine-year-long struggle, ministers, labor leaders, and activists would gather around the building every day to block the police from conducting evictions. On the night of August 4, 1977, police forcibly evicted the tenants by getting into the building from the rooftop. Although activists fought throug the night, the next morning, hundreds of residents and their personal belongings were tossed onto the street. For 28 years, the I-Hotel remained an empty lot. In 2005, it was rebuilt to include 104 units of low-income housing.
5. Grant Avenue and Sacramento Street: 1906 and Wong Kim Ark
Grant Avenue is Chinatown’s most tourist-traveled street, decorated with lanterns and other Chinese architectural styles. These unique features were a way for residents and leaders to preserve their neighborhood after the devastating 1906 earthquake. Our tour situates you at Edge on the Square, an art hub for AAPI artists and activists.
Closing
Reflection
What You Can Do To Protect Immigrant Rights
San Francisco Chinatown advocates have fought for education equity, affordable housing, and immigrant rights that have made impacts on local, state, and national fronts for decades. Our team is actively mobilizing to fight for a multiracial democracy and we need your voice to protect immigrant rights.
Here are four ways you can stay involved in the work ahead:
- Take action and oppose Trump’s executive order banning birthright citizenship.
- Sign up to join Stop AAPI Hate’s “Many Roots, One Home” campaign to fight back against Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda.
- Donate to make a difference.
- Check out the Knowledge Base Catalogo created by Coalition for Community Safety and Justice
The CAA Justice Walk is a project developed by CAA’s Advocacy Team to provide educational resources and tell the story of San Francisco Chinatown through a progressive social justice lens. Contact our team at advocacy@caasf.org to learn how you can make an impact in the fight for justice.
