Our History

Over 20 years ago, Betty Jean Lee, Suenn Ho, and several members were instrumental in bringing the dream of  Classical Chinese Gardens in Chinatown to reality. 

Keith Lee and Helen Ying attended a City of Portland Community Budget Forum in February 2000.  They asked the city to promote higher representation of ethnic  minorities in involvement of leadership along with other requests such as safe communities.

Bill Chin represented C.A.C.A. at an OLCC hearing in November 2000.  He also wrote letters stating our concerns of equal access to various governmental agencies including the City Commissioners, the Attorney General’s office, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, and the Office of Neighborhood Involvement.  His work has led to an invitation for him to serve on the Liquor License Advisory Council.

In September 2000, C.A.C.A.Portland Lodge had written a letter in collaboration with twenty organizations to the editors of the Oregonian expressing our outrage of the recent mistreatment of a Chinese visitor. Immigration & Naturalization Service’s (INS) regional office organized a series of meetings with the representatives as a part of their investigation of the concerns. Questions were raised about racial profiling and uncivil treatment of clients.  Concerns of diversity training, cultural sensitivity training, accessibility, and user-friendliness were addressed.  In 2001, Helen Ying served as a member of the INS Community Roundtable.  INS has been restructured since the formation of the roundtables.  On March 1, 2003,  the functions of immigration and customs were divided between three different bureaus in the Department of Homeland Security.  Our Portland Lodge continued to serve as a “watchdog” to ensure proper service for immigrants for a number of years.

We  cosponsored a civil rights workshop with the Chinese Service Center on August 26, 2000.  Ms. Faye Dow, an Equal Opportunity Specialist from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Civil Rights presented valuable information to an audience of more than 100.  The outline of the workshop included Title VI of the Civil Rights Act 1964, limited English proficiency rights, provider responsibility, immigrant access to health care and social services, and nondiscrimination based on disability, race, age, sex, & religion.

Voter registration, civic education and engagement has become part of the fabric of Portland Lodge work. Gloria Lee is currently leading this program, collaborating with funders and cultivating partnerships with organizations from Asian Health and Service Center, League of Women Voters, Japanese American Citizens League, local libraries, local Asian markets, Lee Family Association and more.  

In 2016, we joined with Asian American Network of Oregon (APANO) in becoming a VOTE partner and launched our civic engagement and education programming.  Through generous re-grants from APANO, we have been able to hire contractors, train volunteers and further develop sustaining programs.  Since then, we have registered over 380 new voters and followed up with hundreds more on ballot measure translations, phone banking, GOTV (Get Out The Vote) and facilitated listening circles.  Over 30 native language speakers were recruited and stepped forward for additional training on vote specific vocabulary (not commonly used in everyday speech).  Continued recruitment and development of trained translators is foundational to our efforts to build trust and provide service to voters. The programs have  inspired both new and established voters to engage in civic education and the democratic process.

Since 2012, the Portland Lodge has striven to transform a barren gravel space of old graves of Chinese sojourners to the Cultural Heritage Garden at Lone Fir Cemetery. As a memorial, it will honor the Chinese sojourners in Block 14 to right the historic wrongs and actions.

On Nov. 6th, 2016, we held the first of our election ballot party serving 125 voters facilitated by 13 trained translators working one on one with each voter. Each election since we have increased voter turnout for elections.

In 2017, Portland Lodge was lauded for its efforts in advancing public recognition of the city’s earliest Chinese settlers. The Lodge gifted the city with a plaque that commemorates the more than 5,000 Chinese dwellers living and working in Portland’s original Chinatown between 1863 and 1900. “The plaque was designed by Suenn Ho and it took two years of perseverance and raising small donations to memorialize the contributions of past generations of Chinese Americans,” said Betty Jean Lee, the brainchild of the plaque.  Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Portland Bureau of Transportation Director Leah Treat dedicated a bronze plaque in the heart of the City’s original Chinatown. We also initiated and advocated for a bill, SB 280 and met with lawmakers to ensure that Oregon students learn about the history and incredible contributions of Chinese Americans and communities of color whose stories seldom make it to the history books. 

In 2019, we advocated for Mayor Ted Wheeler to issue a Proclamation on the 150th Anniversary of the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in recognition of the sacrifice and contribution of the Chinese railroad workers.

In 2020, we were funded by United Way of Columbia-Willamette for the We Count Oregon Campaign for outreach to hard to count populations in several counties. We managed to conduct 4 out of 6 events before the pandemic stay at home orders came through and we pivoted to outreach by phone, Youtube and social media.