Wing Chong Luke (February 18, 1925 – May 16, 1965; ) was a

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

lawyer and politician from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. Luke served as an assistant attorney general of Washington for the state civil rights division from 1957 to 1962. He was later a member of the

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-larg ...

for position 5 from 1962 until his death in 1965 in a plane crash. The

Wing Luke Museum The Wing Luke Museum is a museum in Seattle, Washington, United States, which focuses on the culture, art and history of Asian Pacific Americans. It is located in the city's Chinatown–International District, Seattle, Chinatown-International Di ...

is named in his honor. The first

Asian-American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for ...

to hold elected office in the state, Luke was cited as an inspiration by

Gary Locke Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician, attorney, and former diplomat from the State of Washington. Locke served as the 21st governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005, where he was the first Chinese-American governor ...

, the first Chinese-American

governor of Washington The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.WA Const. art. III, § 2. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws,WA Const. art. III, § 5. the power to either ...

Early life and education

Family background and upbringing

Luke was born on February 18, 1925, in a small town near

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

(modern Guangzhou). His grandfather had run a

laundry Laundry is the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with this u ...

in Seattle, but exclusion laws forced Luke's father to return to China. When Luke was five, his family moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, but he did not settle in

until 1931, at the age of six. Upon their arrival in Seattle, the family saved to open a modest laundry and grocery store in the University District. Luke was the oldest of six children. While in school, Luke was often teased for his Chinese origins and on multiple occasions got into physical confrontations with bullies. After the outbreak of World War II, Luke's family was evicted from their apartment by their landlady for looking Japanese, which would instill in Luke a fire for social activism for the rest of his life. However, he eventually became the Roosevelt High School student body president. In 1944, his grades and civic activities earned him an invitation as a high school consultant for a White House Conference on juvenile problems, though Luke's induction into the army would prevent him from attending.

Military service

Only halfway through his senior year of high school, Luke was inducted into the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. Initially in the Army Specialized Training Program, he then joined the infantry and field artillery and was acting first sergeant and regimental S-1 sergeant in the 40th division Field Artillery. He served in Guam, Korea, New Guinea, New Britain and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, where he received the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

and six combat stars.

Higher education

Following his service, Luke entered the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. As in high school, Luke was a prominent leader. He was President of his sophomore class, the U.W. YMCA, the Baptist-Disciples' Student Center, the U.W. Red Cross, U.W. Young Democrats, and the committee chairman of A.S.U.W. Publications. He graduated from the university with a B.A. in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

. He did graduate work in the same fields at the

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

in Washington, D.C. He then attended the UW School of Law to earn an

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

Legal and political career

Luke was appointed Assistant Attorney General of the State of Washington, in the Civil Rights Division and served in that capacity from 1957 to 1962. In 1962, Luke decided to run for an open seat on the

. Running on the slogan "You are not electing a platform, but a Councilman," Luke maintained a pragmatic position on the issues and proved successful at mobilizing young volunteers. Despite having to defend against criticism of "fence sitting," accusations of

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

, and

racial slurs The following is a list of ethnic slurs, ethnophaulisms, or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnic, national, or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorati ...

, Luke won the council seat with a landslide of 30,000 votes and was sworn in on March 13, 1962. He became the first Asian American to hold elected office in the Pacific Northwest as well as the first

person of color The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

to hold a Seattle City Council seat. As a Councilmember, Luke focused on urban renewal, historical preservation, and civil rights. The latter focus proved controversial, and Luke's open-housing ordinance (created to prevent discrimination in the sale or rent of Seattle real estate) faced heavy resistance, though it eventually passed. For support in his community renewal efforts, Luke turned to a variety of local organizations he was active in, such as the

Urban League The National Urban League (NUL), formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for Afri ...

, the Chinese Community Service Organization, the

Japanese American Citizens League The is an Asian American civil rights charity, headquartered in San Francisco, with regional chapters across the United States. The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) describes itself as the oldest and largest Asian American civil rights ...

, and the Jackson Street Community Council. Generally diplomatic and optimistic in his approach, Luke was notably skilled at appealing to diverse communities, having once learned to sing Norway's entire

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

in preparation for an address to the local Norwegian community. His political successes and general popularity led to speculation over a potential congressional or mayoral run.

Death and legacy

On May 16, 1965, Luke was killed in a plane crash with two others on Merchant Peak in

Snohomish County Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 72nd-most popul ...

, while returning from a fishing trip in

Okanogan County Okanogan County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington along the Canada–U.S. border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,104. The county seat is Okanogan, while the most populous city is Omak. It is the largest c ...

. The wreckage was not found in the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

for more than three years. Luke is the namesake of multiple institutions. Friends and other supporters of Luke who raised money to search for him started the Wing Luke Memorial Foundation. The money went to the founding of the

in 1966 to present the histories and cultures of Asian immigrants and present-day issues of Asian Americans. Luke had reportedly mused about founding such a museum after observing how Chinese American culture in Seattle was so often swept under the rug. The museum remains located in the

Seattle Chinatown-International District Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the coun ...

. In 2013, the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation ...

designated the Wing Luke Museum as being affiliated with the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. Rhea Suh, an Assistant Secretary of the Interior, stated "As a first-generation Asian American and a senior appointee of the Obama Administration, I am humbled and inspired by the public service legacy of Wing Luke". The Seattle school South Van Asselt School was renamed the Wing Luke Elementary School in 1969. In 2015, the Washington state attorney general's office created the Wing Luke Civil Rights Unit to investigate issues related to discrimination and civil rights.

, the first Chinese-American

and U.S. Ambassador to China, has cited Luke as an inspiration.

Views

Luke saw many of his contemporaries forced to live in

racialized Racialization or ethnicization is a sociological concept used to describe the intent and processes by which ethnic or racial identities are systematically constructed within a society. Constructs for racialization are centered on erroneous gene ...

pockets of Seattle like Beacon Hill (largely Asian Americans) and the Central District (largely

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

), and felt strongly that the ability to decide where one lived should be a basic right of all citizens. Having firsthand awareness of the effects of racial discrimination, Luke was instrumental in Seattle's passing of an Open Housing Ordinance in 1963 with punitive provisions against racial discrimination in the selling or renting of real estate. He also fought for civil rights, Indian fishing rights,

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

and

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

. Luke was particularly concerned with the preservation of Seattle's Central Waterfront, Pioneer Square, and

Pike Place Market Pike Place Market is a Marketplaces#Types, public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. Overlooking the Elliott B ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luke, Wing 1925 births 1965 deaths Accidental deaths in Washington (state) American military personnel of Chinese descent United States Army personnel of World War II American politicians of Chinese descent Chinese emigrants to the United States Politicians from Guangdong Seattle City Council members City council members of Asian descent Asian-American people in Washington (state) politics United States Army soldiers University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Washington School of Law alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1965 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Washington (state) lawyers 20th-century American politicians of Asian descent