In the late 1800s, Chinese women and girls were, upon arrival in San Francisco, being forced into work as prostitutes or indentured servants as officials turned a blind eye. A group of women began to rescue them through what came to be known as the Cameron House, which still stands today as a community center. Journalist Julia Flynn Siler tells the story in her book “The White Devil’s Daughters: The Women Who Fought Slavery in San Francisco’s Chinatown.”
Listen to the second half of this story in the next episode of Civic.