Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience

In the heart of Seattle’s Chinatown-International District, the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American (APA) Experience has centered APA narratives, perspectives and personal experiences through arts and cultural programming for over 20 years. The museum is named after Chinese American politician Wing Luke (1925–1964), who served as assistant attorney general of Washington State in 1957 and a member of the Seattle City Council in 1962. He was the first Asian American to hold elected office in Washington as well as the first Person of Color elected to the Seattle City Council. During his career, Luke advocated for equal housing, urban revival and historic preservation in Seattle and was pivotal in the creation of the Seattle Human Rights Commission. When Luke was tragically killed in a plane crash at the age of 40, the Seattle community formed a memorial foundation, which created the Wing Luke Museum.

The museum continues to uphold Luke’s legacy in their permanent exhibit, “Honoring Our Journey”—a showcase of the pan-Asian Pacific American immigrant and refugee experience. In addition to exhibits, the museum also offers public events and lectures, and has an oral history lab that preserves first-person stories for research and educational purposes.