On the morning of February 6, 1886 — four years after Chinese immigration to the U.S. is made illegal — a white mob spreads out in Seattle neighborhoods and forcibly enters the homes of longtime Chinese immigrants and Chinese-Americans, demanding they immediately board a steamship back to China. A federal judge orders a local militia to go to the ship and escort the people back to their homes. For three days, the mob and militia skirmish in the streets. Over the next few months, most ethnic Chinese leave the city; some go to live on reservations with the Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skykomish and Suquamish.

Forty years later, with Chinese immigration made legal again, Seattle's Chinatown booms. Today, 12% of the city’s population identifies as Chinese-American.