Long Lost Oakland, chapter 5: Overcoming racism, Lew Hing became king of Oakland’s canning industry

Summary: Following the 1906 earthquake, Oakland’s Lew Hing supported thousands of victims from San Francisco’s Chinatown who were turned away from official relief camps due to rampant discrimination. On the grounds of his massive Pacific Coast Cannery in West Oakland, Lew fed and sheltered this marginalized community when nobody else would. This episode explores how a self-made mogul overcome California’s vicious anti-Chinese racism to become one of the most powerful businessmen in the early 20th century Bay Area. We’ll also take a tour of the Pacific Cannery Lofts to see what’s left from when the East Bay was the canning capital of the Pacific coast. Featuring interviews with: -Bruce Quan, Lew Hing’s great-grandson -Don Hausler, retired Oakland librarian -Rick and Nancy Holliday, who converted the abandoned cannery into a residential development