Eastern Avenue Chinese Cemetery

Chinese immigration to California began in the mid-1800's, with many Chinese arriving first to prospect for gold before being pushed into quasi-slave labor building railroads, farms, and cities. Severe discrimination and harsh living conditions were reflected in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and that discrimination continued even in death, when Chinese people were often denied proper burial sites alongside other ethnic groups and instead were buried in random, unidentifiable plots in common fields, leaving many remains unidentified and unclaimed. In 1922, donations from the Chinese community enabled the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association to purchase land at Eastern Avenue and First Street in East Los Angeles and establish the Chinese Cemetery to address those past practices. Over time, contributions declined, and by the cemetery's 85th anniversary it had fallen into considerable disrepair. In 2006, the Chinese Cemetery Board of Trustees, guided by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, formed the Eastern Avenue Chinese Cemetery Restoration Committee to raise funds for repairs, modernization, and restoration. The project restored existing facilities and added a Memorial Pavilion with a monument honoring the community's restoration efforts and the sacrifices of pioneer Chinese ancestors. In 2007, a banquet organized to support the restoration drew an overwhelming community response and quickly secured enough funding to begin planning and construction, and the names of major donors were engraved on the monument as a lasting expression of gratitude.

East Los Angeles, California · United States