A giant mural of Anna May Wong painted four years ago at the Chinese American Museum was an inspiration for the current exhibition about the silent screen star.In these challenging times, the need for reliable local reporting has never been greater. Put a value on the impact of our year-round coverage. Help us continue to highlight LA stories, hold the powerful accountable, and amplify community voices. Your support keeps our reporting free for all to use. Stand with us today.
Though she was a third-generation Chinese American, Anna May Wong had to file a special application to get traveling papers that proved she was a U.S. citizen and not an"alien" Chinese."She decided that she was no longer going to take on any unsympathetic roles," Salisbury said. "And she would only play roles that reflected well on her people."
After leaving the U.S. to act in films and plays in Europe, Wong returned to Hollywood to make the crime thrilleropposite the Korean American actor Philip Ahn. They were the heroes and all the villains were played by white actors.