Mei Wahs (美華) refers to two separate Chinese-American girls'

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

teams dating from the 1930s. One team was in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and the other existed in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. Both were located in their respective Chinatowns and attempted to use their achievements in basketball as a form of

social capital Social capital is "the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively". It involves the effective functioning of social groups through interpersonal relationships ...

in a land, which at the time, still codified discrimination in its laws. Most of the girls who joined the Mei Wah teams were teenagers, the daughters of first-generation immigrants who spoke

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

. This meant they came from low-income backgrounds, had to work in the service industry and barely lived above the poverty line. Few had hope to attend college or find suitable jobs after college. Translated literally, Mei Wah means "Chinese in America." As part of the wider trend in

women's sports The participation of women and girls in sports, physical Physical fitness, fitness and exercise, has been recorded to have existed throughout history. However, participation rates and activities vary in accordance with nation, era, geography, ...

, the Mei Wahs stand out as among the notable programs in the early history of

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

. Their stories form part of the growing body of work regarding the history of Chinese Americans.

San Francisco Mei Wahs

Competing in the women's city recreational league, the SF Mei Wahs found success by pushing an uptempo style game. The girls' teams also played other Chinese-American women's teams as well as pick-up games against males of their social group. For the most part, Chinese-American girls were unwelcome on school basketball teams; the hostility they faced spurred creation of their own teams. These athletes had to share facilities with the rest of the entire Chinese-American community in SF. At the time, one playground served the entirety of

Chinatown, San Francisco The Chinatown centered on Grant Avenue and Stockton Street (San Francisco), Stockton Street in San Francisco, California, () is the oldest Chinatown in North America and one of the largest Han Chinese, Chinese ethnic enclave, enclaves outside As ...

. Nevertheless, the SF Mei Wahs captured their division title, two years in a row. The Chinese-American community also had a male basketball team, named the

Hong Wah Kues The Hong Wah Kues () were a San Francisco-based all Chinese American professional basketball team that participated in the barnstorm (sports), barnstorming circuits during the late 1930s. They were also the first Chinese professional team. Started ...

Los Angeles Mei Wahs

Currently the oldest and still functioning L.A.'s women's club for Chinese-Americans, the Mei Wah Club was founded in 1931. Ten girls founded the club around their mutual love for basketball. Eventually, the club became involved in fund raising efforts to help refugees in China fleeing the turmoil of the warlord era. The club's fund raising efforts continued after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In addition to playing basketball, the Los Angeles Mei Wahs also formed the first all-Chinese girls' drum corps. Headed under David Soo Hoo, brother of community leader Peter Soo Hoo, the Mei Wah drum corps competed throughout

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, earning numerous awards. As of 1998, 14 members remained active, meeting bimonthly and continuing with their philanthropic efforts. The LA Mei Wahs were also disadvantaged in height against their opponents and had to learn survival skills on the court. Along with the Lo Wah, the all-black Athena Athletic Club the Queen Esther Japanese and others, the Mei Wahs helped popularize amateur female sports in Los Angeles.

Responding to Their Environment

When considering the work of Drs. Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill,Maxine Baca Zinn & Bonnie Thornton Dill. “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism.” Feminist Theory Reader. Carole R. McCann & Seung-Kyung Kim, eds. New York, NY: Routledge Press, 2003. it can be argued the Mei Wahs responded to their environment in the vein of multiracial feminism. The Mei Wahs' formation was unique to their position in the Chinatown community as girls and people of color. At the time, there were far fewer sports for females than there were for males. Furthermore, as Chinese, the girls were subjected to discrimination and faced difficulty in finding jobs and gaining acceptance as female athletes.

Sources

{{reflist Chinese-American history Basketball teams in Los Angeles Basketball teams in the San Francisco Bay Area