World War II Homefront Era: 1940s: Momentous Change for Chinese Americans

Click image to zoom in.
Or view larger version. On the Ferry. Spring 1943. Dorothea Lange, photographer. Gelatin silver print. Collection of the Oakland Museum of California. Gift of Paul S. Taylor.

This photograph shows day workers returning to San Francisco after working their shift at the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, California. Employment opportunities became available to many minorities in the defense industry during World War II. In early 1943, Kaiser Shipyard employed more than 2,000 Chinese workers, the majority of whom were local residents.