LIHI Celebrates LIHI Celebrates Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

LIHI’s proud commitment to racial equality and justice is demonstrated through the Asian American heroes we have honored by naming our buildings after them.

Denice Hunt Townhomes (1998) 620 N 85th St., Seattle

Denice Johnson Hunt

Born in Kingston, Jamaica to a mother of Chinese descent and a father of African descent, Denice Johnson Hunt (1948-1997), was an architect, urban planner, historic preservationist, and served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Seattle Mayor Norm Rice, in which role she was instrumental in the development of the Seattle waterfront, the downtown plan, Benaroya Hall, and the Northwest African American Museum. Read bio.

Aki Kurose Village (1998) 11506 Stone Ave. N, Seattle

Aki Kurose

Seattle teacher and tireless peace and social justice activist, Aki Kurose (1925–1998) spent her life advocating on behalf of the neglected, the disadvantaged, and children. She helped establish Seattle’s Head Start program, crusaded for non-discriminatory affordable housing, and won numerous awards for her innovative work as an elementary school teacher. A Nisei, Kurose’s life’s course was altered when she, along with her parents and three siblings, was imprisoned in a World War II U.S. government prison camp. During and after the war, at a Quaker university in Kansas, she adopted a lifelong belief in the Quaker values of peace and nonviolent conflict resolution, which became the foundation for the rest of her life’s varied work. Read bio.

Cheryl Chow Court (2015) 2014 NW 57th St., Seattle

Mark Chow, Catherine Danigelis, Liliana Marningstar-Chow, Sarahg Morningstar, Sharon Lee

Cheryl Chow

Cheryl Chow (1946-2013) spent her entire life dedicated to the children and families of Seattle. A proud graduate of Franklin High School and WWU, she became a well-known educator and administrator in many Seattle Public Schools. Cheryl sat on the board of various non-profits, volunteered for 30 years as a girls’ basketball coach and spent over 40 years as director of the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill team. In 1990 She was elected to the Seattle City Council and served two terms. She was also elected to the Seattle School Board where she served one term. After retiring, Cheryl spent a decade working for the Girl Scouts of Western Washington. She was also elected to the Seattle School Board where she served one term.

Cheryl Chow was instrumental in the creation of the Urban Rest Stop in downtown when she was chair of the City Council’s Housing and Human Services Committee. She secured funding for LIHI to purchase the Julie Apartments and to locate the Urban Rest Stop on the first floor. She stood up to NIMBY opposition from a faction of the downtown business community.

Cheryl was also a visionary in getting the Seattle City Council to approve the development of housing for homeless families, youth and singles at the former Sand Point Naval Station at Magnuson Park. Cheryl worked diligently with housing advocates to ensure that homeless people have a place to call home.

The Tony Lee (2018) 2820 NE 127th St., Seattle

Pre-school on ground floor of the Tony Lee

Tony Lee

For over three decades, including 19 years as Advocacy Director at Solid Ground, Tony Lee (1948-2020) was the state’s leading lobbyist on issues impacting people living on low incomes.

Tony started his career as a lawyer with Evergreen Legal Services launching his work as a leader in the field of multi-racial organizing. In fairly short order, Tony shifted his focus to become a civil rights policy advocate. This was not an intentional career move; rather he explained that he “stumbled” into policy work “by luck.” Tony abandoned the practice of law to spend the bulk of his career as an advocate, focusing his efforts on how to make laws more just and equitable.

Tony readily took on the role of champion to those suffering inequities and injustices from poverty and racism. As Washington State House Representative Frank Chopp describes him, “Tony Lee [was] the conscience of Washington State when it comes to helping poor people.” Read bio.

An Lạc (2020) 1253 S. Jackson St, Seattle

An Lạc, which means tranquility in Vietnamese, is located in the International District at the gateway to Little Saigon. LIHI is proud to serve the ID and Little Saigon communities with the affordable housing that An Lạc provides and also thrilled to call this neighborhood home, having recently moved our administrative offices to the ground floors of An Lạc.