Cheryl Chow, ’64 is remembered in a street sign…
Submitted by Sarah Morningstar, ’95
Editor’s note: Cheryl Chow died in March of 2013 of central nervous-system lymphoma at the age of 66. Sarah Morningstar is her widow. Their child is Liliana Morningstar-Chow.
Chow was a teacher at Hamilton International Middle School; a principal of Sharples Junior High School (now Aki Kurose Middle School Academy); and, principal of Franklin High School and of Garfield High School after 1997.
Besides being a teacher and principal, Chow also coached girls' basketball for the city Parks and Recreation department. From 1990–97, she served on the Seattle City Council, following in the footsteps of her mother, Ruby Chow. She also served on the Seattle School Board and was president of the school board.
In her last act of service and education, Cheryl was honored for coming out as gay months before her death. As only Cheryl would, she harnessed her waning voice, was propped up on the couch, and spoke to the local news about why it was important to use her position for the greater good even as her body failed. Always the educator and connector, she believed if even one Asian child was empowered to come out to their parents and be authentic and accepted “because Auntie Cheryl is too,” it was worth it.
Cheryl was inducted into Franklin’s Hall of Fame in 1992.
Cheryl Chow ‘64
“They say we die twice. Once when they bury us in the grave and the second time is the last time someone mentions our name.” This quote, adapted from a Macklemore song, resonates with me as we prepare to induct the newest members of the Hall of Fame this May. While the 2024 group is thankfully all still with us in body and spirit, this time of year always makes me think of all of those who have left us since that first induction in 1992. When we stop voicing our collective and shared histories, we risk losing a part of our story. In this way, the last six months have been wonderful when it comes to honoring the life and work of Cheryl Chow, class of 1964.
One of Cheryl’s most important legacies is the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team. Started by her mother, Ruby, Cheryl, and a host of very important aunties, the drill team has been a cornerstone of Seattle’s summers for more than seventy years. As COVID took hold, the drill team, like so many community efforts, was gravely affected. Girls were unable to gather, celebrate and march. The pandemic had a disproportionate impact on recruiting, and more importantly, retaining the girls.
Seeing this, photographer and budding documentarian Della Chen, a drill parent, decided to tell the story of the drill team as a way to concretize its importance and hopefully use the film as a recruiting tool. For more than a year, masked and moving, Della and her team conducted interviews, captured marching footage, and culled decades of photos and video of years gone by. She Marches in Chinatown by Chenanigan Films (https://www.chenaniganfilms.com/) has captured this history beautifully and poignantly. As the director states, "In 1952, Asian American girls had no extracurricular activities until Ruby Chow created the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team, the only one of its kind in the world. Despite gentrification, Title IX, and a global pandemic, seventy years later the drill team continues to define, represent, and celebrate the evolving Asian American experience of its dedicated multigenerational participants."
This thirty-three-minute documentary short has been welcomed to film festivals (and winning awards) across the US and BC. ‘She Marches in Chinatown’ Tells the Story of a Seattle Drill Team Unlike Any Other in the World | South Seattle Emerald; https://southseattleemerald.com/2023/10/17/she-marches-in-chinatown-tells-the-story-of-a-seattle-drill-team-unlike-any-other-in-the-world/
Cheryl and drill team members
While the documentary was being finalized there was also an unrelated yet concurrent push to have a street in Seattle designated for Cheryl. I worked with Councilmember Tammy Morales and the Seattle Department of Transportation and with more than 1,000 signatures of support there was little in the way of roadblocks. In December, Tammy Morales spoke from the Council dais and read a resolution designating 31st Avenue South and South Mt. Baker Boulevard, Cheryl Chow Boulevard. Her resolution spoke to Cheryl’s history of public service and dedication to Seattle’s children and families. There was a unanimous vote of approval from her council colleagues and just like that, the city had a new sign to install.
Group shot at the street unveiling.
In January a small group of us gathered on a Friday and unveiled the brown historical street sign appropriately and prominently placed right outside Franklin’s main doors, across from “the keys,” a corner I had intentionally chosen. There were a few other corners in the city that I felt personified Cheryl. But a corner outside her alma mater? That was an obvious choice. She bled green and black. She loved her time as a student, her time as a principal, and would have thoroughly enjoyed watching our daughter, Liliana, play varsity basketball in the gym she once stood.
Cheryl and Sarah
Sharing our collective histories, remembering the shoulders we stand on, and celebrating all we are today is one reason why the Franklin Alumni Association and Foundation exists. I am proud of this organization, this publication, and the comradery found among us. Cheryl would be too.
So, if you have the chance, watch the documentary at www.shemarchesinchinatown.com. And if you are driving through South Seattle, swing by the front of Franklin and tip your hat to one of our own. And then, in the spirit of all Franklin grads, continue to make the world a better place.