When South City drew national attention it didn’t need

“We will have to sell the furniture we bought and go somewhere else to live,” the husband told reporters after the balloting. He added, probably sarcastically, that the people of Southwood would “be happy in your community and that your property values will increase every day.” Some homeowners earlier expressed fears the market value of their homes would drop if a non-white moved in.

“I didn’t know about any race prejudice at all until I came to Southwood,” Sheng said before the voting, which was held in a neighborhood garage. “I was sure everybody really believed in democracy, so I thought up this vote as a test.”

As the war in Korea raged, he sent a letter to his neighbors to remind them that “the present world conflict is not between individual nations, but between Communism and Democracy.” Sheng came to the United States in 1947 to study for the diplomatic service, but the Communists took over in China, so he decided to stay in the United States.

The Shengs, who lived in San Francisco’s Chinatown, could have kept up their fight. The U.S. Supreme Court in 1947 ruled that restrictive covenants were unconstitutional. The San Francisco Chronicle said the family was clearly not anxious to appeal.

“As this is ‘Brotherhood Week,’ the Shengs are hopeful they will have better success in their renewed search,” wrote Chronicle reporter Bernard Taper. The family eventually found a home in Menlo Park.

There was a national outpouring of support for the family, along with scorn shown for those who sought to keep the area white. Other cities offered Sheng a job and a home.

The story went global when both United Press and the Associated Press covered it. The accompanying AP photo showed a pregnant Grace brushing a tear from her eye. Newscaster Edward R. Murrow featured the Shengs on his popular “See It Now” national television show. According to La Peninsula, a magazine published by the San Mateo County Historical Association, “Murrow’s cameras turned from Sheng to a shot of the Statue of Liberty. And if that still was not enough, at 6:30 p.m., Sheng was on national radio stating his case.” The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and Time magazine all covered the Sheng saga.

The Sheng’s struggle made it into the Congressional Record, which stated “Mr. Sing Sheng placed a bet on American democracy and lost it. In Asia they will, therefore, be asking whether American democracy is worth betting on. It still is.”

As for movies, “No Down Payment” made in 1957 captures the suburbs of the time well. One of the characters is an Asian-American who has to fight discrimination. Coincidence? Perhaps.

The Rear View Mirror by history columnist Jim Clifford appears in the Daily Journal every other Monday. Objects in The Mirror are closer than they appear.