Born: 24 May 1946, United States
Died: 29 March 2013
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
The following is republished from the Badass Womxn and Enbies in the Pacific Northwest Volume 3, in line with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. It was written by Nika Stanley (she/her).
An educator and politician, Cheryl Chow, was an important figure to the Chinese community and the youth around her. Born in 1946, Chow grew up in South Seattle, Washington and was raised as the daughter of community activists and restaurateurs, Ping and Ruby Chow. At the time, career options for women were limited to being a nurse, teacher, or flight attendant. Although Chow showed interest in becoming a flight attendant, her mother called it “glamorized waitress work” and told her daughter it was no different from waiting tables at their family restaurant. Chow pursued the path of education instead, launching her career as a physical education teacher. In an interview, Chow described how the Seattle Center and the Pacific Science Center of the 1962 World’s Fair were such factors for her inspiration. She saw a world beyond Seattle, and the potential ways in which education as a whole could evolve.
Chow went on to serve as principal of Sharpies Junior High School, currently Aki Kurose Middle School. Although formally an educator, Chow was also an activist, just like her parents. Her involvement with politics led her to work at the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and in 1989, she was elected to Seattle City Council. Many who have worked with Chow throughout her life praised her devotion to the youth around her, demonstrated in her political work. During her time at City Hall, Chow worked on a project with former Mayor Norm Rice which established an education levy and created outreach programs for kids in gangs. Chow aimed for new heights as she gained experience, running for mayor in 1997. She lost, pivoting back to the education field and became the principal of Franklin and Garfield high schools. Chow recovered in 2005 when she won a Seattle School Board seat, holding it through 2009.
Like her parents, Chow had a strong desire to serve her community. She coached the Seattle Chinese Community Drill Team, an important staple for Chinese Americans, originally started by her mother, for forty years. It allowed them to keep their culture alive and forge connections with members of the community. Chow was a mentor and role model for the girls on the drill team. She held annual sleepovers for the girls and gave them valuable life advice. Chow also formed the youth basketball team, “Tasmanian Devils,” bringing girls into the Seattle Chinese Athletic Association.
Chow came out as lesbian in 2012, and married her partner, Sarah Morningstar, a year later. Their daughter, Liliana Morningstar-Chow, is a student and basketball player at Franklin High School as of 2024. After battling central nervous system lymphoma, Chow’s life came to an end when she died in 2013 at age 66. Chow had a rich life full of accomplishments and the impact she had on her community lives on through the drill team. Several team members have described the valuable lessons Chow left them with and some continue to assist the team through adulthood.