Mei Wahs (美華) refers to two separate Chinese-American girls' basketball teams dating from the 1930s. One team was in Los Angeles and the other existed in San Francisco. Both were located in their respective Chinatowns and attempted to use their achievements in basketball as a form of social capital in a land, which at the time, still codified discrimination in its laws. Most of the girls who joined the Mei Wah teams were teenagers, the daughters of first-generation immigrants who spoke Cantonese. This meant they came from low-income backgrounds, had to work in the service industry and barely lived above the poverty line. Few had hope to attend college or find suitable jobs after college. Translated literally, Mei Wah means "Chinese in America." As part of the wider trend in women's sports, the Mei Wahs stand out as among the notable programs in the early history of women's basketball. Their stories form part of the growing body of work regarding the history of Chinese Americans.
Read more about Mei Wahs: San Francisco Mei Wahs, Los Angeles Mei Wahs, Responding To Their Environment