This article contains Warrior spoilers.
In “The Chinese Connection,” the second episode of Season 2 of Warrior, a new character named Nellie Davenport (Miranda Raison) enters the show. She’s a wealthy widow committed to ending the exploitation of Chinese women by leading police raids on brothels and offering alternatives to Warrior’s favorite brothel madam, Ah Toy.
“We introduced the character of Nellie Davenport,” reveals Warrior showrunner Jonathan Tropper, “She was based on an actual person.”
Tropper is quick to point out that Warrior is not a docudrama. He sees it as more like a martial arts fable or graphic novel that takes its inspiration from historical people and events. Nevertheless, the inspiration for Davenport is based on a remarkable San Franciscan heroine, Donaldina Cameron.
“She was all we talked about for a while,” Tropper says. “She was based on the nun who devoted herself to the rescuing of young Chinese girls who were forced into sex working.”
The White Devil Who Freed Chinese Sex Slaves
Seven years after the Page Act, the more stringent Chinese Exclusion Act was established. The Exclusion Act is brought up in this episode of Warrior during the political rally. It’s a major part of Buckley’s (Langley Kirkwood) agenda, legislation that he’s aggressively working towards, and it provides a time frame for when the events of the show are set.
The Chinese Exclusion Act a significant and shameful point in U.S. history. It was the first and only time that the United States of America singled out and banned an ethnic group with a blatantly racist law. The Chinese Exclusion Act suspended Chinese immigration and declared Chinese immigrants ineligible for naturalization with the objective of maintaining white “racial purity.” Many Chinese had already immigrated to America for the Gold Rush and to build the transcontinental railroad.
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The Tongs controlled this slave trade and had the police department in their back pockets. The Chinese Six Companies, which is also an organization that is referenced in Warrior, attempted to stop the Tongs. However, like the police, they had also been infiltrated by Tong corruption. Established in San Francisco in 1882, the Chinese Six Companies eventually shook off the Tongs and evolved to become the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, a respected organization that has dozens of branches across North America today.
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Cameron worked tirelessly at her mission, earning the wrath of the Tongs and slavers. They called her “White Devil” and “White Witch,” a moniker that the press picked up and spread. She was also called “Chinatown’s Angry Angel” which became the title of her biography by Mildred Crowl Martin, one of three biographies that retold her inspirational story.
It’s easy to criticize Cameron’s shortcomings now, but in the context of the times, she was revolutionary. She fought diligently for the rights of Chinese immigrants until she retired in 1934. The Chinese Exclusion Act wasn’t repealed until 1943. Ironically, that was the same year that Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps in Manzanar and Tule Lake. Cameron died in Palo Alto in 1968.
Today the Cameron House has evolved into a comprehensive family service organization. Cameron House serves the needs of low-income and immigrant Asian youth and families in San Francisco. It provides services such as counseling, domestic violence intervention, food distribution, adult ESL and computer classes, support groups, youth afterschool and summer programs, sports, arts, and camping experiences, leadership development, and volunteer opportunities, serving over 1,000 low-income immigrant children and families.
It remains a Presbyterian organization and upholds the following three Christian principles: Firstly, their work is a manifestation of God’s love–they demonstrate God’s loving kindness through their service and stewardship. Secondly, all people are welcomed. Every person is worthy of love and respect and will be treated as such. And third, they promote justice for all.
Nellie Davenport on Warrior
Nellie Davenport’s story in Warrior is quite different than Cameron’s. Cameron was not a rich widow. She was engaged at age nineteen but for some unknown reason, never married. Davenport is a fictional character, and her story arc will Warrior diverge significantly from Cameron’s in the episodes to come. Nevertheless, the heroic spirit of a revolutionary woman coming to the aid of her fellow women, regardless of race, inspires Davenport’s character and gives Warrior the means to subtly share Cameron’s story.
According to Tropper, Davenport will bring out a completely different perspective on one of the Warrior’s other leads.
“Nellie Davenport comes in and develops an interesting relationship with Ah Toy (Olivia Cheng),” he says. “We definitely spent a good piece of exploring the moral contradictions of Ah Toy, a woman who is a champion of her people and at the same time, she’s exploiting them. And that’s something we didn’t want to avoid. We actually have Ah Toy confronting that about herself.”
Her relationship with Nellie will open up a whole new aspect of Ah Toy, one that will surely be explored in upcoming episodes.
Warrior Season 2 can be seen exclusively on CINEMAX. You can learn more about Donaldina Cameron here.
