The individuals depicted in Portraits of Pride truly are in a "class of their own." We know about the early Chinese pioneers who came from the gold rush, worked on the railroads and farmed the rich soil of California. These early Chinese faced uncertainty and danger in a foreign land but were not deterred from their mission--to provide for their families in China and in the United States. Unfortunately, we seldom were able to put a name or a face to these thousands of early Argonauts.