In the late 1880’s as the Chinese Exclusion Act was being passed to prevent Chinese immigrants’ entry into the United States, Angel Island Detention Center came to house them as they awaited rigorous questioning that would determine their fates. Years later, when the center was set for destruction, hundreds of Chinese poems that had been carved into the walls of the cells were discovered. These poems outlined the struggle the immigrants faced within the detention center and preserved the traditional art form of Chinese poetry and calligraphic writing in the center of a strictly anti-Chinese environment. These poems were made by Chinese people for themselves as a coping mechanism and future Chinese detainees to feel connected to a community in a new country in which they were unwelcome and isolated. The poems could be written by anyone and read by any Chinese speaker, thus fostering an empowering community that promoted solidarity amongst an oppressed group with no voice.