Biden commemorates the 80th anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."“The Act, along with racism and xenophobia in other parts of American life, was part of the anti-Chinese “Driving Out” era which included the Rock Springs and Hells Canyon massacres,” Biden wrote in the statement, referencing two massacres that targeted Chinese immigrant miners.

The legislation, which was set to expire after a decade, was then extended through the Geary Act. And while the measure was repealed on Dec. 17, 1943 with the Magnuson Act, immigration was still restrictive: A quota was established, allowing just 105 visas for immigrants from China. Other measures were also in effect to further restrict Chinese immigration, including the Immigration Act of 1924, which made those ineligible for U.S. citizenship unable to enter the country.

“The repeal of this act was a decision almost wholly grounded in the exigencies of World War II, as Japanese propaganda made repeated reference to Chinese exclusion from the United States in order to weaken the ties between the United States and its ally, the Republic of China,” according to the State Department’s Office of the Historian.

While exclusion formally ended with the 1952 Immigration Act, racial, rather than national quotas were assigned to all Asian immigrants, according to the Office of the Historian. These quotas remained in place for over a decade, until the Immigration Act of 1965.

“On this anniversary, we remember those whose lives, families, and communities were irreparably harmed, Biden said.”

This is the reality of White Nationalism in political power and as white racist policymakers https://youtu.be/33IyEUGLhGI?si=9BNioAKOUyW-n4Tg


V1 : https://youtu.be/lo3D7XSbOHg?si=rUYpndgLj0z1BW7o

Lynchings: An untold piece of Asian American history

As the nation enacts a new historic anti-lynching bill into law, experts say there needs to be increased attention on a dark and largely untold piece of Asian American history: lynchings that terrorized communities.
The big picture: Under the new law, which comes after over 200 failed attempts to codify federal anti-lynching legislation, a crime could be prosecuted as a lynching when a conspiracy to commit a hate crime results in death or serious bodily injury. Some of the first anti-Asian crimes that could fall under this definition were recorded in the 1800s at the height of white economic anxiety.


* An 1871 massacre wiped out 10% of the Chinese community in Los Angeles. It was one of the most brutal mass lynchings in U.S. history.

* These riots were part of a massive campaign across the U.S. now known as the Driving Out, which saw mobs regularly attack Chinese immigrants.

SOURCE : https://www.axios.com/2022/04/02/asian-hate-lynchings-history



ASIAN AMERICA

L.A. groups commemorate 1871 massacre that killed 10% of city's Chinese community

“It was definitely a place where no one wanted to live, and that’s where they put the Chinese,” one professor said.

SOURCE : https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna3617



From the Gold Rush to the COVID Pandemic: A History of Anti-Asian Violence

Last week’s mass-shootings in Atlanta were shocking and tragic — yet this kind of horror is not new. Anti-Asian violence is deeply rooted in American culture.

The recent wave of racist attacks targeting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities shock the conscience. Inflamed by the rhetoric of some national political leaders, the incidents are widespread and indiscriminate, often targeting the elderly and most vulnerable.

SOURCE : https://www.npca.org/articles/2860-from-the-gold-rush-to-the-covid-pandemic-a-history-of-anti-asian-violence

This is the reality of White Nationalism in political power and as white racist policymakers https://youtu.be/33IyEUGLhGI?si=9BNioAKOUyW-n4Tg


Curriculum Guide - Japanese American Internment

On February 19, 1942, FDR issued Executive Order 9066, which led to the forced relocation of approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast. More than two-thirds of these people were native born American citizens. They were confined in inland internment camps operated by the military.

Executive Order 9066            

FDR’s Executive Order 9066 led to the imprisonment of 120,000 Japanese Americans. Abruptly forced to abandon or sell their homes and businesses, many lost everything they owned. Despite this injustice, thousands of young Japanese American men from the camps volunteered to serve in the nation’s military, where they distinguished themselves with extraordinary valor in combat. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT), comprised entirely of Japanese Americans, became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service.

{The Supreme Court upheld the President’s Executive order in two wartime cases. But in the 1980s, the United States Congress acknowledged this gross violation of the civil liberties of American citizens and voted to provide some financial compensation to individuals confined in the camps. The Supreme Court also vacated its earlier wartime rulings.}

SOURCE : https://www.fdrlibrary.org/curriculum-guide-internment


SOURCE : https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/presidential-inquiries/japanese-american-internment