California Assemblyman Paul Fong (D – Mountain View) is seeking federal reparations for the discrimination suffered by Chinese immigrants coming to the United States in the 19th and early 20th century.
From the San Jose Mercury News:
Assemblyman Paul Fong, D-Mountain View, wants us to remember that when the Statue of Liberty was unveiled in New York Harbor in 1886, welcoming immigrants from around the world to America, there should have been a sign posted in front that said: “Everyone except Chinese.”
Just four years earlier, at the urging of Californians, Congress had passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, for the first time barring entry to a group of immigrants strictly based on their national origin.
“Chinese people were singled out,” he said. “They couldn’t be citizens, they couldn’t hold jobs. They couldn’t own property.”
The law was repealed in 1943, and in most parts of the country it was forgotten. Growing up in the Midwest, I vaguely remember reading in my U.S. history book about “yellow peril” but knew little about the suffering of Chinese immigrants and their families. Of course, that same history book didn’t mention the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, either.
But Fong wants us to remember. And he wants us to apologize.
Fong has it right, this is a chapter in US history that too often gets overlooked. The massive disruptions in the 19th century caused many Chinese to seek their fortunes overseas. Chinese immigrants built railroads, worked on mines, started businesses, and formed communities throughout the world, including in the North American west. They also suffered discrimination, were subjected to violent attacks and lynchings, and faced a number of laws designed to restrict immigration and force Chinese and other Asians into residential and occupational ghettos.
Along with the African slavery, the wars of extermination carried out against the Native Americans, and the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, the treatment of Chinese-Americans during the formative years of the United States needs to be addressed, and I applaud Paul Fong for his efforts.
