What You Should Know About Asian American History and Its Relevance Today

With the surge of anti-Asian racism on the rise with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to learn about the complicated relationship that Asian Americans have had with the United States over the past century. Currently, Donald Trump has actively perpetuated xenophobia and hatred towards Asians, even blaming them for the “Chinese Virus” - similar to how Asians were blamed for stealing jobs in the 20th century. History repeats itself, but we can avoid repeating it by working together to move our society forward. Ethnic studies programs, education, open-mindedness, and unity are necessary steps to activating real change.

Seen as the “model minority”, Asian Americans can reap the benefits of their ancestors today and enjoy the profits of the position, which can cause them to be complicit to social inequity. Or, Asians can refuse these choices, and seek to transform the system equitably, and strive for unity and justice for all. Ignorant stereotypes such as the model minority myth ignore the fact that all Asian Americans are not monolithic, and they “make a flawed comparison between Asian Americans and other groups, particularly Black Americans, to argue that racism, including more than two centuries of black enslavement, can be overcome by hard work and strong family values.” We need to acknowledge that the current systems that we live within are rooted in white supremacy, and they oppress all BIPOC. This is why all people need to be united during this critical time of sweeping social change.

The history of Asian Americans dates back to the 1860s, yet beyond their history that dates back to the construction of the railroad, not many are informed of their crucial contributions to the foundations of modern America. The concept of being Asian American originated as a “will to power”, defined as an instinct for growth, durability, and survival. Asian Americans exist on the polar extremes of the American experience, facing extreme social inequity and racial prejudice, or being positioned in roles of power and exaltation. We have been discriminated against, labeled as the “perpetual foreigner”, singled out and even erased from history, yet these struggles do not define us. Asian Americans are a quintessential part of the American story. Through an unbelievable amount of courage, fortitude, and sacrifice, Asian Americans left an undeniable legacy, and demonstrated that we are here to stay, even when this country has attempted to silence us and our power. It is time for us to empower ourselves, and extend our determination to fight for justice alongside fellow BIPOC; there is no justice for any of us until there is justice for ALL of us. We will not allow this country to disenfranchise any of us, and this change cannot happen without the participation of every single one of us in the movement.

Photo Source: https://www.loc.gov/item/93500013/

Library of Congress (1886)

Chinese Americans in the Late 1800s

To fully understand the breadth and scope of racial injustice in the Asian American population, we must examine the history of Asian Americans in the United States. Dating back to the 1850s, the first Asian immigrants were young, single Southern-Chinese men. They were recruited en masse as contract laborers to build the railroad system, work as miners, farmers, and even factory workers. By 1870, Chinese people represented 20% of California’s workforce even though they constituted only 0.002% of the entire US population. Despite their contributions, the Chinese faced racism following the Depression of 1876, when Anti-Chinese sentiment, violence, and legislation became mainstream as Americans declared that Chinese people were taking away jobs. The “Chinese Must Go” movement ultimately led to the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882 until 1943), which prevented Chinese immigration and naturalization for an initial 10 years, which eventually extended to 60 years.

Between 1910 and 1940, hopeful Chinese immigrants landed on Angel Island, San Francisco - a US Immigration Station, seeking opportunities and looking to reunite with family. Here they were detained, interrogated, and physically violated in order to determine whether they could be allowed into the country. Failure to answer questions properly meant detainment at Angel Island, and deportation back to China; many detainees committed suicide in despair. The phenomenon of “paper sons” rose to prominence at this time as immigrants purchased forged citizenship documents in order to safely enter or remain in the US. The 1906 earthquake in San Francisco destroyed all immigration records, so many Chinese immigrants were able to claim citizenship and bring their families to America. Chinese immigrants became the US’s first “illegal immigrants.”

The Immigration Act of 1924

Beginning in 1885, thousands of mostly Japanese, and some Korean and South Asian (Indian) laborers immigrated to the West Coast. These new populations of Asian Americans soon replaced the Chinese as cheap labor, yet racist sentiment against all Asian ethnic groups would soon follow. The Immigration Act of 1924, created out of growing fear of job competition, fully excluded “all” Asian immigrants (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Indian) from immigrating to the US. They were denied rights of citizenship and naturalization, and were prevented from marrying White Americans or owning land. Filipino nationals were still allowed these rights, because the Philippines had been annexed by the US in 1898. Thus, thousands of young, single Filipinos began migrating to the West Coast in the 1920s, fulfilling the country’s need for cheap labor.

Asian immigrants may have come from many different countries and ethnic backgrounds, but racism and economic competition led to shared similar experiences of xenophobia and exclusion. Asian immigrants and refugees doing piece work and factory work endured impossibly low wages and horrible working conditions, ultimately leading to several strike movements throughout the 20th century that had varying success. Even though the labor of Asian Americans had been fundamental to maintaining the US economy, they all became the targets of legalized racism. Since the early origins and foundation of this country, colonial America has used the bodies of people of color to accomplish and fulfill it’s selfish desires, failing to compensate us appropriately, and simultaneously refusing to respect and honor us as equals.

When World War II began in 1941, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 which mandated that people of at least 1/16th Japanese descent would be placed in internment camps. Over a hundred thousand Japanese community members were arrested and transferred to facilities without any way of contacting their family or arranging their assets. They faced miserable conditions, lacking medical care and fundamental resources. Families were forcibly separated, and many died from emotional stress and neglect. Guidelines were even written on how to distinguish a Chinese man (a friend), from a “Jap” (an enemy). The US government eventually attempted to provide reparations in 1988, apologizing to descendants of those who were placed in camps, a bitter and incredibly insufficient form of closure. History has sadly repeated itself; immigration justice still does not exist in this country. Immigrant families are violently torn apart, lives are stolen, and voices are silenced; this country ought to learn from the tragedies of the past and push for reform and systemic change.

The public’s lack of knowledge or desire to learn about Asian people, combined with racist white supremacist ideologies led to corrupted social policy and public attitudes. Asian economic, political, and social rights were completely disregarded and their existence in America was made insufferable and near impossible. Known as “China men”, Chinese and Japanese Americans were hunted and killed, and many individuals were lynched. In 1982, Vincent Chin was hunted down and violently murdered by two white men. Ronald Ebens, one of the men who murdered Vincent Chin, only got three years probation and a $3,000 fine; this was a tragic hate crime that yielded no justice. No organization existed to protect Asian American lives, and their “American” rights were continuously violated. The term “Asian-American” didn’t even exist until the 1960s; all Asians were considered as a monolithic group of “orientals”, and were grouped and classified together regardless of ethnic identification.

Growth in Population

By the 1990s, the population of Asian Americans from varying and diverse ethnic backgrounds continued to rise. However, conflict arose as new Asian immigrants came to the US, and competition for jobs and housing among people of color was exacerbated. Asian Americans had vastly different experiences in their home countries and differing reasons for coming to the US; it is extremely crucial to evaluate these nuances to truly understand their struggles. Some immigrants were well educated and professional workers, and others were refugees fleeing poverty and turbulent circumstances at home. Leaving these groups to fend for themselves led to a lost sense of unity amidst individual struggles.

With 60% of shop owners in the African-American/Latinx communities being Korean Americans, racist stereotypes were perpetuated among both communities. Koreans were stereotyped by Americans and American media as being rude and racist, and the media played up Black and Asian tensions and fostered racial resentment, which was easier to write about than to actually address the history of racial inequality in America. Korean Americans were not seen as part of the multiracial coalition, and were considered just as racist as white Americans. The Rodney King riots were fueled by mounting antagonism between Korean Americans and Black people; Koreatown was looted and destroyed, with store owners defending their own stores with guns since the police would not come to protect the area.

Through the struggles and conflict demonstrated between different communities of color, we can see how white American media and discourse can pit us against each other. In Kat Chow’s 2017 “'Model Minority' Myth Again Used As A Racial Wedge Between Asians And Blacks,” Asians have faced various forms of discrimination, but never the systematic dehumanization that Black people have faced during slavery, and continue to face today. When our communities avoid discourse, lack education, and perpetuate misunderstandings, racism is allowed to continue inflicting damages on all BIPOC. Within Asian American communities, we must understand that not all Asian groups are the same; we cannot allow the monolith to define us and erase our unique histories. As a group, we would be much stronger if we all unified together for Black liberation movements (such as BLM), subverting the narratives and racial resentment meant to confuse and divide us, and actively fought to achieve justice for all of us.