Recognizing Early Chinese Pioneers

Written by our board member Doug Chin, in hopes to help educate and remind our citizens of the sacrifices Chinese made to this city and state. Moreover, it would make Chinese Americans feel included or part of this city and give us Chinese Americans some recognition and appreciation we have never received.

Featured in the International Examiner: Editorial, Volume 38 No. 13

In late May, a resolution was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate calling on Congress to formally acknowledge and express regret for the passage of discriminatory laws that severely violated the civil rights of early Chinese immigrants to America. The resolution was initiated by California Rep. Judy Chu.

The resolution centers on a number of discriminatory laws and treaties passed by Congress in the late 1880s, and particularly the Chinese Exclusion laws, which are the only U.S. laws ever passed that prevented immigration and naturalization based on race. The resolution points to the oppression faced by the early Chinese immigrants despite the contributions they made in the agriculture, mining, manufacturing, construction, fishing, and canning industries in the West… (Read more)