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Home , Asian Pacific American, Immigration Act of 1917, Pacific Islander, Page Act of 1875

ASIAN AMERICAN & HERITAGE MONTH M A Y 2 0 2 1

November 13, 1982: The Vietnam War Memorial is dedicated in , D.C. Designed by Maya Lin, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, the simple, black-granite wall is inscribed with 57,939 names of killed in the conflict. Lin, as an architecture student at Yale, bested more than 1,400 entries in a national competition to design the memorial in a unanimous decision by the jurors. At first considered controversial, it quickly becomes a powerful symbol of honor and sacrifice. O R I G I N S O F A S I A N A M E R I C A N H E R I T A G E & P A C I F I C and Pacific I S L A N D E R H E R I T A G E ( A A P I ) M O N T H Islanders have played vital roles in May is Asian American - Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage shaping the nation—from building Month – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the the Transcontinental Railroad to . AAPI Heritage commemoration was first proposed advocating for labor law changes in 1977 to observe the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant to to fighting in multiple wars. They the United States (May 7, 1843), and the completion of the made these contributions while transcontinental railroad, constructed mainly by Chinese also facing persistent immigrant workers (May 10, 1869). discrimination and violence In 1978, President Carter made it an annual week-long event throughout U.S. history. and President George H.W. Bush extended the proclamation to include the entire month of May. U N D E R S T A N D I N G W H A T T H E T E R M A A P I — A S I A N A M E R I C A N S A N D P A C I F I C I S L A N D E R S — M E A N S

How a person chooses to identify can be complex, but it's crucial for us all to educate ourselves about the distinctions between the two as experience differs vastly between Asians and Pacific Islanders.

Who may identify as Pacific Islander? It helps to look at Pacific Islander countries' geographic location. Pacific Islanders are people whose origins belong to , , and . This classification includes (but is not limited to) Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Tahitian, Guamanian, Fijian and Papua New Guinean people.

Who may identify as Asian? Today, the U.S. Census Bureau classifies Asians as "having origins in any of the original peoples of the , Southeast , or the Indian subcontinent," including A quote from President Harry Truman during a ceremony for the 442nd. The regiment is best known for its history as a fighting unit composed almost entirely of second-generation American (but not limited to) , , , Malaysia, , soldiers of Japanese ancestry who fought in War II. , Cambodia, Vietnam or the .

A V I T A L N O T E :

There are many Asian diasporas across the world representing many different languages, religions, cultures and faiths. People from Central Asia (a person with origins in the original peoples of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) may or may not identify as Asian due to the geographically proximity to Europe (Eurasia). The same can be said for people from West Asia (a person with origins in the original peoples of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, , Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, The Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II pays tribute to the 120,000 Japanese-Americans incarcerated in World War II, and the 20,000 who fought for the U.S. during the Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and same war.

Yemen), where many countries are part of the Arab Credits: www.history.com League organization. www.wtop.com www.whitehouse.gov www.news.stanford.edu www.fapac.org G O L D R U S H L U R E S N E W W A V E O F I M M I G R A N T S

May 7, 1843: A 14-year-old fisherman named Manjiro becomes the first official U.S. Japanese immigrant after being adopted by American Capt. William Whitfield who rescued the boy and his crew after a shipwreck 300 miles from Japan's coast. Years later, Manjiro returned to his home country, where he was named a samurai and worked as a political emissary May 6, 1882: with the West. Facing hostile, and often violent treatment from 1849: locals, Chinese immigrants are targeted by Congress Following the discovery of gold in with the passage of the , signed , Chinese miners head to California into law by President Chester Arthur. The act bans seeking riches, with 25,000 arriving by 1851, Chinese workers from entering the country and according to the Library of Congress. With excludes Chinese immigrants from American uncertain work and hostile locals, not to . Every 10 years, Congress extends its mention a language barrier, many Chinese provision until 1943, when World War II labor laborers (including more than 10,000 with the pressure and increased anti-Japanese sentiment leads Central Pacific Railroad alone) take to its demise and Chinese immigrants are allowed to dangerous work, for little pay, building the become naturalized citizens. transcontinental railroad, which is completed T H E C E O ' S on May 10, 1869. M E S S A GMaErch 3, 1885: In the case Tape v. Hurley, California's Supreme Court rules that the state entitles "all children" access P A G E A C T , C H I N E S E E X C L U S I O N to public education. The case centers on Mamie Tape, A C T R E S T R I C T I M M I G R A T I O N then 8, an American-born daughter of Chinese immigrants whose family sued the San Francisco Board March 3 , 1875: The is enacted, prohibiting the of Education for denying her admission because of her recruitment of laborers from “China, Japan or any race. Oriental country” who were not brought to the United States of their own will or who were brought for “lewd and immoral purposes.” The law explicitly bars “the importation of women for the purposes of prostitution.” The act, based on stereotypes and scapegoating, is enforced by invasive and humiliating interrogations at the Angel Island Station outside San Francisco. It effectively blocks Chinese women from entering the country and stifles the ability of Chinese American men to start families in America. W H I T E C O A L M I N E R S T A R G E T C H I N E S E W O R K E R S Septembe r 2, 1885: Angered that they’re taking away “white” jobs, white coal miners attack Chinese laborers in the territory during what comes to be known as the Rock Springs Massacre. Twenty-eight Chinese are killed, with 15 more injured by the mob, which also looted and set fire to all of the homes in the area’s Chinatown. Federal troops are brought in to return Chinese miners, who had fled, to Rock Springs, and Congress eventually agrees to compensate the workers for their losses.

May 27-28, 1887: J A P A N E S E I N T E R N M E N T Seven white horse thieves ambush a group of Chinese miners who had set up camp along the Snake River in , murdering all 34 men and mutilating their bodies December 7, 1941: before dumping them in the river. Three members of the The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Two months later, gang stand trial in the Hells Canyon Massacre, with one President Franklin D. Roosevelt, fearing Japanese testifying for the state, and all are found not guilty by an immigrants or those with Japanese ancestry had taken all-white jury. part in planning the attack, issues an executive order that forces more than 120,000 living on the West Coast into internment camps. January 21, 1910: According to the National Archives, approximately The immigration station Angel Island opens in 70,000 of those targeted are U.S. citizens, and no California’s San Francisco Bay, serving as the country’s charges are made against any of them. Most lose their major port of entry for Asian immigrants, with some homes, businesses and belongings, and are held until 100,000 Chinese and 70,000 Japanese being processed the war ends. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signs a through the station over the next 30 years. Known as the law apologizing for the civil liberty injustice with the “ of the West” and located 6 miles off San order to pay $20,000 to each person who had been Francisco’s coast, the island was a military reserve during incarcerated. the Civil War. Immigrants without proper documentation

were quarantined there for days to years in a “prison-like environment,” according to the National Parks Service. Closed in 1940, it’s now a California state park.

February 5, 1917: Congress passes the of 1917, which includes an "Asiatic Barred Zone," banning Chinese, Asian Indians, Burmese, Thai, Maylays and others. Japan is not on the list of those excluded, as prohibitions against immigrants from that country are already in place, nor is the Philippines, as it is a U.S. territory.

A S I A N - A M E R I C A N F I R S T S I N C O N G R E S S Januar y 3, 1957: Dalip Saund of California is sworn in as a U.S. Representative, becoming the first Asian-American, first Indian American and first Sikh to serve in Congress. An immigrant from India, he became an American citizen in 1949, eventually earning a Ph.D. and being elected as a judge before serving three Larry Itliong (UFW director, center) with Julio Hernandez (UFW officer, left) and Cesar Chavez terms in the House. According to the U.S. House of at Chavez's Huelga Day March in San Francisco, 1966. Representatives History, Art & Archives, he was vocal on issues such as communism and civil rights, including desegregation. “The problem of man’s injustice to man is a world problem," he said in response to the case in ADVANCES IN LABOR RIGHTS Little Rock, . "Let one who is innocent and pure throw the first stone.” September 8, 1965: Facing the threat of pay cuts and demanding August 24, 1959: improved working conditions, the Agricultural Born in Honolulu the son of poor Chinese Workers Organizing Committee, made up mostly immigrants, Hiram L. Fong is sworn in as 's first of Filipino farmworkers, begins the five-year-long U.S. Senator, becoming the first Asian American Delano Grape strike in California that prompts a elected to the chamber. The only Republican senator global grape boycott. Led by Filipino-American ever elected from the state, he defended President Larry Itliong, the workers are soon joined by Richard Nixon's Vietnam policies, and, according to Cesar Chavez and Latino workers, and the two the U.S. House of Representatives History, Art & unions ultimately join to form United Farm Archives, saw himself as an Asian American Workers. spokesman. “I feel sometimes they think I am their October 3, 1965: senator,” he once said. “I try to interpret America to President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the them and to interpret them to America.” Immigration and Nationality Act into law. Also known as the Hart-Celler Act, it puts an end to January 4, 1965: immigration policies based on ethnicity and race U.S. Representative Patsy T. Mink of Hawaii is sworn and quota systems, resulting in a wave of Asian in as the first Asian American woman, and first woman immigrants who had been barred from entry. of color, to serve in Congress. A supporter of women’s and civil rights and an advocate for education, June 24, 1982: children and labor unions, Mink opposed the Vietnam More than 20,000 garment workers, most of War, supported Head Start and the Women's whom are female immigrants from China and Educational Equity Act and was a co-author and Hong Kong, rally in ’s Chinatown after sponsor of Title IX of the Education Amendments of labor union negotiations stall. A second rally is 1972, outlawing sex discrimination in any education held the next month, with a one-day strike taking program or activity receiving federal funding. She also place July 15, the largest in the history of co-founds the Congressional Chinatown that ends with employers accepting Caucus in 1994. the union’s contract demands. A D D I T I O N A L R E S O U R C E S

T H E N A T I O N A L A S I A N P A C I F I C T H E N A T I O N A L C O U N C I L O F A S I A N A M E R I C A N W O M E N ' S F O R U M P A C I F I C A M E R I C A N S ( N C A P A ) ( N A P A W F )

The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans is the only organization focused on building power with AAPI (NCAPA), founded in 1996, is a coalition of 37 national women and girls to influence critical decisions that affect our Asian Pacific American organizations around the country. lives, our families and our communities. Using a reproductive Based in Washington D.C., NCAPA serves to represent the justice framework, we elevate AAPI women and girls to impact interests of the greater Asian American (AA) and Native policy and drive systemic change in the United States. Hawaiian Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities and to https://www.napawf.org/ provide a national voice for AA and NHPI issues. https://www.ncapaonline.org/

T H E N A T I O N A L Q U E E R A S I A N P A C I F I C I S L A N D E R A L L I A N C E ( N Q A P I A ) A S I A N P A C I F I C A M E R I C A N L A B O R The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) is a federation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) A L L I A N C E ( A P A L A ) Asian American, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) organizations. We seek to build the organizational capacity of local LGBT AAPI groups, develop leadership, promote visibility, Founded in 1992, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance educate our community, enhance grassroots organizing, expand (APALA), AFL-CIO, is the first and only national organization of collaborations, and challenge anti-LGBTQ bias and racism. Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) workers, most of https://www.nqapia.org/ who are union members, and our allies advancing worker, immigrant and civil rights. Since its founding, APALA has played T H E C E N T E R F O R A S I A N P A C I F I C a unique role in addressing the workplace issues of the 660,000 A M E R I C A N W O M E N AAPI union members and in serving as the bridge between the broader labor movement and the AAPI community. Backed with strong support of the AFL-CIO, APALA has more than 20 The Center strives to nurture our Asian American Pacific chapters and pre-chapters and a national office in Washington, Islander (AAPI) communities by expanding leadership capacity, D.C. fostering awareness of AAPI issues, creating a supportive APALA is dedicated to promoting political education and voter network of AAPI women leaders, and strengthening community. registration programs among AAPIs, and to the training, https://apawomen.org/ empowerment, and leadership of AAPIs within the labor

movement and APA community. Furthermore, APALA works to T H E C O N G R E S S I O N A L A S I A N P A C I F I C defend and advocate for the civil and human rights of AAPIs, A M E R I C A N C A U C U S ( C A P A C ) immigrants and all people of color, and continues to develop ties within international labor organizations, especially in the The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Asia-Pacific Rim. is comprised of Members of Congress of Asian and Pacific https://www.apalanet.org/ Islander descent and members who have a strong dedication to promoting the well-being of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Currently chaired by Congresswoman Judy Chu, CAPAC has been addressing the needs of the AAPI community in all areas of American life since it was founded in 1994. CAPAC is non-partisan and bi-cameral. https://capac-chu.house.gov/