CLINT RAMOS
AAPI HISTORY RESOURCES (also some advocacy resources below)
CLICK ON TITLE TEXT . TW : GRAPHIC HISTORICAL PHOTOS
THE PAGE LAW OF 1875
This law prohibited the importation of unfree laborers and women brought for “immoral purposes” but was enforced primarily against Chinese. Legislated amid the spread of anti-Chinese fervor from the west coast to the rest of the United States, this law was an early effort to restrict Asian immigration without categorically restricting Asian immigration on the basis of race and instead restricted select categories of persons whose labor was perceived as immoral or coerced.
“Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in determining whether the immigration of any subject of China, Japan, or any Oriental country …” “ "to ascertain whether such immigrant has entered into a contract or agreement for a term of service within the United States, for lewd and immoral purposes..."
THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT OF 1880
The Granddaddy of them all. The first US law explicitly restricting immigration to the US. Although the Chinese were only .002 of the total population, the law was passed by congress to placate white workers who blamed the Chinese for declining wages and economic (and other ills). It was also passed to assuage fears around maintaining “racial purity”. The Chinese were literally the first groupof people EXCLUDED from this country! This act evolved and birthed a bunch of other Chinese/Asian exclusion acts and really did notget repealed until 1943 !
PHILIPPINE GENOCIDE 1898
At the twilight of 19th century, Spanish Imperialism was on its death row, the Philippines, an archipelago colony in South East Asia freshly regaining independence from Spain succumbs to another brutal colonial power - the United States. At the Treaty of Paris in 1898, the Spanish empire relinquished its possession of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines after they had lost the war against the U.S. in Cuba. The people of Philippines refused to comply with the treaty signed by the colonial powers. Um because they had just declared independence 5 months before. What followed can only be described as the first genocide of the 20th century. The Americans kill over 1.2 million Filipinos.
U.S. Soldier L. F. Adams that was enlisted with the Washington regiment, described what he saw after the Battle of Manila on February 4-5, 1899:
“In the path of the Washington Regiment and Battery D of the Sixth Artillery there were 1,008 dead n_____s, and a great many wounded. We burned all their houses. I don't know how many men, women, and children the Tennessee boys did kill. They would not take any prisoners.”
THE FILIPINO REPATRIATION ACT
In 1935, Congress passed the Filipino Repatriation Act, offering to pay the transportation costs of any Filipinos who would return to the Philippines. Once repatriated, these Filipinos including nationals who were born here could never return to the United States. This is the first time US Nationals became “DEPORTABLE” and “INADMISSIBLE” .
THE INTERNMENT OF JAPANESE AMERICANS
The Injustice of Japanese-American Internment Camps Resonates Strongly to This Day During WWII, 120,000 Japanese-Americans were forced into camps, a government action that still haunts victims and their descendants. The roundups began quietly within 48 hours after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941. The announced purpose was to protect the West Coast. Significantly, the incarceration program got underway despite a warning; in January 1942, a naval intelligence officer in Los Angeles reported that Japanese-Americans were being perceived as a threat almost entirely “because of the physical characteristics of the people.” Fewer than 3 percent of them might be inclined toward sabotage or spying, he wrote, and the Navy and the FBI already knew who most of those individuals were. Still, the government took the position summed up by John DeWitt, the Army general in command of the coast: “A Jap’s a Jap. They are a dangerous element, whether loyal or not.”
THE MASSACRE OF VIETNAMESE CIVILIANS AT MY LAI
The My Lai massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of violence committed against unarmed civilians during the Vietnam War. A company of American soldiers brutally killed most of the people—women, children and old men—in the village of My Lai on March 16, 1968. More than 500 people were slaughtered in the My Lai massacre, including young girls and women who were raped and mutilated before being killed. U.S. Army officers covered up the carnage for a year before it was reported in the American press, sparking a firestorm of international outrage. The brutality of the My Lai killings and the official cover-up fueled anti-war sentiment and further divided the United States over the Vietnam War.
COURT CASES (click on text)
PLESSY V FERGUSON
UNITED STATES V WONG KIM ARK
OZAWA V UNITED STATES
UNITES STATES V BHAGAT SINGH THIND
LUM V RICE
KOREMATSU V UNITED STATES
LAU V NICHOLS
HART CELLAR ACT
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SOME ADVOCACY/MENTAL HEALTH / PHYS SAFETY RESOURCES:
CLICK HERE FOR THE MOTHER LOAD OF RESOURCES
OTHER RESOURCES:
RED CANARY SONG
WE ARE A GRASSROOTS COLLECTIVE OF ASIAN & MIGRANT SEX WORKERS, ORGANIZING TRANSNATIONALLY. Red Canary Song centers basebuilding with migrant workers through a labor rights framework and mutual aid. We believe that full decriminalization is necessary for labor organizing and anti-trafficking. #RightsNotRaids #SexWorkIsWork
STOP AAPI HATE
The link tree links to all their sites. Chockful. Very helpful for safety resources.
ASIANS FOR ABOLITION
We are a coalition of organizers & activists in the NYC community grounded in abolition work & the fight for Black lives. The link will send you to a tree of Go Fund Me sites for the victims families.