Rally for Inclusion: 135th Anniversary of Chinese Exclusion Act (San Francisco, CA)

Posted on May 8, 2017 by John

This past Saturday, May 6th marked the 135th anniversary of the signing of the Chinese Exclusion Act:

“The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers. The act followed the Angell Treaty of 1880, a set of revisions to the US–China Burlingame Treaty of 1868 that allowed the US to suspend Chinese immigration. The act was initially intended to last for 10 years, but was renewed in 1892 with the Geary Act and made permanent in 1902. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first law implemented to prevent a specific ethnic group from immigrating to the United States. It was repealed by the Magnuson Act on December 17, 1943.”

No More Exclusion! (a coalition of community organizations and individuals united to affirm our shared values for inclusion, justice, community safety and keeping our families together) organized a “Rally for Inclusion: 135th Anniversary of Chinese Exclusion” in Chinatown in San Francisco on the anniversary event – as a reminder that history can often repeat itself:

“Experts point to the parallels between the political climate of the exclusion era and today: a close and contentious presidential election that stirred anti-immigrant sentiment; the growing economic anxiety of white Americans; and policies that would drastically shape the country’s immigration laws.”

This is especially true with the Trump administration’s Muslim ban. It was heartening to see the turnout and protest signs in solidarity with other more recent immigrant groups. Chinese Americans, especially in the San Francisco area, are the oldest Asian American ethnic group to have settled in the United States – and were the first to face discrimination.

Speakers and Performers Include:

Additional photos from the event:

 

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About John

I'm a Taiwanese-American and was born & raised in Western Massachusetts, went to college in upstate New York, worked in Connecticut, went to grad school in North Carolina and then moved out to the Bay Area in 1999 and have been living here ever since - love the weather and almost everything about the area (except the high cost of housing...)
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