6 — June 3, 2015 – June 16, 2015 INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

Asian AmericanStruggle for Racial Equality

Asian Americans have struggled to obtain racial equality since Washington became a territory in 1853. Even before their arrival in the mid-1800s in what was then Washington Territory, and for a century thereafter, Asian Americans faced as much racial discrimination and brutality in the State as any racial or ethnic groups—besides that of Native Americans. As Asian immigration to this State coantinues at a high rate and tension between the United States and Asian countries continue to linger, the Asian American quest for full equal rights and social justice remains an elusive goal despite making substantial social and economic advancements.

Early Chinese ImmigrationFrom 1860 to the mid-1880s, thousands of Chinese came to Washington Territory to work in the lumbers mills, mining, canneries, fishing, road and bridge construction, farming railroad construction, and as domestic servants, cooks, and laundry workers.

Burlingame TreatyThe United States and China agreed that either nation would be open to unlimited immigration from the other; that citizens of one nation would be able to travel, study, and reside freely in the other nation; and that the United States would not interfere with internal Chinese affairs. However, this treaty withheld nationalization of Chinese in America.

Anti-Chinese MovementThe “Chinese Problem” evolved into an Anti-Chinese Movement and its goal of getting rid of the Chinese in America. Many local jurisdictions in the West, including towns in Washington, passed discriminatory laws aimed at the Chinese. On the federal level, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882, which barred further entry of the Chinese laborers and denied the Chinese of nationalization. It was the first time the U.S. restricted immigration based on race and class. When the passage of laws was not enough to expel the Chinese, the anti-Chinese resorted to the forceful, physical removal of the Chinese. Numerous towns in Washington forcefully removed its Chinese. Tacoma and Seattle were the larger towns in which the anti-Chinese rioting kicked out 600 or so Chinese.

Racial Segregation and GhettoizationThe consequences of the Anti-Chinese Movement were predictable: the failure to grow in numbers as an ethnic group, the lack of families, continuing illegal immigration, isolation, and relegation to Chinatowns provided the framework for problems such as the use of drugs and crime, lack of educational and employment opportunity, segregation and separation from families and relatives in China.

Anti-East Indian RiotOn September 4th, 1907, some 500 white working men in Bellingham drove a community of East Indians out of the city. The rioters stormed through the town, breaking windows, throwing rocks, indiscriminately beating people, overpowering a few police officers, and pulling men out of their workplaces and homes. They eventually rounded up 200 East Indians and put them in the basement of City Hall. Not long after, they got rid of all of its East Indian population. The riot was led by members of the Japanese-Korean Exclusion League (which became the Asiatic Exclusion League). They were against the employment of East Indians in the lumber mills, the “Oriental invasion,” and wanted to restrict the immigration of Asian laborers, whom they considered a menace to American labor.

Early Japanese ImmigrationIn 1890, there were about 360 Japanese in Washington State, the majority in Seattle. Over the next decade, there were 5,617. Many of this predominately male population made their living as waiters, domestic workers, shop workers, and as laborers for railroads, sawmills, and canneries. Others were farmers, hotel managers, restaurant owners, shop keepers, and bankers.

Chinese railroad workers.University of Washington Library Special Collection Photo

Anti-Chinese riot in Seattle, 1886.Photo courtesy of Westshore Magazine, 1886

Anti-East Indian riot at Bellingham, Washington. The Reveille Newspaper, September 1907

Anson BurlingamePhoto Courtesy of Chinese American Exclusion/Inclusion by New-York Historical Society

Old Chinatown on Second Avenue in Seattle.Photo Courtesy of The Wing Luke Museum

Japanese laundry.Photo Courtesy of The Wing Luke Museum

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER June 3, 2015 – June 16, 2015 — 7

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Gentlemen’s AgreementLike the Chinese before them, the early Japanese immigrants were seen as “unfair labor competition,” immoral, and unassimilable. Antagonism towards the Japanese was led by labor leaders and demagogic politicians, who called for Japanese exclusion. As the anti-Japanese sentiment grew, President Teddy Roosevelt settled on a “Gentlemen’s Agreement” between the United States and Japan, which banned emigration of Japanese laborers to the U.S. and rescinded the segregation order of the San Francisco School Board in San Francisco, which had humiliated and angered the Japanese. Despite the Agreement, the vision of hordes of Japanese invading America, the “Yellow Peril,” resurfaced again and again.

Immigration Act of 1924The 1924 Immigration Act prohibited any alien ineligible for citizenship (nationalization). Since only whites or Blacks were eligible for nationalization, this Act meant that even Asians not previously prevented from immigrating—the Japanese in particular—would no longer be admitted to the United States. The Act controlled “undesirable” immigration by establishing quotas for Japan, China, Philippines, Thailand, French Indo-China (Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia) Singapore, Korea, Burma, India, Ceylon, and Malaysia.

Early Filipino ImmigrationIn 1910, there were 17 Filipinos in Washington. Two decades later, there was about 3,500 Filipinos in the state. Most were young men who came as students hoping to further their education. However, most ended up working as migrant laborers working in the canneries, railroads, farms, mines, and lumber mills. In Seattle, many settled in Chinatown and worked as seasonal workers in Kent, Auburn, Yakima, Wapato, Bellingham, and as far as Alaska and California.

Anti-Filipino RiotsOn November 8, 1927, an irate mob of 300 whites in the Yakima Valley demanded that Filipinos leave the Valley in two days. Filipinos there were beaten, vandalized, and terrorized. The primary reason for the exclusion of Filipinos was familiar: they were taking away jobs and to “protect white women from interracial dating.” The vigilantes, urged by local officials, drove out Filipinos in Wapato and Toppenish. There were other anti-Filipino riots in Wenatchee and, later, in Kent, Washington.

Japanese IncarcerationOn December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Within a few months, over 120,000 Japanese Americans on the West Coast—citizens and aliens, elderly and infants, men and women, students and professionals, farmers and clerks—were forced to leave their homes and imprisoned in concentration camps, not for military reasons, but because of racial prejudice and discimination.

Magnuson Act Repeals Chinese Exclusion ActsThe Magnuson Act (also known as the Act to Repeal the Chinese Exclusion Acts) was approved by Congress and signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in December 1943. The law permitted the naturalization of Chinese and established an annual quota of 105 Chinese immigrants to the United States. The new act also allowed Chinese to become naturalized citizens. Those who became citizens could then apply to have their wives come over from China or Hong Kong.

Decline of JapantownThe Japanese in Seattle prior to WWII totaled nearly 7,000. After the war, the number dropped to 4,700. What was a vibrant Seattle Japantown became a meager image of its past.

Deterioration of Chinatown/International DistrictBeginning in the 1940s, Chinatown Seattle and its surrounding area was declining rapidly as the buildings deteriorated, economy remained stagnant, housing conditions worsened, leaving just the poor in the area. In 1946, a multiracial organization, the Jackson Street Community Council, emerged to help improve conditions in the area and achieve racial harmony. The Council was probably the first grassroots community organization in the state engaged in urban renewal.

Theodore Roosevelt.Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Early Filipino immigrants.Photo courtesy of The Wing Luke Museum

Japanese being sent to camp.Photo courtesy of The Wing Luke Museum

Higo Department Store.Photo courtesy of The International Examiner

Anti-Filipino riots in Yakima Valley.Yakima Morning Herald, Nov. 11, 1927

Call to action in Chinese Press, September 10, 1943.Photo courtesy ofChinese Historical Society of America (CHSA)

South King Street in 1960s.Photo courtesy of The International Examiner

8 — June 3, 2015 – June 16, 2015 INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER

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Civil Rights MovementIn the 1950s and 60s, the Civil Rights Movement—the fight against racial discrimination, segregation, and oppression and for equal opportunity—swept the country. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed, and Asian Americans and other racial minorities greatly benefited because it prohibited racial and ethnic discrimination in employment, public accommodations, public schools, and programs receiving federal funds. The affirmative action programs, which were later established to increase hiring and promotion among racial minorities, helped Asian Americans regarding employment. Passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 proved beneficial to Chinese and other immigrant groups. In 1975, provisions were added to that Act requiring counties to provide election materials and voting ballots in the language where there are a substantial number of limited English-proficiency voters. Moreover, the Civil Rights Movement and its fight for equal rights and opportunities inspired many Asian Americans to become engaged in that movement, or to participate in civic affairs.

Wing Luke and Fight for Open HousingOn March 13, 1962, Wing Luke began his term on the Seattle City Council. As a council member, Luke fought particularly hard for civil rights, urban renewal, historic preservation, and a plan to ease the downtown parking problem. A liberal member of a very conservative council, he often stood alone on issues. Perhaps no other issue meant more to Luke than civil rights. A staunch advocate for equal opportunity for all races, Luke took the entire council on almost single-handedly concerning open housing. Shortly after he took office, at a tense, packed council meeting, Luke maneuvered the conservative council to commit them to pass an open housing ordinance. (However, Seattle’s Open Housing Ordinance did not pass until 1968.)

Asian Coalition for EqualityIn the late 1960s, a progressive group of Asian Americans established the Asian Coalition for Equality (ACE) in Seattle to advance the civil rights of Asian Americans. It was the first such group in the state.

Seattle Central Community College ProtestAl Sugiyama and Mike Tagawa co-founded the Oriental Student Union at Seattle Central Community College (SCCC) and led a series of protests in 1971 demanding Asian American studies classes and the hiring of Asian administrators and faculty.

Fight to preserve the Chinatown/International DistrictIn 1970, the International District was the nearest thing to a slum. It had, by far, the worst housing conditions in the City: blight, a stagnant economy with many vacant store fronts, and a population comprised primarily of elderly, low-income Asians. Young Asian activists feared that the construction of a county domed stadium next to the District would result in the appearance of stadium related retail businesses such as fast food restaurants and hotels, and parking lots, and, consequently, great harm to the historical cultural character of the International District as well as displacement. Tired of the City’s and County’s neglect towards the area, International District Improvement Association’s director Bob Santos and activists protested the construction of the stadium and demanded better housing and services for the poor in the area. Their actions lead to a number of new housing for the elderly as well as services for the residents in the area.

1965 Immigration ActOn October 3, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson stood at the foot of the Statue of Liberty and signed the Immigration Act of 1965 (also known as the Hart-Cellar Act). Under the Act, 170,000 immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere were granted residency to the United States, with no more than 20,000 persons per country. For Chinese and other Asians, the Act opened the doors to mass immigration and ended a long period that greatly restricted their immigration to America. Because of the Act, Asian Americans are the fastest growing population in Washington State. As of 2010, there were about 481,000 Asians in the State.

Asian American Cannery Workers fight discriminationIn 1974 the Alaska Cannery Workers Association (ACWA)—a group comprised of Asian and Native Alaskan cannery workers—filed a historic class-action suit against three canneries for racial discrimination. The suit charged that the cannery companies maintained separate hiring channels for different jobs; minorities were recruited for unskilled jobs through unions and from Native villages, while skilled and administrative jobs were exclusively filled by whites by word-of-mouth. Furthermore, companies provided segregated and inferior housing to minorities. The courts found broad discrimination in two of the cases. The third case, Atonio v. Wards, went to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the conservative judges narrowed the definition of “disparate impact” and placed the burden of proof on the workers to show intentional discrimination. Upon these changes, a lower court ruled against ACWA, which led to the U.S. Congress to pass the 1991 Civil Rights Act to make it easier to show discrimination.

Martin Luther King Jr.Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Dolores Sibonga was one of the leaders of ACE.Photo courtesy of The International Examiner

Protest against Kingdome.Photo courtesy of The International Examiner

Wing Luke.Photo courtesy of The Wing Luke Museum

Al Sugiyama.Photo courtesy of The Wing Luke Museum

President Johnson signing 1965 Immigration Act. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

INTERNATIONAL EXAMINER June 3, 2015 – June 16, 2015 — 9

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Gordon Hirabayashi v. United StatesGordon Hirabayashi, who was a senior at the University of Washington in 1942, defied and violated the order to remove Japanese from the West Coast to internment camps and a curfew placed on them because he felt they were unconstitutional and discriminatory. He was indicted and convicted of disobeying orders, and imprisoned. His conviction was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, four decades later, Hirabayshi contested the decisions. Finally, in 1987, the federal courts overturned his curfew conviction because evidence was discovered showing government officials lied and suppressed information regarding the military necessity of internment.

Redress for Japanese AmericansLed by the Seattle Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), Japanese Americans fought to obtain compensation for the hardships placed on them for being unjustifiably sent to incarceration camps during WWII. After two decades of struggle, redress was finally granted with the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which, among other provisions, provided $20 thousand compensation to each camp survivor.

Model Minority MythAsian Americans have been labeled the “model minority,” because they had supposedly pulled themselves up through education, hard work, and not complaining. The implication is that other racial minorities do not succeed because they are just the opposite; uneducated, lazy, and protest. But, not only is the “model minority” label divisive, it is also a myth. While some Asian American sub-groups, in general, appear to have achieve remarkable economic, a more detailed look shows that many of the sub-groups such as Cambodians, Laotians, and other Southeast Asians have not. Even within the larger Asian Americans sub-groups, such as the Chinese and East Indians, there are groupings whose educational attainment and incomes are far below average.

Initiative 200In 1998, Asian Americans fought hard against Washington State Initiative 200, a ballot measure to prohibit hiring, college enrollment, and contracting in the public sector based on race and ethnicity. Asian Americans are generally under-represented in public employment (particularly in top administrative positions and other job classifications) and do not get its rightful share of government contracts. Moreover, Asian Americans understand that racial discrimination persists and that providing equal opportunity for all is critical to become a just society.

Asian American WomenAsian American women often faced triple jeopardy because of their race, culture (particularly those with limited English-speaking ability), and gender. Their struggle to reach the upper echelons in the private and public sector is well-documented.

The Asian American struggle for racial equality continues:• The “glass ceiling” still persists as Asian Americans are not adequately represented in the top echelons of private companies or in government.• Discrimination against Asian Americans in housing and unequal access to social services and government programs still exist largely because of race, culture, and language differences.• Asian Americans, even those born and raised in America, are continually seen and treated like foreigners, not Americans and as if they don’t belong in the United States.• Educational attainment levels of Southeast Asians—particularly Cambodians, Laotians, Hmongs, and Miens—are far below that of the general population.• The percentage of elderly Chinese Americans in poverty is 18 percent, which is 50 percent higher than the percentage of the elderly among the general population.• Asian Americans represent just one percent of the construction workers hired on the City of Seattle Public works projects.

Credits and AcknowledgementsExhibit prepared by OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates–Greater Seattle. Exhibit design by Angelo

Salgado and Jillian Redosendo. Exhibit layout was altered to fit International Examiner pages.This project is funded in part by a Neighborhood Matching Fund award from the City of Seattle, Seattle

Department of Neighborhoods.

First redress checks issued, 1990.Photo courtesy of The International Examiner

While on the Seattle City Council, Martha Choe led opposition to Initiative 200, which prohibited hiring, enrollment and contracting in the public sector based on race and ethnicity.Photo courtesy of Puget Sound Business Journal

Gordon Hirabayashi.Photo courtesy of The International Examiner

People watch the 14th Annual Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade, New York, Feb. 17, 2013. Photo courtesy of VOAnews.com

National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum –Seattle Chapter