(Thanks to D in HK for sending this!)
On July 17th, 2009, the California legislature approved a bill that apologized for racist laws against Chinese Americans during the mid nineteenth century. According to the article:
The laws, some of which were not repealed until the 1940s, barred Chinese from owning land or property, marrying whites, working in the public sector and testifying against whites in court. The new bill also recognizes the contributions Chinese immigrants have made to the state, particularly their work on the Transcontinental Railroad.
This is great news. What I love most about governmental declarations is that statements don’t get drowned in the noise. They have the platform as an elected body, i.e., there is only one government, chosen by the people and heard by the people. This unprecendented move is long overdue, and I’m glad assembly member Paul Fong is doing it. He’s taking this all the way up to the federal government:
With the California bill in the bag, Fong now plans to take the issue to Congress, where he will request an apology for the Chinese Exclusion Act, the only federal law ever enacted to deny immigration based exclusively on race or nationality. Passed in 1882, the law was not fully repealed until 1943, after China and the U.S. became allies in WWII. Given President Obama’s decision to appoint Gary Locke as Commerce Secretary and Steven Chu as Energy Secretary, Fong says he’s confident of the bill’s passage. “As a person of color, President Obama would understand these issues,” he says.
Read the article in full. As you can see, much of the new attitude towards Chinese history has to do with China’s rise as an economic superpower. Whereas once Chinese people came here to follow the money, now Governor Schwartzenegger is going there to find the money. Live long and prosper, right?
I’ve got lots of thoughts flowing through my mind right now as it relates to this wonderful activism coming from California. The first is that we need to continue to support Asian American politicians who are willing to stand up for us. This is why I’m supporting Sam Yoon, who is running for mayor in a city far, far away from me. If you hear his podcast, he’s the real thing. We need to support strong and courageous Asian American politicians, even if they live and work in other areas of the country.
The second is that we need to continue developing the arts. While Paul Fong is creating some serious recognition around the Chinese building of the railroad, there are some unscrupulous Asian artists who are cashing out on the railroad story to help the Man promote an outdated racial agenda. Asian American artists need to get busy creating real stories that honor, rather than diminish, history. Hey, if we want to be recognized as people, we’re going to need artists who will fight for this recognition. I know that most people don’t think of artists as people who fight, but when you’re a minority trying to help people, you have to fight.
My third thought is that money talks and bullshit walks. We need to support Asian American businesses who support our movement. We need businesspeople to support the Asian American arts, and we need the Asian American community to support businesses that support us. Don’t just support a business because it’s Asian American; support it because they participate, care about, and help the community. Let them know that we’re all in this together and that we’re all necessary.
My fourth thought is that we need to somehow make this movement bigger to encompass not just Asian Americans but everyone. I’m still thinking of how this can come together. Any ideas?
Anyway, props to Paul Fong for this historic announcement. Let’s continue to fight the good fight.
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A friend recently also turned me onto http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse
It has NOTHING to do with AAs, but is a very good, big-picture view of all the economic madness going down around us. But to that end, it raises the bigger question of China’s role moving forward. To me, by extension, the question is how Chinese Americans who have any remaining links to their Old World view this.