Background
The history of Chinese Americans or the history of ethnic Chinese in the U.S. began in the 19th century. Early Chinese immigrants came to the U.S. for the Gold Rush in California of the 1850s and experienced 1882-1943 61 years of the Chinese Exclusion Act. After China and U.S became allies during World War II, the situation of Chinese Americans began to improve. Large scale Chinese immigration began after 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act along with other Asians. By 2021, there are 5.2 million Chinese descent immigrants in the U.S., the largest among all Asian group.
In history, Chinese Americans experienced 1882-1943 Chinese Exclusion Act. Since the coronavirus was first reported in China, people of Asian and Pacific Islander including Chinese descent have been treated as scapegoats solely based on their race. 9,081 hate related incident have been reported between March 19, 2020, and June 2021, from verbal harassment, shunning, to physical assaults. Recently, U.S. started another wave of restricting Chinese. By May, nearly half of all U.S. states have proposed, introduced, or passed laws that restrict Chinese nationals from purchasing land-the new Chinese Exclusion Act.
On May 30th, 2023, former secretary Elaine Chao published an article in Washington post. She said, Chinese Americans’ history often were overlooked, our contribution to this country sometimes was forgotten and our rights were challenged. It is time to recognize Chinese Americans.
IT IS TIME TO TELL CHINESE-AMERICAN STORIES.
Chinese Americans have contributed to American society and Chinese Americans are productive and loyal citizens of America. From fighting for America in World War II, to becoming scientists, doctors, lawyers, engineers, nurses, teachers…in all fields, Chinese Americans are serving this county and the American people. “This is my story” project was born to call on Chinese Americans to tell their stories.