9.07.2007

100-year anniversary of bellingham's "hindu" riots

This week marked the 100-year anniversary of Bellingham, Washington's "Hindu" riots, when a mob rounded up the city's East Indian mill workers and ordered them out of town: 1907 Bellingham mob forced East Indian workers from town. On September 4th, 1907, roving gangs of thugs walked from mill to mill, and boarding house to boarding house, hauling out "Hindus" (a common label for all East Indians at the time) roughing them up and ordering to get out of town. This feature is a detailed look back at the area's largely forgotten racist past, part of a larger campaign to get rid of Asians West Coast during the turn of the century. Here's the follow-up article: 1907 Bellingham riot sparked other actions against immigrants. And here's an article on the area's Sikh community today: New Sikh arrivals feel welcomed.

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