
Today in Washington D.C., U.S. Reps. Judy Chu (D-CA), Judy Biggert (R-IL), and Mike Coffman (R-CO), along with Senators Feinstein (D-CA) and Brown (R-MA) announced the introduction of a resolution calling on Congress to formally acknowledge and express regret for the passage of several laws between 1882 and 1904 that violated the fundamental civil rights of Chinese American settlers. Yeah, the Chinese Exclusion Act.
If you've read your Asian American history textbooks, you know that in 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which imposed a ten-year moratorium on Chinese immigration and naturalization of Chinese settlers.
That's racist!
The law was later expanded several times to apply to all persons of Chinese descent and to impose increasingly harsh restrictions on immigration. These laws were repealed in 1943, after China became an ally of the U.S in WWII, but have never been formally acknowledged or renounced by Congress. Isn't it about time history spoke up? Here's part of today's announcement: