On this day in 1885, 150 white miners in Rock Springs, Wyoming, brutally attack their Chinese coworkers, killing 28, wounding 15 others, and driving several hundred more out of town: September 2, 1885: Whites massacre Chinese in Wyoming Territory.
Bet you didn't know that. I certainly didn't.
A reminder of this buried but important moment in history come to us courtesy of Bao Phi, whose latest blog post for the Star Tribune talks about how people of color, including Asian Americans, are too often left out of discussions about the history and culture of America's working class: This Day In History: Racism and Work.
Too often in popular discourse, working class essentially equals white people, while everyone else is categorized as an illegal, welfare dependent, or stealing jobs. Bao also points out the virulent history of racism in the American labor movement -- particularly against Asians.
Thus, in this difficult economic climate where desperate people are looking to blame their troubles on someone -- anyone -- whether they're really to blame or not, I think it's appropriate to look examine this moment in history where one group did violently become the scapegoat.
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