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The Age of Exploration began in the early 1400's, due to Columbus's discovery. This enabled countries in the Old World to start immigrating over to the New World in seek of new resources, glory, and specifically gold.

Groups of people began settling in Native American's territories and building their relationships with them for trade. This included the French and Dutch who focused on Fur Trade. Since the Natives were enriched with silver that were extremely valuable at the time. The Spanish, however, were one of the few groups who discriminated against the Natives due to their beliefs. The Spanish believed they deserved to claim the lands the Natives were on because it was destined by God. Natives were slaughtered, used, and kicked out of their homes.

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Notice the black man in the photo.  Next to Washington's right leg.

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A massive point in American history that decided whether they would stay with Britain or become an independent nation. While black soldiers were technically fighting inside the war, most soldiers were not acknowledged any differently from those regular white soldiers. They fought for absolutely nothing as even after the war, most slaves were not given freedom from the war.  Right after it ended, America went back into slavery.

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The Atlantic Slave Trade is the start of black slavery/racism inside the United States. Due to there not being any laws against slavery against black individuals inside the U.S. Slavery morally became a huge problem inside the US.  Although controversial, the Slave Trade was the primary source of the US economy. Early America was built on racism which remained that way up until current day America.  Not only were the slaves physically neglected inside of America, but they were also neglected on the ship.  Of the 12.9 million people put on the ships to travel into America, only 10 million survived the boat ride there.

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12 Years As A Slave was written by Solomon Northup. His book includes the experiences he had to face. He showed how hard African descendants had it during the time of slavery. Books and documents merely provide descriptions, letting their audience use their imagination to fill in the blanks as to what is happening. Causing most audience to belittle the amount of tolerate and terrorism going about. Majority of people believe that they have a decent understanding of the experiences that an enslaved African American had to endure. Although those same people are the ones who underestimate the mental and physical abuse African Americans have had to go through every single day. His book provided an intake on his previous life to the time he was kidnapped. He was forced to go under a fake name, Platt. Despite Solomon explaining how he is a freeman, no one believed him simply because he is black. Without documents to support his claims, there was no one who would be able to give him the justice he deserved. On the other hand, whites did not need documents merely because many just assumed they were free. Solomon was able to witness the inhumane conditions and how white people are seen as superior. Their power out rules them, white people were able to do whatever they please. This includes rape, abuse, killing slaves that do not fit their standards/tend to rebel more than others. The way they are able to kill slaves without hesitation which goes to show how disposable African Americans are to them. Although, the book does depicts multiple types of slave owners since not all slave owners are inherently corrupt. Master Ford for instance, treated Solomon with respect, since Solomon was able to prove how intelligent, talented he was. Despite his skin color, Master Ford allowed Solomon to share his thoughts. Revealing how many just want to live their lives out of debt and succeed in life even if it means using others. Mister Epps too, had shown kindness to most of her slaves expect Patsey. Patsey’s character demonstrates the corruption of America’s social hierarchy and how she can never satisfy both sides. Patsey was Master Epps favorite slave, he used her for pleasure and for profit. This makes Mister Epps gain hatred for Pastey even when she only did what she was supposed to. Overall, this movie demonstrated how a free African Americans ordinary life could be turned upside down in an instant due to the unjust system.

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During the Quasi war the Americans formed laws against new people entering the US by not allowing basic civilian rights to those who just entered the US.  They extended the time needed to gain citizenship.  This had varying effects on the immigrants coming into the United states as they could not obtain jobs.

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Uploaded by Rick Hengsterman on 2013-10-22.

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Ruling of President Andrew Jackson (1829 - 1837)

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Ruling of President Andrew Jackson (1829 - 1837)

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During the presidency of Andrew Jackson, critical attention was brought to the amount of power he held. Citizens view Jackson as monarch and renamed him as the King Of Veto. There were no restrictions on the power he had, as supported with the image above. He implemented the Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears, forcing Native Americans to relocate themselves/leave their homes. However, this was seen as unconstitutional since it had violated the 5th amendment - “Nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation". The objective of doing this was both to increase the production of tobacco and segregate Native Americans (reducing contact).

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First Person Account Of Trail Of Tears (1837)

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First Person Account Of Trail Of Tears (1837)

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B.B. Cannon's journal offers firsthand accounts of his experiences while conducting the Removal Act. The audience can understand the significance between time and the number of miles the Indians traveled throughout B.B Cannon's journal. On October 15th, 1837, for instance, he stated how the Indians had to walk 5 miles in 4 hours on October 15th, 1837. Which showed how they had to maintain their pace and keep traveling endlessly towards the West. Despite the geographical difficulties, the only time they stopped was for resting and eating. As a result of this act, various Indian groups had to abandon their homes and were forced into areas in which they did not know the geographical background of. This opened up millions of acres to American residents, but it also resulted in the extermination of many indigenous peoples.

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Journal of B.B. Cannon — Cherokee Removal, 1837 | The Trail of Tears through Arkansas

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B. B. Cannon’s Journal of Occurrences with a Party of Cherokee Emigrants. October 1837

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Jane Bushyhead's letter is a firsthand account of how the removal has affected her and her relatives. Near the beginning of her letter, she states "I have delayed writing to you so long". This can convey how Jane can not anticipate what will happen to her. It reveals how many Native groups had to write letters to their families and friends in fear that they will never hear from them again. She also briefly describes the situation of her family members and the hardships they had to endure. Where her father is oppressed and needs his letter proofread to determine whether it is safe to send.

Additionally due to all the European interaction, her brother became gravely ill. Most Natives did not have immunity to all of the diseases that were spreading; all they could was watch as sickness quickly overcame their people. There was also no medicine or medical care available. Hence in order to continue traveling west, natives were forced to leave their families once they got sick.

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Beloved Martha, I have delayed writing to you so long I expect you have relinquished all thought of receiving anything from me. But my Dear Martha I have not forgotten my promise. I have often wishes to enjoy your company once more but it is very uncertain whether I shall ever again have that pleasure.

If we Cherokees are to be driven to the west by the cruel hand of oppression to seek a new home in the west, it will be impossible. My father is now in Washington City. He was one of the delegates who went to Florida last Oct. We do not know when he will return.

Not long since Mr. Stephen Forman received a letter from father. He was absent when the letter came home and before he arrived the troops had been there and taken it to the Agency, given it to General Smith and he handed it around for all to read. It is thus all our rights are invaded.

About two months ago my youngest brother died. He was sick almost two months. I was not at home when he died but they sent for me to attend his funeral. He was burnt very badly last fall and it is very likely his death was occasioned by it, however we do not exactly know.

It will not be long before our next (school) vacation. Then we expect to go home. Perhaps it may be the last time we shall have the privilege of attending school in this nation. But we are not certain. If we should remove to the Arkansas I should still hope to continue our correspondence. Please to present my best respects to your father & family, Miss E. Jones and Miss Betsey Tirtle. Write with me in love to you.

Your Sincere friend,

Jane Bushyhead

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Beloved Martha, I have delayed writing to you so long I expect you have relinquished all thought of receiving anything from me. But my Dear Martha I have not forgotten my promise. I have often wishes to enjoy your company once more but it is very uncertain whether I shall ever again have that pleasure.

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The Civil War, one of the most known wars in American history, is known for not being a regular war.  Rather than fighting another country, America was fighting themselves on how they want to regulate slavery.  The northern part although still semi-racist was completely against slavery/forced labor.  Meanwhile in the south slavery was essential towards the economy.  Even though this the African Americans were the slaves, they were never asked for their opinions on the matter.   Similarly to the Revolutionary war, African Americans who fought inside the Civil war were not recognized and were forgotten about.  Many different heroes of war were forgotten about and yet again, the white men were the heroes of the war while slavery and African Americans was the start of the war.

Frederick Douglass an African American born slave was a abolitionist most know for creating the "Narrative life of Frederick Douglass.  Frederick Douglass is one of the most influential African Americans in American history.  Unlike many other slaves, Frederick received education at an early age by Sophia Auld (Hugh Auld's wife).  She taught him the alphabet and other terms to allow him to read and write.  Upon hearing about this, Hugh scolded her and forced her to stop giving him newspapers and books to keep him stupid.  Secretly Douglass kept educating himself in his spare time learning about the horrors of slavery.  When he became stronger he eventually beat up his owner and ran away to gain his freedom.   Douglass formerly being a slave then wrote several stories on his life and slavery in general.  He was very significant in revealing the horrors in the American slavery system.

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Frederick Douglass - Journalist & Civil Rights Activist | Mini Bio | BIO

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The Reconstruction Era began after the Civil War. The purpose of this era was so America could focus on rebuilding and improving itself. One of their key objectives was to get the Southern states back into the nation while still protecting black people's rights. As a result, the South had to accept several acts that ensured that African Americans would receive their basic rights. Different approaches and ideas to secure racial equality were also proposed.

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Towards the end of the civil war Lincoln the United States president at the time pushed forwards the 13th amendment completely outlawing slavery. Following the 13th amendment the 14th and the 15th gave basic citizenship rights to the black people however not everything was outlawed. During the period in American time history known as Reconstruction, the south re-entered the union and was following the United States laws. Still mad at Slaves gaining their freedom, the White southerners made several different racist rules and laws that bypassed the amendments. The two biggest of those laws/rules were the Black Codes & the Jim Crow Laws. These laws promoted racial segregation and treated the Black people like slaves again being inferior to White people. Once again the White people where characterized as heroes meanwhile the former slaves were being segregated against. An example of the laws was a mandatory curfew that ONLY applied to former slaves/black people.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAyfoyfLsnQ  Youtube link an example of how black people felt about the situation and how they got treated.

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The KKK is one of the most known racist organizations inside the United States.  Initially founded by former Southern civil war commanders, Frank McCord, Richard Reed, John Lester, John Kennedy, J. Calvin Jones and James Crowe.  These men dressed in all white with hoods on their head in order to hide their real identity.  The KKK specifically targeted abolitionist and former slaves doing organized crime such as murder, rape, torture.  The KKK was not entirely suppressed by the government and instead left alone.  It is also very ironic how the KKK was originally formed by people of the government.  Throughout history the KKK has been left alone to do as they please resulting in thousands of former slaves being tortured to death.

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Viola Ellison, Lela Evans, Opal Jackson and Katherine Johnson, four black women were shot in 1980 by KKK memebers.  The women were leaving a nightclub and were searching for a taxi. While waiting for the taxi several KKK members came up and tried to shoot the women.  Luckily all 4 women escaped alive.  For almost 40 years nobody recognized the situation and just disregared it until she spoke up and shared her story in front of hundreds of people.  Her voice is one of the strongest for going against the KKK as she gives direct evidence to the horrors that the clan commits.

Other examples of KKK survivors.https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/09/30/918911837/alabama-gov-apologizes-to-surviving-5th-girl-of-1963-kkk-bombing

Sarah Collins Rudolph another black woman was just 12 at the time of her house being bombed.  She did absolutely nothing and was just targetted because she was black.  Her sister and 3 other young friends died from that bombing and she was greatly harmed.  After all of this for 57 years nobody did anything.  It took Sarah Collins Rudolph 57 years to get some form of amends. The bombers escaped from the whole ordeal unharmed and with no charges. This was one of her primary reasons for going against the KKK. This is one example of how biased the US government/law system is. Even though the KKK killed 4 people they got away with almost no charges as the government was very racist back then.

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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — April 19, 1980 is a dark day in Chattanooga history.

Four black women were shot as they were leaving a nightclub on MLK Blvd.

Three members of the Ku Klux Klan were charged with the crime.

On Thursday, hundreds of people packed into the Bessie Smith Cultural Center to hear that story of survival.

Viola Ellison, Lela Evans, Opal Jackson and Katherine Johnson were shot.

Fannie Crumsey was injured from flying glass.

All of the women survived the attack, but their battle had just begun.

An all white jury acquitted two of the accused men.

The other served three months of a nine month sentence and was fined $225.

After the criminal trial, the women went on to win the first ever federal civil lawsuit filed against the KKK.

Opal Lee Jackson and her friends were shot while waiting for a taxi nearly 40 years ago.

Decades later, the 86-year-old still remembers bullets flying at her.

"We looked up and saw a ball of fire, just like it was broad daylight," said Jackson.

She and her friends survived the attack, but still had a battle to win.

New York attorney Randolph McLaughlin represented the women.

In a 1982 Chattanooga trial, the women were awarded $535,000.

McLaughlin says the case sets a legal precedent for cases of social and racial injustice.

"It took the actual legal documents we used in this case and put them in this book. Why? Because we wanted this book and this case as a model to help other lawyers all across the country learn how to do what we did here," said McLaughlin.

UTC graduate student Tiffany Herron organized the event, and is now advocating for Jackson and the other brave women to be recognized.

"You have a lot of memories, memorabilia statues for the confederate soldiers and for the confederate generals, put up a statue for them," said McLaughlin.

Jackson lives Chattanooga, spreading a message of love even for the white supremacist who pulled the trigger that day.

"I don't have no trouble with nobody. I didn't have any trouble then. I can't hate you for something I don't know," said Jackson.

Tonight's presentation was called "Black Heroines for Justice."

McLaughlin says this is the first time anyone has asked him to give a presentation about the case.

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86-year-old survivor of 1980 Chattanooga KKK attack shares her story in front of hundreds

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April 19, 1980 is a dark day in Chattanooga history. Four black women were shot as they were leaving a nightclub on MLK Blvd. Three members of the Ku Klux Klan were charged with the crime. On Thursday, hundreds of people packed into the Bessie Smith Cultural Center to hear that story of survival.

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Lynching, public executions, was another method used primarily in the South to maintain the ideal of white supremacy. These executions were carried out by white mobs who made false allegations to publicly hang a victim, specifically African Americans. Their main goal was to instill fear in black communities and make them believe that prejudice and slavery would never come to an end. This numerous African Americans yet again did not feel safe and continued fearing for their lives. Despite all the efforts they have made, trying to change America for the better.

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Emmett Till was a 14 years old male, who was brutally beaten for whistling near a white woman. As his family describes what kind of person he is, he appears to be just like any other kid on the block. However, because of his skin color, it was suspected that he would act sinfully.

During his funeral, photographs from the film were exhibited to show the extent of the horrible assault he had suffered. Compared to Emmett Till before, the pictures after show a completely different person. His face is unrecognizable as it was severely damaged. It is difficult to make out where his facial features were located.

His parents had filed for a trial and held an open-casket funeral to highlight the unjust punishment that had been inflicted on their son. Despite having all of the evidence necessary to send Emmett Till's murders to prison. They were freed and found not guilty. This reveals the problems of the broken justice system where black people specifically are more likely to end up incarcerated than it is for white people.

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The Body Of Emmett Till | 100 Photos | TIME

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The lyrics and issue at hand, reminded Billie Holiday of her father whom has been denial medical care in various hospitals. 

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Strange Fruit Sang By Billie Holiday (1939)

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Strange Fruit Sang By Billie Holiday (1939)

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Abel Meeropol was the writer of Strange Fruit, his song contains vivid imagery and metaphors regarding the increase in lynching spurring around. There was not much commotion until Billie Holiday, a jazz singer, took notice. The lyrics she heard inspired her to perform the song in Cafe Society. Strange Fruit, did not only emphasize the difference of treatment but it also demonstrated the type of bond the black communities had held.

Strange Fruit was one of the main metaphor in Meeropol's song, it compares a dangling fruit to a lynched body. Which is graphically described in the song as a way to give a horrific effect to the audience as to what is actually going on in their grounds. It also raises awareness of the voices of innocent victims who have been silenced and beaten simply because they were born with darker complexion. Additionally, it depicts the hostility and discrimination directed against people who do not meet white people's standards, as well as those who do not support the white supremacy ideology.

This song encourages people to unite together as a community and gain the courage to fight back against racism and the nation’s corrupted system.

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Billie Holiday - "Strange Fruit" Live 1959 [Reelin' In The Years Archives]

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With America's economy advancing, new job opportunities were rapidly becoming available to the public. In addition to the increase in job opportunities, a new wave of immigrants set in America. This wave of immigrants created tension among American citizens since the introduction of immigrants created greater competition for job opportunities. Thus the government passed the Exclusion Act to suspend Chinese immigration for ten years and declared Chinese immigrants ineligible for naturalization because Chinese immigrants were a popular ethnic group that provided effective and cheap labor.

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The Life Story of a Chinaman: Lee Chew (1903)

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The Life Story of a Chinaman: Lee Chew (1903)

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The lines "The food was different from that which I had been used to” demonstrate how homesick Lee Chew is and how tough it is for him to adjust to new customs during his journey. More so he shows his contempt for American citizens by referring to them as barbarians.

Once he was hired by an American family, he was able to learn the basics of housing cleaning, the current language, and their religion. Lew Chew founded a washing company after assimilating into white society, where he witnessed all aspects of America. Such as street boys breaking their windows, even with the various reports being made about it. There was not much being done about the issue, exposing the injustice that exists inside America's justice system.

His journey demonstrates how the Chinese were used, and that despite their best efforts to fit in, their presence only increased the tensions between them and American citizens. Even with Lee’s efforts to understand America’s customs and language, he was humiliated and treated as if he did not belong there. This is well supported by his description of the working conditions he had to deal with, which included harsh remarks, fraud, and essentially the risk of losing his job. Americans made their life even more difficult as they soon became envious of the Chinese's favorable characteristics and took over most businesses, leaving them unable to support their families.

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Printable Version

The Biography of a Chinaman
Digital History ID 3650

Author: Lee Chew
Date:1903

Annotation: Lee Chew migrated from Canton to San Francisco in 1880, when he was sixteen years older. After operating laundries for railroad construction gangs, he eventually moved to New York where he ran an importing business.

Document: The village where I was born is situated in the province of Canton, on one of the banks of the Si-Kiang River. It is called a village, altho it is really as big as a city, for there are about 5,000 men in it over eighteen years of age-women and children and even youths are not counted in our villages.

All in the village belonged to the tribe of Lee. They did not intermarry with one another, but the men went to other villages for their wives and and brought them home to their fathers' houses, and men from other villages-Wus and Wings and Sings and Fongs, etc.-chose wives from among our girls.

When I was a baby I was kept in our house all the time with my mother, but when I was a boy of seven I had to sleep at nights with other boys of the village-about thirty of them in one house. The girls are separated the same way-thirty or forty of them sleeping together in one house away from their parents-and the widows have houses where they work and sleep, tho they go to their fathers' houses to eat.

My father's house is built of fine blue brick, better than the brick in the houses here in the United States. It is only one story high, roofed with red tiles and surrounded by a stone wall which also encloses the yard There are four rooms in the house, one large living room which serves for a parlor and three private rooms, one occupied by my grandfather, who is very old and very honorable; another by my father and mother, and the third by my oldest brother and his wife and two little children. There are no windows, but the door is left open all day.

All the men of the village have farms, but they don't live on them as the farmers do here; they live in the village, but go out during the day time and work their farms, coming home before dark. My father has a farm of about ten acres, on which he grows a great abundance of things-sweet potatoes, rice, beans, peas, yams, sugar cane, pine apples, bananas, lychee nuts and palms. The palm leaves are useful and can be sold. Men make fans of the lower part of each leaf near the stem, and water proof coats and hats, and awnings for boats, of the parts that are left when the fans are cut out.

So many different things can be grown on one small farm, because we bring plenty of water in a canal from the mountains thirty miles away, and every farmer takes as much as he wants for his fields by means of drains. He can give each crop the right amount of water.

Our people all working together make these things, the mandarin has nothing to do with it, and we pay no taxes, except a small one on the land We have our own Government, consisting of the elders of our tribe-the honorable men. When a man gets to be sixty years of age he begins to have honor and to become a leader, and then the older he grows the more he is honored. We had some men who were nearly one hundred years, but very few of them.

In spite of the fact that any man may correct them for a fault, Chinese boys have good times and plenty of play. We played games like tag, and other games like shinny and a sort of football called yin.

We had dogs to play with-plenty of dogs and good dogs-that understand Chinese as well as American dogs understand American language. We hunted with them, and we also went fishing and had as good a time as American boys, perhaps better, as we were almost always together in our house, which was a sort of boys' club house, so we had many playmates. Whatever we did we did all together, and our rivals were the boys of other club houses, with whom we sometimes competed in the games. But all our play outdoors was in the daylight, because there were many graveyards about and after dark, so it was said, black ghosts with flaming mouths and eyes and long claws and teeth would come from these and tear to pieces and devour any one whom they might meet.

It was not all play for us boys, however. We had to go to school, where we learned to read and write and to recite the precepts of Kong foo-tsze and the other Sages and stories about the great Emperors of China, who ruled with the wisdom of gods and gave to the whole world the light of high civilization and the culture of our literature, which is the admiration of all nations.

I went to my parents' house for meals, approaching my grandfather with awe, my father and mother with veneration and my elder brother with respect. I never spoke unless spoken to, but I listened and heard much concerning the red haired, green eyed foreign devils with the hairy faces, who had lately come out of the sea and clustered on our shores. They were wild and fierce and wicked, and paid no regard to the moral precepts of Kong-foo-tsze and the Sages; neither did they worship their ancestors, but pretended to be wiser than their fathers and grandfathers. They loved to beat people and to rob and murder. In the streets of Hong Kong many of them could be seen reeling drunk. Their speech was a savage roar, like the voice of the tiger or the buffalo, and they wanted to take the land away from the Chinese. Their men and women lived together like animals, without any marriage or faithfulness and even were shameless enough to walk the streets arm in arm in daylight. So the old men said.

All this was very shocking and disgusting, as our women seldom were on the street, except in the evenings, when they went with the water jars to the three wells that supplied all the people. Then if they met a man they stood still, with their faced turned to the wall, while he looked the other way when he passed them. A man who spoke to a woman in the street in a Chinese village would be beaten, perhaps killed.

My grandfather told how the English foreign devils had made wicked war on the Emperor, and by means of their enchantments and spells had defeated his armies and forced him to admit their opium, so that the Chinese might smoke and become weakened and the foreign devils might rob them of their land.

My grandfather said that it was well known that the Chinese were always the greatest and wisest among men. They had invented and discovered everything that was good. Therefore the things which the foreign devils had and the Chinese had not must be evil. Some of these things were very wonderful, enabling the red haired savages to talk with one another, tho they might be thousands of miles apart. They had suns that made darkness like day, their ships carried earthquakes and volcanoes to fight for them, and thousands of demons that lived in iron and steel houses spun their cotton and silk, pushed their boats, pulled their cars, printed their newspapers and did other work for them. They were constantly showing disrespect for their ancestors by getting new things to take the place of the old.

I heard about the American foreign devils, that they were false, having made a treaty by which it was agreed that they could freely come to China, and the Chinese as freely go to their country. After this treaty was made China opened its doors to them and then they broke the treaty that they had asked for by shutting the Chinese out of their country.

When I was ten years of age I worked on my father's farm, digging, hoeing, manuring, gathering and carrying the crop. We had no horses, as nobody under the rank of an official is allowed to have a horse in China, and horses do not work on farms there, which is the reason why the roads there are so bad. The people cannot use roads as they are used here, and so they do not make them.

I worked on my father's farm till I was about sixteen years of age, when a man of our tribe came back from America and took ground as large as four city blocks and made a paradise of it. He put a large stone wall around and led some streams through and built a palace and summer house and about twenty other structures, with beautiful bridges over the streams and walks and roads. Trees and flowers, singing birds, water fowl and curious animals were within the walls.

The man had gone away from our village a poor boy. Now he returned with unlimited wealth, which he had obtained in the country of the American wizards. After many amazing adventures he had become a merchant in a city called Mott Street, so it was said.

When his palace and grounds were completed he gave a dinner to all the people who assembled to be his guests. One hundred pigs roasted whole were served on the tables, with chickens, ducks, geese and such an abundance of dainties that our villagers even now lick their fingers when they think of it. He had the best actors from Hong Kong performing, and every musician for miles around was playing and singing. At night the blaze of the lanterns could be seen for many miles.

Having made his wealth among the barbarians this man had faithfully returned to pour it out among his tribesmen, and he is living in our village now very happy, and a pillar of strength to the poor.

The wealth of this man filled my mind with the idea that I, too, would like to go to the country of the wizards and gain some of their wealth, and after a long time my father consented, and gave me his blessing, and my mother took leave of me with tears, while my grandfather laid his hand upon my head and told me to remember and live up to the admonitions of the Sages, to avoid gambling, bad women and men of evil minds, and so to govern my conduct that when I died my ancestors might rejoice to welcome me as a guest on high.

My father gave me $100, and I went to Hong Kong with five other boys from our place and we got steerage passage on a steamer, paying $50 each. Everything was new to me. All my life I had been used to sleeping on a board bed with a wooden pillow, and I found the steamer's bunk very uncomfortable, because it was so soft. The food was different from that which I had been used to, and I did not like it at all. I was afraid of the stews, for the thought of what they might be made of by the wicked wizards of the ship made me ill. Of the great power of these people I saw many signs. The engines that moved the ship were wonderful monsters, strong enough to lift mountains. When I got to San Francisco, which was before the passage of the Exclusion Act, I was half starved, because I was afraid to eat the provisions of the barbarians, but a few days' living in the Chinese quarter made me happy again. A man got me work as a house servant in an American family, and my start was the same as that of almost all the Chinese in this country.

The Chinese laundryman does not learn his trade in China; there are no laundries in China. The women there do the washing in tubs and have no washboards or flat irons. All the Chinese laundrymen here were taught in the first place by American women just as I was taught.

When I went to work for that American family I could not speak a word of English, and I did not know anything about housework. The family consisted of husband, wife and two children. They were very good to me and paid me $3.50 a week, of which I could save $3.

I did not know how to do anything, and I did not understand what the lady said to me, but she showed me how to cook, wash, iron, sweep, dust, make beds, wash dishes, clean windows, paint and brass, polish the knives and forks, etc., by doing the things herself and then overseeing my efforts to imitate her. She would take my hands and show them how to do things. She and her husband and children laughed at me a great deal, but it was all good natured. I was not confined to the house in the way servants are confined here, but when my work was done in the morning I was allowed to go out till lunch time. People in California are more generous than they are here.

In six months I had learned how to do the work of our house quite well, and I was getting $5 a week and board, and putting away about $4.25 a week. I had also learned some English, and by going to a Sunday school I learned more English and something about Jesus, who was a great Sage, and whose precepts are like those of Kong-foo-sze.

It was twenty years ago when I came to this country, and I worked for two years as a servant, getting at the last $35 a month. I sent money home to comfort my parents, but tho I dressed well and lived well and had pleasure, going quite often to the Chinese theater and to dinner parties in Chinatown, I saved $50 in the first six months, $90 in the second, $120 in the third and $150 in the fourth So I had $410 at the end of two years, and I was now ready to start in business.

When I first opened a laundry it was in company with a partner, who had been in the business for some years. We went to a town about 500 miles inland, where a railroad was building. We got a board shanty and worked for the men employed by the railroads. Our rent cost us $10 a month and food nearly $5 a week each, for all food was dear and we wanted the best of everything-we lived principally on rice, chickens, ducks and pork, and did our own cooking. The Chinese take naturally to cooking. It cost us about $50 for our furniture and apparatus, and we made close upon $60 a week, which we divided between us. We had to put up with many insults and some frauds, as men would come in and claim parcels that did not belong to them, saying they had lost their tickets, and would fight if they did not get what they asked for. Sometimes we were taken before Magistrates and fined for losing shirts that we had never seen. On the other hand, we were making money, and even after sending home $3 a week I was able to save about $15. When the railroad construction gang moved on we went with them. The men were rough and prejudiced against us, but not more so than in the big Eastern cities. It is only lately in New York that the Chinese have been able to discontinue putting wire screens in front of their windows, and at the present time the street boys are still breaking the windows of Chinese laundries all over the city, while the police seem to think it a joke.

We were three years with the railroad, and then went to the mines, where we made plenty of money in gold dust, but had a hard time, for many of the miners were wild men who carried revolvers and after drinking would come into our place to shoot and steal shirts, for which we had to pay. One of these men hit his head hard against a flat iron and all the miners came and broke up our laundry, chasing us out of town. They were going to hang us. We lost all our property and $365 in money, which members of the mob must have found.

Luckily most of our money was in the hands of Chinese bankers in San Francisco. I drew $500 and went East to Chicago, where I had a laundry for three years, during which I increased my capital to $2,500. After that I was four years in Detroit. I went home to China in 1897, but returned in 1898, and began a laundry business in Buffalo. But Chinese laundry business now is not as good as it was ten years ago. American cheap labor in the steam laundries has hurt it. So I determined to become a general merchant and with this idea I came to New York and opened a shop in the Chinese quarter, keeping silks, teas, porcelain, clothes, shoes, hats and Chinese provisions, which include sharks. fins and nuts, lily bulbs and lily flowers, lychee nuts and other Chinese dainties, but do not include rats, because it would be too expensive to import them. The rat which is eaten by the Chinese is a field animal which lives on rice, grain and sugar cane. Its flesh is delicious. Many Americans who have tasted shark's fin and bird's nest soup and tiger lily flowers and bulbs are firm friends of Chinese cookery. If they could enjoy one of our finer rats they would go to China to live, so as to get some more.

American people eat ground hogs, which are very like these Chinese rats, and they also eat many sorts of food that our people would not touch. Those that have dined with us know that we understand how to live well.

The ordinary laundry shop is generally divided into three rooms. In front is the room where the customers are received, behind that a bedroom and in the back the work shop, which is also the dining room and kitchen. The stove and cooking utensils are the same as those of the Americans.

Work in a laundry begins early on Monday morning - about seven o'clock. There are generally two men one of whom washes while the other does the ironing. The man who irons does not start in till Tuesday, as the clothes are not ready for him to begin till that time. So he has Sundays and Mondays as holidays. The man who does the washing finishes up on Friday night, and so he has Saturday and Sunday. Each works only five days a week, but those are long days-from seven o'clock in the morning till midnight.

During his holidays the Chinaman gets a good deal of fun out of life. There's a good deal of gambling and some opium smoking, but not so much as Americans imagine. Only a few of New York's Chinamen smoke opium. The habit is very general among rich men and officials in China, but not so much among poor men. I don't think it does as much harm as the liquor that the Americans drink. There's nothing so bad as a drunken man. Opium doesn't make people crazy.

Gambling is mostly fan tan, but there is a good deal of poker, which the Chinese have learned from Americans and can play very well. They also gamble with dominoes and dice.

The fights among the Chinese and the operations of the hatchet men are all due to gambling. Newspapers often say that they are feuds between the six companies, but that is a mistake. The six companies are purely benevolent societies, which look after the Chinaman when he first lands here. They represent the six southern provinces of China, where most of our people are from, and they are like the German, Swedish, English, Irish and Italian societies which assist emigrants. When the Chinese keep clear of gambling and opium they are not blackmailed, and they have no trouble with hatchet men or any others.

About 500 of New York's Chinese are Christians, the others are Buddhists, Taoists, etc., all mixed up. These haven't any Sunday of their own, but keep New Year's Day and the first and fifteenth days of each month, when they go to the temple in Mott Street.

In all New York there are only thirty-four Chinese women, and it is impossible to get a Chinese woman out here unless one goes to China and marries her there, and then he must collect affidavits to prove that she really is his wife. That is in [the] case of a merchant. A laundryman can't bring his wife here under any circumstances, and even the women of the Chinese Ambassador's family had trouble getting in lately.

Is it any wonder, therefore, or any proof of the demoralization of our people if some of the white women in Chinatown are not of good character? What other set of men so isolated and so surrounded by alien and prejudiced people are more moral? Men, wherever they may be, need the society of women, and among the white women of Chinatown are many excellent and faithful wives and mothers.

Recently there has been organized among us the Oriental Club, composed of our most intelligent and influential men. We hope for a great improvement in social conditions by its means, as it will discuss matters that concern us, bring us in closer touch with Americans and speak for us in something like an official manner.

Some fault is found with us for sticking to our old customs here, especially in the matter of clothes, but the reason is that we find American clothes much inferior, so far as comfort and warmth go. The Chinaman's coat for the winter is very durable, very light and very warm. It is easy and not in the way. If he wants to work he slips out of it in a moment and can put it on again as quickly. Our shoes and hats also are better, we think, for our purposes, than the American clothes. Most of us have tried the American clothes, and they make us feel as if we were in the stocks.

I have found out, during my residence in this country, that much of the Chinese prejudice against Americans is unfounded, and I no longer put faith in the wild tales that were told about them in our village, tho some of the Chinese, who have been here twenty years and who are learned men, still believe that there is no marriage in this country, that the land is infested with demons and that all the people are given over to general wickedness. I know better. Americans are not all bad, nor are they wicked wizards. Still, they have their faults, and their treatment of us is outrageous.

The reason why so many Chinese go into the laundry business in this country is because it requires little capital and is one of the few opportunities that are open. Men of other nationalities who are jealous of the Chinese, because he is a more faithful worker than one of their people, have raised such a great outcry about Chinese cheap labor that they have shut him out of working on farms or in factories or building railroads or making streets or digging sewers. He cannot practice any trade, and his opportunities to do business are limited to his own countrymen. So he opens a laundry when he quits domestic service.

The treatment of the Chinese in this country is all wrong and mean. It is persisted in merely because China is not a fighting nation. The Americans would not dare to treat Germans, English, Italians or even Japanese as they treat the Chinese, because if they did there would be a war.

There is no reason for the prejudice against the Chinese. The cheap labor cry was always a falsehood. Their labor was never cheap, and is not cheap now. It has always commanded the highest market price. But the trouble is that the Chinese are such excellent and faithful workers that bosses will have no others when they can get them. If you look at men working on the street you will find an overseer for every four or five of them. That watching is not necessary for Chinese. They work as well when left to themselves as they do when some one is looking at them.

It was the jealousy of laboring men of other nationalities - especially the Irish-that raised all the outcry against the Chinese. No one would hire an Irishman, German, Englishman or Italian when he could get a Chinese, because our countrymen are so much more honest, industrious, steady, sober and painstaking. Chinese were persecuted, not for their vices, but for their virtues. There never was any honesty in the pretended fear of leprosy or in the cheap labor scare, and the persecution continues still, because Americans make a mere practice of loving justice. They are all for money making, and they want to be on the strongest side always. They treat you as a friend while you are prosperous, but if you have a misfortune they don't know you. There is nothing substantial in their friendship.

Wu-Ting-Fang talked very plainly to Americans about their ill treatment of our countrymen, but we don't see any good results. We hoped for good from Roosevelt-we thought him a brave and good man, but yet he has continued the exclusion of our countrymen, tho all other nations are allowed to pour in here-Irish, Italians, Jews, Poles, Greeks, Hungarians, etc. It would not have been so if Mr. McKinley had lived.

Irish fill the almshouses and prisons and orphan asylums, Italians are among the most dangerous of men, Jews are unclean and ignorant. Yet they are all let in, while Chinese, who are sober, or duly law abiding, clean, educated and industrious, are shut out. There are few Chinamen in jails and none in the poor houses. There are no Chinese tramps or drunkards. Many Chinese here have become sincere Christians, in spite of the persecution which they have to endure from their heathen countrymen. More than half the Chinese in this country would become citizens if allowed to do so, and would be patriotic Americans. But how can they make this country their home as matters now are! They are not allowed to bring wives here from China, and if they marry American women there is a great outcry.

All Congressmen acknowledge the injustice of the treatment of my people, yet they continue it. They have no backbone.

Under the circumstances, how can I call this my home, and how can any one blame me if I take my money and go back to my village in China?

Source: Lee Chew, "The Biography of a Chinaman," Independent, 15 (19 February 1903), 417-423.

Copyright 2021 Digital History

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Printable Version The Biography of a Chinaman Digital History ID 3650 Author: Lee Chew Date:1903 Annotation: Lee Chew migrated from Canton to San Francisco in 1880, when he was sixteen years older. After operating laundries for railroad construction gangs, he eventually moved to New York where he ran an importing business.

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Job opportunities and rights were generally very limited for African American descendants and the use of propaganda decreased their reputation. New generations began seeing their kind as barbaric, savage individuals. Hence it was not uncommon to see black families living in slums. More so many white people did not think black people needed to take baths since they were seen as “filthy” anyway. These slums were often seen as ghettos and places of disgust. No one wanted to live close to those ghettos and were actively trying to suppress and silence the people.

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In the late 1800s, Riis identified that the living conditions in the tenements within the cities were hazardous. Many tenements had inadequate hygiene because the residents were compacted in minuscule living areas, which catalyzed many disease outbreaks and safety hazards. For instance, Riis’s article reported how a “child is dying with measles. With half a chance it might have lived, but it had none.” Riis highlighted the terrible circumstances the child had to experience within the tenements that the chance of surviving from the measles becomes close to zero. Additionally, the tenement was like a landfill with the fire escapes covered with broken household goods, wash-tubs, and barrels, “over which no man could climb from a fire.” This presented to the people how the tenements were hazardous and inhumane.

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Plessy v. Ferguson was a court case in 1892 where a black individual by the name Homer Plessy was told to sit inside a white train car seat by White residents around his area who were against the Separate Car Act (An act that forbid a person of color to sit inside a white only car).  When he was told to get up from his cart seat he refused unfortunately leading to his arrest.  In the court case regarding his arrest, his lawyer stated that his arrest was against the 13th and 14th amendment rights that Plessy had.  The court unfortunately convicted Plessy and sent him to prison.  Although he did absolutely nothing wrong, he was thought to be a villain and arrested.  His case is an example of American racism in the court of law.

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James Farmer was in charge of the Freedom Ride. Their protests were held to demonstrate how they did not support the idea of segregation. They aimed to lessen the amount of discrimination occurring throughout the period.

Their protests raised awareness about the existence of racism even after the 13th Amendment was ratified. African Americans and white people protested by riding the bus together. They intended to go from Washington, D.C., to New Orleans but were arrested in Virginia.

After three years, the Supreme Court finally prohibited segregation in public transportation. Demonstrating that citizens can achieve change in their country with great determination and resolve.

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The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)

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The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)

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The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire was a tragic event that claimed the lives of many female employees. Workers at the time were locked up in their working facility, as their managers wanted to prevent the Women Rights Organizations from becoming popular and gaining more supporters within their district.

With no procedure/safety signs, a fire sparked as a result from indoors smoking.  As the fire spread throughout the building, the workers began panicking and attempted to forcibly open the door. Fire escapes were not safe and disintegrated soon after. Women could not bear the pain of having their flesh burnt off, proceeding to jump off the building despite the floor they were on.

This event brought awareness to the poor working conditions employees had to face. Protests began increasing until factories began enforcing safety regulations and procedures meant to prevent similar events like this from happening.

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Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Memorial, Inc.

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The Factory

In 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was the largest shirtwaist manufacturer in New York City, and possibly in the country. The factory thrived on the cheap labor of immigrants flocking to New York City from Europe. In many cases these immigrants fled oppressive nations, carrying with them their tailoring skills which they passed down to the younger generations of their families. These immigrants were exploited and forced to work long hours with little pay in the textile factories in New York City. According to one survey taken in the 1890's the average workweek in textile shops was eighty-four hours, twelve hours for every day of the week.

Entrepreneurs Max Blanck and Issac Harris who also happened to be in-laws, watched as the booming textile industry made its mark on New York City. They knew that there was money to be made so they embarked upon a plan to open the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The shirtwaist or ladies blouse was one of America's first fashion trends to transcend the class divide. "The waist-and-skirt combination both symbolized and enabled a wave of women's liberation." The shirtwaist was appropriate for working in a factory or attending temperance or ladies auxiliary meeting, a versatility which was a hot commodity in a time when women's clothing was layered and bulky.

In 1900 Blanck and Harris named their business the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, moving into an ideal location just a year later, a building named for the developer Joseph Asch. The owners leased the ninth floor of the building which was a little more than nine thousand square feet. They outfitted the space with machines and set to manufacturing their products. By 1909, the business leased the eighth and tenth floors of the Ashe building, employing hundreds of workers. As the factory expanded, Blanck and Harris felt vulnerable to union organizers who felt that the workers were treated poorly. The owners felt that the best defense against union infiltration was to lock the workers in. This proved to be a devastating decision when the fire broke out in 1911.

The Fire

As eyewitness to the horrific ordeal William G. Shepherd, explained "I learned a new sound-a more horrible sound than description can picture. It was the thud of a speeding, living body on a stone sidewalk. Thud-dead, thud-dead, thud-dead, thud-dead. Sixty-two thud-deads. I call them that, because the sound and the thought of death came to me each time, at the same instant. There was plenty of chance to watch them as they came down. The height was eighty feet."

This tragedy is noted as the worst factory fire in the history of New York City. It occurred on March 25th, 1911 in the Asch building located at the northwest corner of Washington and Greene streets, where the Triangle Shirtwaist Company occupied the top three of ten floors. The company employed five hundred, mostly Italian and Jewish immigrants between the ages of thirteen and twenty-three. In an effort to keep the workers at their sewing machines and to keep out union organizers, the proprietors had locked the doors leading to the exits.

The fire began shortly after 4:30 p.m. in the cutting room on the eighth floor, and fed by thousands of pounds of fabric, it spread rapidly. Panicked workers rushed to the stairs, the freight elevator, and the fire escape in an effort to evacuate. Most on the eighth and tenth floors escaped, however, dozens trapped on the ninth floor died, unable to force open the locked door that would have led to their escape. The rear fire escape had collapsed killing many and eliminating an escape route for others still trapped. Some tried to slide down elevator cables but lost their grip while others jumped to their death from open windows. Pump Engine Company 20 and Ladder Company 20 arrived quickly but were hindered by the bodies of victims who had jumped. Witnesses thought the owners were tossing their best fabric out the windows to save it, then realized workers were jumping, sometimes after sharing a kiss. The ladders of Company 20 extended only to the sixth floor, and life nets broke when workers jumped in groups of three and four. Additional companies were summoned by four more alarms transmitted in rapid succession. "Onlookers by the hundreds hurried toward the action the fastest among them in time to see tangles of bodies some trailing flames, tumbling from the ninth-floor windows of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company."

A total of 146 workers died in less than fifteen minutes. Although there was widespread revulsion and rage over the working conditions that had contributed to the fire, many defended the right of shop owners to resist government safety regulation, and some in government insisted that they were at any rate powerless to impose it. 1The owners of the company were charged with manslaughter and later acquitted. In 1914, the owners were ordered to pay damages in the amount of $75 to each of the families of twenty-three victims who had sued. The Factory Investigating Commission of 1911 gathered testimony, and later that year the city established the Bureau of Fire Investigation under the direction of Robert F. Wagner, which gave the fire department additional powers to improve factory safety. The event crystallized support for efforts to organize workers in the garment district and in particular for the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. It remains one of the most vivid symbols for the American labor movement and a constant reminder that government must ensure a safe workplace.

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Triangle History - Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Memorial, Inc.

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The Factory In 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was the largest shirtwaist manufacturer in New York City, and possibly in the country. The factory thrived on the cheap labor of immigrants flocking to New York City from Europe. In many cases these immigrants fled oppressive nations, carrying with them their tailoring skills which they passed ...

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Huerta organizes marchers in Coachella, Calif., in 1969

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Dolores Hverta (1930 - Present) & Cesar Chavez (1927 - 1993)

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Dolores Hverta (1930 - Present) & Cesar Chavez (1927 - 1993)

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Dolores Hverta was an American born latino woman.  At the age of 3 she was already listening to politics as she remembers her father talking about the mining labor union.  She began to adopt her mothers kind and caring characteristics and used those characteristics for civil rights movements.  She grew up in a farm town consistently seeing her classmates come to school without clean clothes, without being properly fed, without having shoes and so much more.  Because of her hispanic descent, her High School was racist towards her.  According to Huerta she received a low grade for copying someone else simply because of her race.

After gaining her provisional teaching credential she began to begin her lifelong hispanic/farmer's rights movement.  In 1962 Dolores along with Cesar Chavez another very important civil rights activist created the National Farm Workers Association which was made to give the farmers their rights.  The rights were in a response to the horrible working conditions that farmers had to go through.  Both Cesar and Dolores have experienced the gruesome working hours of work.  Farmers had little to no rights, VERY LOW WAGES, they slept on the floor, used boxes as furniture.  Most kids had no education as they were forced to work at an early age.  Most farmers had to migrate to places  where crops were growing in order to get the most amount of revenue possible.

Although Huerta's marches are harmless such as the one shown above, she has been arrested 21 times once again showing how racist the US law  is.  In this situation Huerta is portrayed as a boss to all the people telling them to riot against the economic issues meanwhile she is actually just peacefully protesting those laws.  She was also severely beaten by a police officer in San Francisco during another peaceful protest.  Rather than being harmed by this, she used this as evidence to fight even harder for farm worker's rights.

Towards the 2000s she began to work on Women's rights movements.  Her practices increased the amount of Women representation inside the local, state, and federal levels.

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Japanese Concentration Camps (1942 - 1946)

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Japanese Concentration Camps (1942 - 1946)

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After the bombing of Pearl harbor the U.S. told every American with Japanese descent to move to internment camps in order to be monitored.  Although they had done virtually nothing, the white leaders of the US government thought all Japanese people could not be trusted.  The Japanese people were treated poorly and misjudged by society.

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Nikki's interview gives her audience a glimpse of how fast her life changed in a span of one day. She goes into detail about everything she had to witness as a child. Where her father was arrested and she was taken away from her family.

Many emotions began arising as she did not know what these people would do to her. The conditions were filthy, and the summer heat had taken its toll on most of the people. Even with so many people of her kind there, Nikki couldn't help but feel lonely and lost.

To this day, most of the people who survived had to live their lives suffering from PSTD. This reveals how all the awful memories inflicted upon Nikki and her people can not be easily forgotten. Her experience is something rather difficult to get past. Especially since there was no particular person she could reach out to for help. It is hard to understand why she is the person she is today unless we were forced to go through the same thing she once had to. Speaking on this kind of topic is very nerve-wracking for most people. So the fact that she is able to speak out about her situation goes to show how much she has grown.

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New Mexico In Focus, a Production of NMPBS

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Japanese American Internment Camp Survivor

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After WWII, Russia and America came out of the war as the world's strongest nations. Both sides had minor casualties and losses due to the war. However, with Russia's power, they tried to spread their idea of communism across the world, which America saw as an evil spreading. Their goal was to eliminate the economic conditions in which communism could thrive.

Since the Cold War was not necessarily physical, information was a valuable resource. Russia began sending Russian spies to gather anything that could potentially be used as a threat. Citizens became scared of their surroundings and neighbors, many started reporting one another if they appeared suspicious. All Russians in the US were accused of being spies. Families turned against each other, ratting each other out in hopes they would not get caught or serve their life in prison. This time resulted in the execution of many innocent people.

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Communism a system derived from Karl Marx in which people are essentially treated the same way.  Social classes are almost completely removed as everyone gets paid based on their skills and what they do.  This completely contrasts to the American system of capitalism where the people are split up into different classes due to their paychecks.  The American people were severly against communism as they all thought that it would bring the end to their nation as shown in the image above.  Because they were so against communist the Americans specifically targetted and silenced all forms of communism inside the United states.  The American people interpreted everything entering the country as communism and then treated them differently.  This made a very hostile environment inside America as each person was judged based on where they were from.

https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/polish-russian/soviet-exiles/
According to the text shown above any russian who moved into the US during the 1950s and 1970s was considered a non-person. Not only were the russians neglected in society, but the Soviet Union completely neglected all the people and basically removed from history. Inside of Russia no one was allowed to speak to them. Their families were not allowed to speak to the American russians and were not allowed to say their names as it is illegal. The russian-americans have absolutely no rights in both America and the USSR and are just left there to be targetted and silenced.

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The September terrorist attack was a massive terrorist attack carried out and formed by the Al-Qaeda.  Prior to the terrorist attacks airport security was minimal.  They barely checked luggage and suitcases and basically only used metal detectors.  After 9/11 the security increased drastically, more metal detectors, more bag checks, luggage checks.  Not only did the amount of checking increased but checking by race also increased.  Muslim people in specific were checked more and were constantly watched in public.  They were hated more even though most Muslim people did nothing.  According to a FBI Anti-Muslimism crime chart after 9/11 the amount of anti-Muslimism hate crimes increased by 500 in just 2001 alone.  After 9/11 the Americans hated Muslims more by a considerable amount.

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N.J. Burkett reporting as Twin Towers begin to collapse on September 11, 2001

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US representative Ilhan Omar, D-Minn a muslim woman reflected on the racism caused by 9/11.  Mosques which were religious buildings made for the Muslim people to pray were relentlessly attacked and burned down for no reason other than the American's racial intentions.  Ilhan pointed out that Muslim firefighters/workers also lost their lives on that day showing that everyone was equal in the attack.  Every community lost people as a whole and was affected from the situation negatively.  Although the communites were all affected the Muslims were specifically targetted and hated by society.  Hate crimes against Muslims rose 1617% from 2000 to 2001. Immediately after the terrorism the people associated the islamic religion with hate crime and harrased everyone who was islamic. This idea completely contradicted what the religion actually represents which is peace and life. Islamophobia goes as far to affecting the government and all politics. Candidates to the 2008 presidential election tried to say that Obama was islamic/muslim in order to make the American population who were islamophobic to vote against him

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20 years after 9/11, Islamophobia continues to haunt Muslims

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Even as the country moved further from the 9/1 attacks, Islamophobia in the U.S. persisted.

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The border between Mexico and America is a huge talking point in American politics.  The reason for this is the admission of Mexican people into the United states.  There is a common stereotype of latino people near that border which depicts them all as gang members.  This misconception is most likely made because of the massive drug dealers that come from Mexico such as El Chapo who has a bad reputation inside of the US.  Unfortunately, most Americans don't understand that not everyone coming from Central America is a villain.  This is the reason why the wall was built, to remove the controversy and not allow any more Mexican immigrants to come in and trouble the US.

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MEXICO CITY, May 3 (Reuters) - Mexican authorities have cleared a makeshift encampment of migrants in the northern border city of Reynosa that had grown over the past year to hold some 2,000 people, Mexico's migration institute (INM) said on Tuesday.

Many of the migrants, who are mainly from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Haiti, were taken to a nearby shelter, INM said in a statement.

The Reynosa camp formed in March 2021 in a public plaza right across the U.S. border from McAllen, Texas. Many of the people camping in tents or under tarps say they fled violence or persecution in their home countries.

Images released by INM showed migrants walking in a long line away from the camp on Monday night, toting suitcases, backpacks and other belongings. INM said the people left close to 11 p.m. under the watch of local police and the National Guard, a militarized police.

The Reynosa camp had concerned migrant advocates due to its location in one of Mexico's most dangerous border cities. In February, Mexican authorities also cleared out a major migrant camp in the border city of Tijuana where activists had criticized the conditions. read more

Such camps grew during the coronavirus pandemic after former U.S. President Donald Trump's administration implemented a health order turning away asylum seekers and other migrants at the border.

President Joe Biden's administration said in March it would end the measure by May 23, and formally announced the decision in April. Shortly after, a U.S. judge temporarily stopped authorities from proceeding. read more

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas discussed the U.S. strategy to prepare for the end of the policy with Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard in a meeting in Washington on Tuesday, his office said.

Ebrard later said he still needed to see the full plan, and warned that the end of Title 42 could spur more migration through Mexico. read more

The two also spoke about ways for the United States and Mexico to help regional efforts to manage borders and send back migrants who do not qualify for humanitarian relief, DHS said.

Christa Cook, a founder of U.S. aid group Solidarity Engineering that provided potable water and toiletries for camp residents, said only 400 people still remained at the Reynosa camp as of Monday night, including about 150 children.

Many of the migrants, including families with young children, had spent months living at the camp, which had grown to cover the entire plaza. read more

Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Jacqueline Wong

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Mexican officials clear out migrant camp at Texas border

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MEXICO CITY, May 3 (Reuters) - Mexican authorities have cleared a makeshift encampment of migrants in the northern border city of Reynosa that had grown over the past year to hold some 2,000 people, Mexico's migration institute (INM) said on Tuesday.

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Migrant families share their experiences at the U.S.-Mexico border | USA TODAY

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Asian Hate Crimes gradually increased as America went into a pandemic. The virus was primarily well contained in China, however it ended up spreading worldwide. American citizens as an effect ended up making various assumptions regarding the whole incident.

Inappropriate comments, mainly about eating local/irregular animals, circulated around the internet. Rumors erupted like wildfire, claiming that Covid-19 was caused by the Chinese eating bats.

Many people targeted old/young Asians as they are incapable of defending themselves. This alarmed Asian families, who urged them to keep their children at home and many others refused to go out for fear of losing their lives.

These events demonstrated how gullible American citizens actually are and how the present is no different to the past. Other communities continue to be harassed by America, preventing them from feeling safe like a white individual can.

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Warning: This article contains mentions of a person who was severely burned after being set on fire.

Police are searching for a suspect accused of setting an elderly man on fire in Honolulu's Chinatown on Tuesday morning.

The attack, which was captured by a surveillance camera, at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza in the 100 block of N. Beretania Street at around 8 a.m.

Honolulu police are searching for a suspect who allegedly set an elderly man on fire in Chinatown on Tuesday morning. The horrific attack happened about 8 a.m. and left the victim seriously injured. #HNN pic.twitter.com/PVfUD7Ddrt

- Hawaii News Now (@HawaiiNewsNow) April 13, 2022

Surveillance footage of the incident shows the suspect trailing the 79-year-old victim before using what appears to be a lighter to set his shirt ablaze.

A bystander reportedly appeared and helped extinguish the flames . Honolulu firefighters and Emergency Medical Services arrived at the scene afterward.

Image: Chinatown Cultural Plaza

The victim reportedly suffered first- and second-degree burns to his back and neck. He was taken to the hospital for treatment.

According to reports, the suspect is homeless and fled the scene on foot. He wore a T-shirt, jeans and a blue beanie. The authorities have stated that he remains at large, and the incident is being investigated as a first-degree assault.

Anyone with information about the suspect is urged to contact Crime Stoppers Honolulu at (808) 955-8300.

Feature Image via Chinatown Cultural Plaza
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Elderly man, 79, set on fire in Honolulu Chinatown

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Police are searching for a suspect accused of setting an elderly man on fire in Honolulu's Chinatown on Tuesday morning. The attack, which was captured by a surveillance camera, occurred at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza in the 100 block of N. Beretania Street at around 8 a.m.

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Rise in AAPI hate crimes has many Asian Americans feeling under attack

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In the current year, 2022 the amount of shootings has increased drastically.  In the United States the 2nd amendment provides each US citizen the right to bear arms.  Due to this amendment almost any citizen can purchase a firearm without any repercussions.  For example, Payton Gendron, the person charged for the Buffalo shooting was able to purchase an AR15 rifle at the age of 18.  He used his firearm to shoot 13 people.  11 out of those 13 people were black showing the shooting was racially motivated.

Other examples of current day racial terrorism was seen in the massive killing of George Floyd.