日志
1887年的仇恨犯罪：火烧San Jose’s Chinatown
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San Jose Mercury News,
Dear Editor:
The historical citations in the 3/21 editorial on anti-Asian violence and demonization are well-taken, although the Chinese Exclusion Act was 1882, not 1872. The burning of San Jose’s Chinatown May 4, 1887 must be on the list of hate crimes. The Market Street Chinatown was home base to my grandfather who came to America as a 11-year old laborer, one year before the Exclusion Act. Whenever he left the boundaries of Chinatown for work, he’d run the gauntlet of hoodlums throwing rocks at him. After the fire Chinese were homeless but would not be driven out, and land for a new Chinatown was leased to them by John Heinlen. This site is part of Japantown today, where patrols are organized to thwart anti-Asian violence. We cannot ignore bigotry in any form. It is all dangerous. Vigilance is necessary in every community, so we can end racist hate in America in the 21st Century.
Connie Young Yu
Dear Editor:
The historical citations in the 3/21 editorial on anti-Asian violence and demonization are well-taken, although the Chinese Exclusion Act was 1882, not 1872. The burning of San Jose’s Chinatown May 4, 1887 must be on the list of hate crimes. The Market Street Chinatown was home base to my grandfather who came to America as a 11-year old laborer, one year before the Exclusion Act. Whenever he left the boundaries of Chinatown for work, he’d run the gauntlet of hoodlums throwing rocks at him. After the fire Chinese were homeless but would not be driven out, and land for a new Chinatown was leased to them by John Heinlen. This site is part of Japantown today, where patrols are organized to thwart anti-Asian violence. We cannot ignore bigotry in any form. It is all dangerous. Vigilance is necessary in every community, so we can end racist hate in America in the 21st Century.
Connie Young Yu
