This page was created by Joan Lee. The last update was by Curtis Fletcher.
Racism
Definition of Racism
The Oxford dictionary defines racism as “prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.” We found that throughout 1871-1930, there were different components of racism displayed in Los Angeles and specifically, Chinatown.Racism in Business
The Chinese were fairly successful in the agriculture industry, such as with citrus and seafood, and they were desirable employees who worked hard for cheap. By 1870, the Chinese in California exported $1,000,000 worth of abalone annually and by 1880, $3,000,000 worth of dried shrimp. A Los Angeles Times article on August 14, 1983 noted that “white men and women who desire to earn a living here for some time have been entering quiet protests against vineyardists and packers employing Chinese in preference to whites.”The Chinese then clashed with white laborers who were losing opportunities. In response, authorities levied special taxes and restrictive measures, such as to regulate the size of small-mesh shrimp nets so they would be less profitable. The white majority public grew increasingly frustrated as their economic power positions were increasingly challenged, which resulted in anti-Chinese views from pro-labor media.
Racism in Media
One of the key factors that fueled hateful sentiment towards the Chinese was a pro-labor paper called the Los Angeles News. Journalists covered Chinatown in a negative light, such as the New York Times calling the inhabitants the “dregs of society.” However, none were as consistent or hateful as the Los Angeles News. This paper launched daily editions of “vitriolic” editorials against Chinese immigration in January 1869. They would represent the Chinese as “an alien, an inferior, and idolatrous race” and as “a curse to the country” and a “foul blot upon civilization.” Even after the 1871 massacre, it kept with its agenda. When the Chinese had visited the burial sites of lynching victims, they had left refuse from firecrackers, which the Los Angeles News reported will “intrude upon the graves of the whites.” The editor noted that “desecrating the resting place of our dead, for the sake of complying with the heathenish custom of a barbarous race, ought not to be tolerated.” The media shaped readers’ perspectives with anti-Chinese rhetoric with these kinds of hateful statements.Racism in Policy
Oppressive behavior towards the Chinese would have been more difficult if it wasn’t for government facilitation. From 1870-1930, time after time, anti-Chinese policies were implemented. This cultivated a general atmosphere that made it acceptable to commit immoral acts, such as white-hegemonic gentrification of Chinese residences or the lack of court accountability for perpetrators of violence.1863: statute prohibited any Chinese from giving evidence in court either in favor or against any white person
1868: forbade Chinese nationals from natural American citizenship to protect ability of European immigrants to obtain permanent residence
1882: Chinese Exclusion Act preventing Chinese laborers from immigrating to the US
1917: Asiatic Barred Zone Act that barred immigration from Asia-Pacific countries
1924: Immigration Act designed to specifically exclude Japanese but excluded all Asians except Filipinos
The 1871 Massacre
One of the best examples of racism during this period is the 1871 Massacre in the Chinatown in Los Angeles, arguably the worst atrocity committed in Southern California history. On October 24, 1871, a mob of hundreds of Angelenos armed with pistols, knives, and ropes descended on Chinatown after Robert Thomson, an Anglo in the company of local police, was killed from a crossfire between two fighting Chinese societies. This area of the city around Calle de los Negros was known for violence, with frequent murders occurring. After the massacre, the San Francisco bulletin reported that:“Trembling, moaning, wounded Chinese were halted from their hiding places; ropes quickly encircled their necks; they were dragged to the nearest improvised gallows. A large wagon close by had four victims hanging from its sides… three others dangled from an awning… five more were taken to the gateway and lynched… Looting every nook, corner, chest, trunk, and drawer in Chinatown, the mob even robbed the victims it executed… $7,000 was extracted from a box in a Chinese store.”
In the end, nineteen Chinese were lynched and $40,000 in cash was stolen. In fact, one of the leading members of the City Council participated in the slaughter, showing that authorities were also behind it. Justice was not served, as expected. The result of a grand-jury investigation was that 150 men were indicted for murderous assault, but only six were sentenced and were soon released.