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U.S. Congress Passes Chinese Exclusion Act

Back in the day on May 6th, 1882, the United States Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. The first immigration legislation to explicitly ban immigration on the basis of race and nationality was signed into law two days later by President Chester A. Arthur. Chinese immigrants came to the states after the gold rush gripped California. By the 1870’s, however, resentment against the population grew as politicians, labor leaders, and racist organizations assailed their presence alike blaming them for a myriad of social problems including depressed wages. In response to the rising xenophobia, the act banned skilled and semi-skilled Chinese miners from entering the country. Immigrants from China who already resided in the U.S. were barred from citizenship status and kept as permanent aliens. Leaving and re-entering the country became more difficult and required certification. The exclusion act effectively stemmed Chinese immigration to the U.S. until it was repealed in 1943.

At the time of its passage, Republican Senator George Frisbie Hoar denounced it as “nothing less than the legalization of racial discrimination.” Sound familiar?

For Uprising, this is your truth professa’ saying it’s no mystery why they conceal our people’s history!