If you saw yesterday’s post highlighting KQED’s Forum discussion with authors Tyche Hendricks and Peter Schrag and listened to the insightful interview, you heard a lot about immigration in the US, both today and throughout our nation’s history.
Considering the refrain so often heard of the US as a nation of immigrants, it may be surprising to have our complicated, sometimes unbecoming, immigration issues laid out in front of us in sum. As we gear up for the barbecues, beer, fireworks, and festivities of Independence Day celebrations, we may take a moment to consider the struggles that many immigrants to the US have endured.
These struggles are not lost on Jean Pfaelzer, whose book Driven Out: The Forgotten War against Chinese Americans exposes a shocking story of extreme hostility toward Chinese Americans and how the Chinese fought for, and gained, their civil rights. Pfaelzer, who was honored by Chinese American Heroes in 2009, gives us a previously untold history that gets to the heart of what our nation stands for.
Join Jean Pfaelzer at 11:30 AM this Saturday, July 3, at the Angel Island Immigration Center for her talk, “Before Angel Island: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans“.
