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Chinese had their own category before 1980, "Chinese." It is erroneous of you to say that Chinese fought to be white
They literally did...
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.... United States v. Wong Kim Ark in 1898 confirmed citizenship by birth in the US regardless of race. As a result, in the early 20th century many new arrivals with origins in the Far East petitioned the courts to be legally classified as white, resulting in the existence of many United States Supreme Court rulings on their "whiteness".
In Jim Crow era Mississippi, however, Chinese American children were allowed to attend white-only schools and universities, rather than attend black-only schools, and some of their parents became members of the infamous Mississippi "White Citizens' Council" who enforced policies of racial segregation.[38][39][40]
In the Jim crow era, they were saying that they were white. And they were fully complicit with Anglo-Americans. In Mississippi, they were Klan-robe white - even joined the white citizens council.
Then in the 70s, they up and decided that they wanted to be "PeOple of ColOr", and started to feign solidarity with black people.
In the Jim crow era, they were saying that they were white. And they were fully complicit with Anglo-Americans. In Mississippi, they were Klan-robe white - even joined the white citizens council.
Then in the 70s, they up and decided that they wanted to be "PeOple of ColOr", and started to feign solidarity with black people.
The first part of your history about Southern Chinese is disturbing. I did not know that.
I will say however that those people were such a tiny part of the overall population they should be considered a historical curiosity.
I do disagree with you heavily about the conclusion that "in the 70s Asians decided to be People of color and started to feign solidarity with black people." Asians have been mistreated by Whites since the days of the railroad construction in the 1860s. There is no dispute about that as the historical legacy and record is very strong. There have been many Asian civil rights advocates in the 1960s-1970s period who supported black people. You seem to think that we are johnny come lately carpetbaggers.
Prior to the 1960s, Americans of Asian descent found themselves living and experiencing under the specter of the Yellow Peril in the United States for over a century. Asian immigrants were largely divided in America, before the 60's there was very little solidarity between the various Asian immigrant communities. These disparate groups dealt largely with issues concerning their own ethnic communities and conclaves focusing the majority of their efforts on survival in their exclusionary environment. That does NOT equate to jumping against Black people. Frankly this line of discussion is ridiculous and is indicative of how strong the biracial, binary dynamic of only Black-White relations in the USA is. This is supposed to be a thread about Asian Americans and it is turning into a Black grievance thread.
Saying you want to be part of all society and have equal opportunities in school , work, or politics is not trying to call yourself 'White'.
The Chinese were literally saying that they were white, and were members of white supremacist groups in the South that fought against integration. That's white.
People who grew up during segregation are still living today. There are city-data members who remember this.
Listerner2307 is a poster who grew up in Alabama and actually regarded Chinese people and various other ethnic groups as "white".
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Originally Posted by Listener2307
There was one bathroom for everyone who was colored.
There were no other races recognized; you were either Black or White. My Chinese sister was regarded as White, and there was a Tahitian girl who was also regarded as White.
It was real. They were considered white. "Colored" meant black people only. Nobody else was colored. None of these other minority groups existed. They were all white.
In the Jim crow era, they were saying that they were white. And they were fully complicit with Anglo-Americans. In Mississippi, they were Klan-robe white - even joined the white citizens council.
Then in the 70s, they up and decided that they wanted to be "PeOple of ColOr", and started to feign solidarity with black people.
sigh..
I really am not interested in starting an argument with you, you did make several interesting and valid points. But there is a reason why many Asian-Americans are done downplaying their Asian-American experiences.
First thing first,
Japanese axis women have been considered honorary Aryan by Hitler's Germany, the prevalent eplantion as to why the status of "honorary Aryan" was bestowed by the Nazis upon other non-Nordic - or even less exclusively non indo iranianEuropean people is that the services of those people were deemed valuable to the German economy or war effort. (keywords: valuable to the German economy or war effort)
In the United States, the Asian population in the South was very small during Jim Crow. And these populations would often by given honorary white status, with families listed as white on various federal and state records, and the children attending white schools. All these are true.
This doesn't change the fact that it is still pretty absurd to even imply that Asians and Hispanics were regarded as being white in Jim Crow America. California was also rabidly anti asian with discriminatory laws being enacted against the Chinese as soon as they started settling on the American west coast in large numbers.
If you have the time and the resources, do even more intense research. Read old newspaper clippings, Study land deeds, Talk to Asian Americans whose families have been in this country for generations. Listen to those old family stories about what their ancestors experienced personally.
The problem is you are approaching this from a US centric bi-racial (ONLY Black and White perspective).
We are in the United States. Why would we be talking about concepts of race elsewhere in the world when the discussion is about American identity politics? That's irrelevant.
In America, people used to be black or white. That's the historical reality. All these other 'people of color' are new concepts that were politically fabricated in the 70s/80s.
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In the context of the time the Southern Chinese may have gone to segregated white schools but that population is such a tiny part that they are statistically negligible.
How do you think they got into white schools - when racial minorities were barred? Do you understand that you had to be white to go to white schools in the South?
We are in the United States. Why would we be talking about concepts of race elsewhere in the world when the discussion is about American identity politics? That's irrelevant.
In America, people used to be black or white. That's the historical reality. All these other 'people of color' are new concepts that were politically fabricated in the 70s/80s.
How do you think they got into white schools - when racial minorities were barred? Do you understand that you had to be white to go to white schools in the South?
.. and your point is what exactly?
Other minority groups should just shut up about their experiences because once upon a time, their children were allowed to go to all white school?
Ohh my god. Here comes the "they were just white on paper" argument.
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Originally Posted by lilyflower3191981
In the United States, the Asian population in the South was very small during Jim Crow. And these populations would often by given honorary white status, with families listed as white on various federal and state records, and the children attending white schools. All these are true.
This doesn't change the fact that it is still pretty absurd to even imply that Asians and Hispanics were regarded as being white in Jim Crow America.
They were regarded as white in real life. The generation of Texans that remembers when Mexicans were white is still alive and well. They're not even that old! In the 60s, Mexicans were white. There was no such thing as a "hispanic".
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Listen to those old family stories about what their ancestors experienced personally.
I was raised by people who grew up during segregation! They are still living. THEY WERE WHITE. It wasn't just on paper.
People who grew up in the 40s/50s/60s really considered them white.
Ohh my god. Here comes the "they were just white on paper" argument.
They were regarded as white in real life. The generation of Texans that remembers when Mexicans were white is still alive and well. There not even that old! In the 60s, Mexicans were white There was no such thing as a "hispanic".
I was raised by people who grew up during segregation! They are still living. THEY WERE WHITE. It wasn't just on paper.
People who grew up in the 40s/50s/60s really considered them white.
My best friend is half Asian and half white and grew up in a small southern segregated community. I don't think he was considered "white" as he did experience discrimination but he did go to the white school. To me he's culturally more southern white than Asian but he has tried to grasp more of the Asian culture as he has aged and visited Japan.
Other minority groups should just shut up about their experiences because once upon a time, their children were allowed to go to all white school?
Yes! They were literally screaming that they were white. They benefitted from white privilege when white privilege was the law.
None of you were even considered to be minorities at all before the 80s. What do you know about being a minority?
Black people used to be the only minority group in Texas. They had make up the notion of a "HiSpaNic" minority group. Totally fake bull****.
You are not a "person of color". You all need to sit down.
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