Tried With Fire

Water Tossing Boulders: How a Family of Chinese Immigrants Led the First Fight to Desegregate Schools in the Jim Crow South, Adrienne Berard, Beacon Press, 2016. Water Tossing Boulders is the true story of the Lum family's fight to have their children admitted to the whites-only public school in Rosedale, Mississippi. This unfolded in 1924-1927 during the years of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act , Jim Crow laws, and the 1924 Johnson-Reed Act . Jeu Gong and Katherine Lum were immigrants and part of the wave of Chinese laborers that came to this country to supply the loss of slave labor after the end of the Civil War. A large number of these laborers were denied entry or reentry with the Chinese Exclusion Act, the only law to-date that prohibited people from entering the US based on national origin. Laws were also stricter regarding the Chinese already here, but the Lums were able to settle in the deep South and open a small grocery store. The children, who were Americans by ...

When I started delving into the history of Asian American immigration, I uncovered stories and facts that I was never taught in school. One of those facts was the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act , a racist government policy that troubles me. It has left me skeptical about the rosy picture of the past that was painted for me through school texts and biographies. Thus I've been reading more history in search of the truth. Now I've learned something else. Water Tossing Boulders is the story of the Lum family, a Chinese Mississippi Delta family who challenged the state's school segregation laws when their daughters were forbidden to attend the whites-only public school. Their case went to the Supreme Court in 1927 , 25 years before Brown v. Board of Education , a landmark case worth reading about . Yet the Lum's story was omitted from history books. When asked the reason why, a descendent said, "Because we lost" to a unanimous 9-0 vote. What would it have been ...

There's a beautiful and poignant post over at Fathom Mag by Tasha Burgoyne. Almond Eyes is a letter from a mother to her daughter telling her that she is made in the image of God no matter how people treat her. This article is even more meaningful because of a prior post  where her child, still young enough to be riding in a stroller, was the subject of racial remarks. In some ways, this country has come so far, and in other ways, it's as though nothing has changed. When Tasha writes  about "people who might pull back the corners of their eyes and laugh at you on the playground," 40+-year-old memories came to mind. I still remember the faces of the kids who thought it was hilarious to mock the only Asian in the school. I remember some of their names. Not because I've been holding a grudge all these years, but the whole "sticks and stones" is wishful thinking. Words leave scars that take a long time to heal especially when they have undermined your se...

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. George Santayana The following is the trailer for a PBS documentary on the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act . I don't remember learning about this in American history. Do you? I'd have a hard time forgetting because if I had lived back then, I would have been excluded. The Chinese were a source of cheap labor during the California gold rush and the building of the transcontinental railroad. But when economic times got tough, they were accused of taking work from "real" Americans. They were considered unassimilable and inferior by their very nature thus unfit to become citizens. In 1882, the federal government banned any Chinese from entering the country and denied citizenship, which led to an eventual ban on all Asian immigration until 1943. Even with repeal of the exclusion act, only 105 Chinese per year were allowed to immigrate until 1965. This is the first law to single out a specific ethnic group for ex...

When the present world has changed in ways we don't like, it's easy to get nostalgic for "the good old days." It's also easy to appropriate our parents and grandparents nostalgia too. If only we could go back to the day when men were men and women were women. If only we could go back to the time where "traditional family values" were the norm. If only we could go back to when our country was made up of people like us and not overrun by "foreigners." If only, if only. But what was it like in reality beyond the sepia photographs and romanticized accounts? I would argue, that the good old days were only good if you were in the privileged class. If you go back before the 2nd wave of feminism, this was prior to the 1965 Immigration Act. It would have been extremely difficult and perhaps impossible for members of my family to immigrate and become American citizens. I can't speak for my African American brothers and sisters, but have you ever as...

I've begun reading about the closing of Prince Edward County schools from 1959-1964. It's been eye-opening to say the least, given my ignorance about America's civil rights history. It's also a window into the blindness of the sin of racism. But this story is also about the power of education and the power to withhold it. Education can be used as a means of advancement and a weapon against ignorance, but what happens when it is deliberately withheld? Is this a form of oppression? When I read Karen Swallow Prior's bio of the English reformer, Hannah More, she fought for the education of the poor, but it was limited. They were only taught to read, not write. Boundaries of class needed to be preserved. Withholding or even giving a limited education achieved that end. Fast forward to 1950's Virginia. In 1951, black high school students in Farmville went on strike to protest the terrible conditions of their schools. The Commonwealth was already ranked 45 out ...

When I read Hidden Figures , it was eye-opening in more ways than one. In addition to the story of the three main characters, I received a brief lesson in civil rights history. During World War II, Virginia was in the bottom 25% of teacher's salaries. Black teachers earned half that amount. 1  Even though Supreme Court ruled in 1936 against racial discrimination in graduate admissions, the Commonwealth still found a way to maintain segregation. A voucher program was created to subsidize graduate tuition for black students in any state  but  Virginia. This program was in place until 1950. 2  These facts were asides within the larger narrative, but they still shocked me. As a child of immigrants, I know the value and power of education. It enabled my family to make a fresh start in a foreign land that is now our home. I've never been denied access to education because of my ethnicity or gender. But I've been sheltered in that regard. There are places in the wo...

This has been a time of raising my own awareness. You would have to be living under a rock to not realize that America is becoming an increasingly divided nation over the issues of race, class, and immigration. Reading Divided by Race , at the recommendation of an African American brother, was eye-opening. Here you have professing believers who have almost opposite assessments of racial issues within the American church. Why do we think so differently? What produced these two wide trajectories? Then came the racial incident involving Michael Luo, deputy metro editor of The New York Times. Now it was much closer to home because, after hearing his story and many others that poured forth, these were my people. Their stories are very much like mine. So to gain more understanding, I began to read and listen. The first book was The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee. This was a fascinating book and quite a feat given its scope. I had no idea that Asian immigrants first came to Cen...

This land is your land, this land is my land From the California to the New York Island From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf stream waters This land was made for you and me I grew up singing this song by Woody Guthrie. The fact that my dad, a naturalized citizen, could teach this to his students (he was a  music teacher) was a testimony to the great American melting pot. I took it for granted that I was an American by birth and that this was my land. But it wasn't always this way. If you don't dig into history, you can believe the myth that the United States opened her arms wide to receive immigrants from all nations and from all backgrounds. In reality, we have a history marked by xenophobia. When I listened/read about the events that led up to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 , I was shocked. This was my country , but my people were persecuted, driven from their homes, and even killed based on race. I am not placing blame on anyone today. Those responsible are ...

I didn't bother following the election returns on social media last night and fully expected to wake up to a Clinton presidency. I am stunned. I voted for an independent candidate rather than casting an anti-vote, so I'm not quite sure how to process my feelings. However, I will say this: America has become even more polarized in the last 8 years, and I fear it is will continue to head in that trajectory. This election has also amplified the fact that American "Christianity" sees itself as political force. Hence all the big names making sure we knew how to vote if we were to be "good evangelicals." Unjust laws should be changed but laws can't change people's hearts. If we put all our eggs in a political/high court basket, we will be sadly disappointed. Things will only change when the church begins to address issues like race, misogyny, poverty, and the sanctity for all life down at the local level. Absolutely preach the gospel, but the gospel app...

A few years ago, I read a novel based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice . In this case, it was told from a housemaid's point of view. There were a few storylines that were over the top in my opinion, but my main objection was that this book burst my bubble. I didn't want to know about how hard a servant's life was in the Regency Era. I didn't want to think about lack of plumbing or chamber pots. I preferred to imagine Austen's works through the lens of modern film adaptations with their beautiful costumes, dancing, witty dialogue, and actors with historically inaccurate perfect teeth. But history is not as nice and tidy as a novel or a film. Sometimes it is easier to edit my intake because I don't want to face the toll sin has taken on mankind since the fall.  Being a self-revisionist may shelter my sensibilities, but nostalgia, no matter how pretty, is no substitute for the truth. As George Santayana said, "Those who cannot learn from history are...

Michael Luo, deputy metro editor for the New York Times, was yelled at by a woman on the street and told to "Go back to China!" This is 2016. This happened in a major city with a very large Asian American population. Here is Michael Luo's  open letter to the woman, which was on the front page of the New York Times. In addition, this is an article with some of the many responses to the open letter and a video of several responders. (Warning: The video contains vulgar language and racial slurs. The language is from the comments made to Asian Americans.) I won't deny that this hit me hard. I have my own set of stories to tell from childhood and adulthood of being mocked and made to feel ashamed of my ethnicity. Some remarks were subtle and patronizing. Others were not. I also remember what I said and did to make the point that I was as much an American as the next person. In some instances I tried to fit in as much as possible which meant acting like the predominan...

You had to be living under a rock to not know about the tragic killings in Charleston last week. You had to be made of rock to not be repulsed by this evil act and not be moved by the response of the grieving family. That a young white man presumably targeted African Americans has raised the ugly specter of racism in America yet again. Much has been written about this, and numerous opinions have been expressed in the media. I've read some of the pieces, but deep down I feel like an outsider. I am not white. I am not black. I am also a first-generation American. It's not that I don't have prejudice lurking in my heart; we all do, if we are honest. But I have not had to bear the burden of history on my shoulders that has weighed down generation after generation. There is a deep wound in the psyche of this country, and layers and layers of painful scar tissue have built up over time as there have been attempts at healing only to have the injury inflicted again. I try t...