- Zinn Education Project

May 6, 1882: Chinese Exclusion Act Signed

The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act was signed, prohibiting Chinese immigration to the United States.

June 19, 1982: Vincent Chin Beaten to Death in Hate Crime

In Detroit, Michigan Chinese American man Vincent Chin was beaten to death in a hate crime by two white auto workers who blamed Chin for the massive lay-offs occurring in the auto industry. The judge gave the murderers three year’s probation.

Dec. 18, 1944: U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Fred Korematsu; Declares Denial of Civil Liberties Legal

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Korematsu v. United States that the denial of civil liberties based on race and national origin was legal.

Fred Korematsu Speaks Up

Book — Non-fiction. By Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi. Illustrated by Yutaka Houlette. 2017. 112 pages.
Story of Fred Koretmatsu, jailed for resisting internment by the U.S. government during WWII. He took his case to the U.S. Supreme Court twice.

Teaching Untold Stories During Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

By Moé Yonamine

“They’re Latinos . . . I think they’re some kind of farm workers.”

“No, they’re Asians with name tags.”

And then a student in a quiet voice walked by me slowly and muttered, “I think something really bad is happening to them.”

My students at Roosevelt High School in Portland, Oregon — one of the state’s most racially diverse schools — studied each black and white photo posted around the room, inspecting the background and the facial expressions; confused, anxious, frustrated. They began a journey to uncover the hidden story of the Japanese Latin American removal, internment, and deportation during World War II.

Portrait of Yuri Kochiyama with raised fist.

May 19, 1921: Yuri Kochiyama Born

Political activist Yuri Kochiyama was born in San Pedro, California.

Peter Yew/Police Brutality Protests, 1975 | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

May 19, 1975: Peter Yew/Police Brutality Protests

Virtually every shop and factory in Chinatown was closed, with signs posted windows and on doors reading “Closed to Protest Police Brutality” to protest the beating of Peter Yew.

May 10, 1886: Lee Yick Wins Equal Protection Under the Law Case

Lee Yick won a Supreme Court case that said that all people — citizens and non-citizens alike — had equal protection under the law.

Apr. 26, 1968: Kiyoshi Kuromiya Led Protest of Vietnam War Napalm

Lifelong gay rights and anti-war activist Kiyoshi Kuromiya held a demonstration while in college against the use of napalm in Vietnam by announcing that a dog would be burned alive with napalm in front of the university library.

Wong Kim Ark | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

March 28, 1898: Wong Kim Ark Wins Citizenship Case

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark.

A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America

Book — Non-fiction. By Ronald Takaki, with a foreword by Clint Smith. 2023. 576 pages.
A multicultural history of the United States, in the voices of Indigenous people, African Americans, Jews, Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and others.

Executive Order 9066 | Zinn Education Project

Feb. 19, 1942: Executive Order 9066

Executive Order 9066 issued by President Roosevelt authorized the incarceration (internment) of U.S. citizens of Japanese descent.

March 31, 1944: Frank S. Emi Interrogated

Frank S. Emi protested the draft during Japanese American incarceration and was interrogated.

Martha Lum's class photo | Zinn Education Project

Nov. 21, 1927: Lum v. Rice Supreme Court Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, in the case of nine-year old Chinese-American Martha Lum, her exclusion on account of race from school was justified.

Rock Springs Massacre | Zinn Education Project

Sept. 2, 1885: Rock Springs Massacre

White coal miners in Rock Springs, Wyoming, brutally attacked Chinese workers.

May 30, 1942: Fred Korematsu Arrested

Fred Korematsu was arrested on a street corner in San Leandro, California for resisting Executive Order 9066, in which all people of Japanese descent were incarcerated in U.S. concentration camps.

Journey for Justice: The Life of Larry Itliong

Picture book. By Dawn Bohulano Mabalon and Gayle Romasanta. Illustrated by Andre Sibayan. 2018.
The first nonfiction illustrated Filipino-American history book for children tells the story of labor activist Larry Itliong, who organized farmworkers on the West Coast in the mid-20th century.