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| The rampage made by hundreds of white citizens, destroying the homes of Chinese Americans |
Caused by a flared argument over an individual named Yit Ho, the Chinese Massacre occurred in Los Angeles on October 24, 1871. The two opponents of the argument both fired at each other, consequentially killing some notable Los Angeles police officers. Other sources state that the massacre was triggered by an unintentional shooting of a white citizen who interrupted a heated exchange of gunfire between two Chinese gangs, or tongs, at a small street named Calle de los Negros (LA Almanac, 2011). The shooting initiated a mob action that included several whites who demolished Los Angeles's well-known Chinatown. More serious actions of the whites included tortured execution of Chinese American residents in the area. Repercussions of these racially provoked riots consist of a divisive discrimination against the Chinese in Los Angeles, ultimately leading to the Chinese Exclusion Act executed in 1882.
This historical event embodies the racial conflicts and potential misrepresentation of various communities in Los Angeles today. The event also questioned the duties and authorities of the officers sheltering residents from violence and racial inequity. In fact, no individual was brought to court for any of the misconduct, which shows the ineffectiveness of the city's investigative strategies. In my research, I am planning to search whether the construction of Los Angeles's Chinatown is to lament the consequences of the massacre or to indicate any form of racial disarray. I will also research about the effects of the massacre that are still instilled in the Chinese American population and the police enforcement in Los Angeles for further support of this historical event's influence on the current City of Angels.
Click here for an image of a 1871 newspaper article regarding the Chinese Massacre of 1871.
I see that you have already researched two diverging views of the impetus for the Chinese Massacre of 1871. Having studied Asian migration to America and being of Chinese descent, I abhor the oppression of the already spartan Asian populations in California. I would hope that the integration of multiple Asian nations into modern American society has eliminated most prejudice, but persisting influences from the Chinese Massacre likely exist. Do you intend to explore any other forms of Chinese-American tensions leading up to the Chinese Exclusion Act?
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