Anti-Asian Prejudice, A Collection of Images

anti-japanese war propaganda, with a mixed message

Indiscriminate targeting of the Japanese during WWII was apparently OK, but well-meaning people thought there was a risk that some of the Chinese in the US would be mistaken for Japanese. Hence this:

1941 Time Magazine infoblurb showing how to tell the difference between Chinese and Japanese (with racist overtones)

Not that the Chinese were generally better treated in the US. Anti-Asian sentiment in the US and elsewhere dates from well before WWII. For example, there was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, a ban on Chinese immigration that lasted until 1943:

the chinese must go

The Chinese must go, because we don’t need them anymore; technology will replace them

The original Yellow Peril rhetoric focused on the Chinese, not the Japanese. Chinese immigration into the US – and other Western countries as well – was important in the 19th century. The term refers to skin color and the fear that the mass immigration threatened white wages and standards of living and that the immigrants would eventually take over and destroy western civilization. The notion continued to have some currency until late in the 20th century, when it became associated with fears of Chinese overpopulation.

Satirical cartoon depicting anti-Chinese “native born citizens” (Irish, German, Italian and black) hanging a Chinese immigrant, 1880s

Artist George Keller illustrates tension between a white laborer and a Chinese immigrant. From The First Blow at the Chinese Question (1877)

“Hands off, gentlemen! America means fair play for all men”.

And did they need protection. Here’s the story of the Denver riot of 1880:

Denver had a section of town, populated by Chinese laborers, known as “Hop Alley”. The name was in reference to the widespread use of opium amongst the “Celestials” as some people referred to the Chinese at that time. A group of railroad laborers entered a bar in the area and confronted two Chinese men playing pool, hit one of them with a cue stick, and was promptly shot at by the other pool player. He missed, but word quickly spread that a Chinaman had killed a white man. A large crowd gathered with the intent to destroy the Chinese, along with all their possessions. (source)

Denver riot of 1880

Another example is the Asiatic Exclusion League, an organization formed in the early twentieth century in the United States and Canada that aimed to prevent immigration of people of Asian origin. In 1907, riots erupted in Vancouver when League members besieged Chinatown. Shouting racist slogans, as many as 10,000 people marched into Chinatown, vandalizing and causing thousands of dollars worth of damage. A small Kristallnacht. The mob then rampaged through Japantown, where they were confronted by residents armed with clubs and bottles with which they fought back (source).

Here’s a print from Mexico about the “terrible diseases of the Orient”, from 1932:

And here’s one from New Zealand:

Here’s another fine illustration betraying prejudice:

Sentiments like these have become rare nowadays, but haven’t totally disappeared. Here’s an Australian job ad:

More collections of images are here.

Racism, A Collection of Images (2)

the black servant stereotype (in case you're wondering why there's a mannequin at the table: it's Cynthia, a major 1930s celebrity, fixture of the trendy dinner parties and gossip columns of the day; read more about her at the source link below)

(source)

the black servant stereotype seems to be very much alive

(source)

and of course there's also a black male servant stereotype

(source unknown)

Turkish news anchor appears in blackface in the coverage of President Obama’s trip to Turkey

(source, more on blackface here)

macabre and racist valentine card with lynching theme

(source unknown)

African Americans aren't the only victims of stereotyping

(source)

Mexicans it seems are sombrero wearing, violent, fat, moustachioed goofs (re: silly laugh) fond of conspicuous wealth (aka golden tooth)

(source)

1882, Strong anti-Chinese sentiment in California leads to the federal Chinese Exclusion Act, which suspends immigration from the East. The political cartoon above, titled "The Only One Barred Out," mocks the legislation.

(source)

More collections of racist images here and here.

Human Rights Facts (70): Intolerance and Discrimination in America

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In light of the recent Trayvon Martin case, a few historical examples of how fear of the “other” has led many Americans to acts of intolerance and discrimination:

• In 1654, Peter Stuyvesant, director-general of New Netherland, tried to have Jewish refugees expelled, claiming they would “infect” the colony.
• In 1732, founders of the Georgia colony, which was seen as a religious haven, drew up a charter that explicitly bans Catholicism.
• In 1844, Mormon founder Joseph Smith is murdered in an Illinois prison by a lynch mob. Soon after, many of his followers migrated to Utah.
• In 1854-56, nativists formed the Know Nothing Party (yes, that was their name), which called for strict limits on immigration, especially from Catholic countries.
• In 1865-66, following the end of the Civil War, riots erupted during Reconstruction, and African American churches and schools were burned in Memphis and New Orleans.
• In 1882, strong anti-Chinese sentiment in California led to the federal Chinese Exclusion Act, which suspended immigration from the East.
• In 1883, the Department of Interior declared many Native American rituals to be “offenses” punishable by jail sentences of up to 30 years.
• In 1942, FDR signed an executive order establishing “exclusion zones,” which led to the forced internment of some 110,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans. (source)

Needless to say, fear of the other isn’t a exclusively American problem.