Through a unique collection of artifacts, images, documents, and personal stories, The Chinese of California explores the complex history and unique challenges of Chinese Americans in their fight for civil rights. As legislation exemplified by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 removed the constitutional guarantee of equal protection under the law for people of Chinese descent, discrimination and violent attacks intensified against them, leaving Chinese Californians to fight for basic human rights—and for the very existence of their communities.
A first-ever collaboration of The Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkeley, California Historical Society, and Chinese Historical Society of America, The Chinese of California will challenge preconceptions about the Chinese immigrant experience by telling the story through the voices of Chinese Californians themselves.
Exhibition date & location:
February 7-August 20, 2008
California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA
Links:
CHSA Civil Rights Suite – The Chinese of California
California Historical Society’s exhibition page