Why “The China Virus” Has Always Been A Part Of U.S. History | A People's History of Asian America

The term “China Virus” emerged in the 2020 pandemic and became normalized by pundits, politicians, and even the president, exacerbating racism and violence experienced by Asian people in the U.S. Dolly and Adrian make the argument that the xenophobic sentiment that Asian people are invasive, a “China Virus,” has always existed as a concept in America, and has resulted in a cycle of violence that dates all the way back to the 1800s. We’ll begin by examining the origins of anti-Asian exclusion laws enacted in the 1800s and how those laws lasted into Japanese internment in the 1940s. Then we’ll track the devastating impact of anti-Asian sentiments that came out of 1980’s Detroit’s crumbling auto industry into the environment of anti-China fear that has finally led us to the rise in Asian-targeted violence in modern times. We also learn about the creation of ethnic studies as a field of academics, a radical response that emerged from multiethnic coalition building that took place during the civil rights movement. References: “A History Of Indentured Labor Gives ‘Coolie’ Its Sting” https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/11/25/247166284/a-history-of-indentured-labor-gives-coolie-its-sting#:~:text=The%20dictionary%20definition%20of%20%22coolie,used%20throughout%20the%20British%20colonies. “The racist massacre that killed 10% of L.A.’s Chinese population and brought shame to the city” https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-18/reflecting-los-angeles-chinatown-massacre-after-atlanta-shootings “Japanese Internment Camps” https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation “The Aging of Japan’s Auto Industry” https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/20/business/the-aging-of-japan-s-auto-industry.html “Who Is Vincent Chin? The History and Relevance of a 1982 Killing” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/who-vincent-chin-history-relevance-1982-killing-n771291 “Ethnic Studies: Born in the Bay Area from History’s Biggest Student Strike” https://www.kqed.org/news/11830384/how-the-longest-student-strike-in-u-s-history-created-ethnic-studies “Illinois House passes bill mandating Asian-American history in schools” https://www.reuters.com/world/us/illinois-house-passes-bill-mandating-asian-american-history-schools-2021-04-14/ “Senate Resoundingly Passes Bill to Target Anti-Asian Hate Crimes” https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/22/us/politics/senate-anti-asian-hate-crimes.html


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