Group Members: Tara, Cal, and Sara

The exhibit “Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion” centered around how the life of Chinese Americans have been shaped, through the history of barriers with citizenship, immigration, and a sense of belonging. Hence the name of the exhibit, it included both moments in history when Chinese Americans were rejected from and integrated into society. It was broken down into individual experiences and key stories of Chinese Americans, along with the relationship between China and the United States; through their interactions regarding many themes such as migration, citizenship, etc. I think the curators of this exhibit aimed to emphasize the overall extensive contributions Chinese Americans have made and continue to make for America, in order to project just how present these contributions were and to enlighten viewers on this. The exhibit was also composed of the persecution and discrimination Chinese Americans faced, such as through being denied an education (Chinese American activist Mary Tape’s daughter Mamie; Tape v. Hurley), being used as a scapegoat (were held responsible for economic shifts, depressions, and unemployment), being subjected to interrogations and always looked at with caution (intense interrogations that took place in order for Chinese Americans to prove their identity; is an example of how restrictive immigration legislations were becoming), and being forced to lie to keep your family together (Lin Low’s eldest daughter Moo Gee having to be pasted onto a family portrait in order to live with her family in America). These were just a few of the countless examples of instances in which Chinese Americans were excluded in America and the repression they faced; especially through and following the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, banning the migration of Chinese laborers to the United States. With this act in effect, hostility and Anti-Asian sentiment grew exponentially all across America. I think including such accounts of persecution influences viewers to gain a deep and profound understanding of such experiences and circumstances. It also helped me recognize and grasp the importance of being exposed to and aware of the exclusion Chinese Americans faced, in addition to their major contributions.