Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff Lauren Boble Bam here. As anti Asian
Speaker 1: hate crimes have surged in the United States, Asian American
Speaker 1: scholars and activists have responded by speaking out about their stories,
Speaker 1: which have often been overlooked in textbooks. For the article
Speaker 1: this episode is based on How Stuff Works, spoke with
Speaker 1: Gary Okahiro, Professor Emeritus of International and Public Affairs at
Speaker 1: Columbia University, an author of Margins and Mainstreams Asians in
Speaker 1: American History and culture. He said, there are so many
Speaker 1: stereotypes and myths about Asians in America and they really
Speaker 1: need to be disabused. According to the census results, twenty
Speaker 1: three million Asian Americans in the United States can trace
Speaker 1: their ancestry to more than twenty countries, and many of
Speaker 1: these individuals have roots in the US that span decades
Speaker 1: and even centuries. But Asian immigrants were denied citizenship for
Speaker 1: much of American history. Their American born children were granted citizenship,
Speaker 1: but they themselves couldn't even apply. This dates back to
Speaker 1: the seventeen ninety Nationality Act, which limited citizenship to only
Speaker 1: quote free white persons. But after World War One, many people,
Speaker 1: including Asian Americans, were seeking citizenship through the courts by
Speaker 1: demonstrating that they were white. Two of the most notable
Speaker 1: were Begot Singh Thinned, a seek immigrant from the Indian
Speaker 1: subcontinent who served in the U. S. Army, and Tokao Ozawa,
Speaker 1: an immigrant from Japan who had lived in the US
Speaker 1: for twenty years. Both appealed to the Supreme Court on
Speaker 1: racial grounds. Ozawa argued in nineteen twenty two that he
Speaker 1: was white because he had adopted American culture. Then Thinned
Speaker 1: argued in nineteen twenty three that he was Caucasian because
Speaker 1: he grew up in the Caucus Mountains. The Court denied
Speaker 1: both Thinned and Ozawa's citizenship based on race, yet their
Speaker 1: challenges show how Asian Americans resisted laws that limited their naturalization,
Speaker 1: believing that they were entitled to their full rights as Americans. Thinned,
Speaker 1: who had served in the army, eventually was granted citizenship
Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty six when a bill was passed providing
Speaker 1: citizenship to anyone who would serve. But it wasn't until
Speaker 1: the Immigration and Nationality Act of nineteen fifty two that
Speaker 1: every Asian immigrant finally became eligible for citizenship under the
Speaker 1: law of the land. Okahira said, Asians were not immigrants
Speaker 1: like Europeans, and unlike Europeans, were never intended to be
Speaker 1: citizens of this country by the founders of this nation.
Speaker 1: But despite all that, they stayed, and they made laws
Speaker 1: for them, and their children became American. Another battleground for
Speaker 1: rights took place during World War Two. Following the bombing
Speaker 1: of Pearl Harbor, the U. S Government began to fear
Speaker 1: that Japanese Americans were enemy agents of Japan, even though
Speaker 1: two thirds of Japanese Americans were American citizens. According to Okahiro,
Speaker 1: there was no evidence to support these claims, and decades later,
Speaker 1: Ronald Reagan would declare internment a mistake based solely on race,
Speaker 1: implicitly recognizing that these fears were rooted in racism, but
Speaker 1: at the time. As a result, the government ordered a
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty thousand Japanese Americans to leave their homes
Speaker 1: and relocate to internment camps under Executive Order nine zero
Speaker 1: six six issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and as
Speaker 1: the war progressed, the government began seeking Japanese Americans from
Speaker 1: the camps to serve in the U. S. Army. The
Speaker 1: government presented residents in the camps with a loyalty questionnaire.
Speaker 1: Two questions Questions twenty seven and twenty eight were particularly controversial,
Speaker 1: asking Japanese Americans if they would renounce any loyalty to
Speaker 1: Japan and serve in the U. S. Military. About six thousand,
Speaker 1: seven hundred individuals, including a fair number of second generation
Speaker 1: Japanese American men, who became known as the No No Boys,
Speaker 1: answered no to both questions, and by answering no, they
Speaker 1: challenged the U. S. Government for depriving them of their
Speaker 1: rights and treating them as enemies. O'cahiro said the No
Speaker 1: Nos were responding to this illegal confinement of them. There
Speaker 1: was no reason given for their mass confinement. There was
Speaker 1: no justification for holding citizens within those camps. For their refusal,
Speaker 1: the No No Boys were incarcerated in a federal penitentiary
Speaker 1: at Fort Leavensworth for the duration of the war. According
Speaker 1: to Oka Hero, who argues that their defiance showed they
Speaker 1: were true Americans. He said, but what they were trying
Speaker 1: to do was to have the US live up to
Speaker 1: its constitution and the promises afforded to all citizens. If
Speaker 1: that's not patriotism. I don't know what is beyond both
Speaker 1: of those examples. Filipino amer Gins played a key role
Speaker 1: in the labor movement in the US. Filipinos comprised the
Speaker 1: third largest group of Asian Americans. The Manila Galleon Trade
Speaker 1: brought indentured Filipino workers to Mexico, from where they eventually
Speaker 1: made their way to California, Louisiana and beyond. Additionally, Filipino
Speaker 1: indentured workers, along with Chinese and Japanese workers, were brought
Speaker 1: to provide labor to sugar plantations in Hawaii and on
Speaker 1: the West Coast. Okay Hero said, Now, these workers who
Speaker 1: came to Hawaii and to the West Coast, over time
Speaker 1: they began to see that they might want to stay
Speaker 1: here in the US. And when they did that, they
Speaker 1: began to demand rights. That led to the formation of unions,
Speaker 1: with Filipino farm workers like Larry eat Leon and Philip
Speaker 1: Vera Cruz. Banding together with Mexican civil rights activists Caesar
Speaker 1: Chavez and Delora's Worth, the two boycott non union grape
Speaker 1: growers in the Delano Grape Stripe. Thus the United farm
Speaker 1: Workers Movement was born. Leaders like it Leong went up
Speaker 1: and down the coast, from the fields of California to
Speaker 1: salmon canning industries in Alaska to organize workers. Okay Hero said,
Speaker 1: this is an amazing thing because agricultural workers were never
Speaker 1: organized by unions until Asians and Mexicans got together and
Speaker 1: formed those agricultural unions. Today's episode is based on the
Speaker 1: article five things about Asian American history they don't teach
Speaker 1: in school on how stuff works dot Com, written by
Speaker 1: Terry Yard Lagata. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart
Speaker 1: Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com, and
Speaker 1: it's produced by Tyler Clang. For more podcasts from My
Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.