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HISTORY
OVERVIEW
HISTORY DETAILS |
HISTORICAL TIMELINE DETAILS (1980 to 1989) Our victories, obstacles and leaders 1980
VIETNAMESE ALLOWED TO IMMIGRATE LEGALLY The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees set up an Orderly Departure Program to enable Vietnamese to immigrate legally. 1980 1980 Following translation of the
citizenship test into Japanese, 137 Issei (first generation Japanese Americans)
are sworn
in as US citizens in LA. Most had been residents for over 20 years.
1980
CAROL KAWANAMI IS ELECTED Carol Kawanami is elected mayor of Villa Park, CA to become the first Japanese American woman to preside over an American city. 1980
National
Conference of the Asian/Pacific American Educational Equity Project
in Washington, D.C., to form national network of Asian and Pacific women's
organizations.
1980 May
1980 July
1981 January
1983 October
1987 August
1988 November
1989
October 1990 August
1994 April
2000 1981 While still an architecture
student at Yale University, Lin entered a national design competition
for the proposed Vietnam Veterans Memorial to be built in Washington D.C.
Her entry was selected from 1400 others when she was only 21 years old.
The design featured two highly polished walls of black granite set in
a "V" shape inscribed with the names of almost 58,000 dead or missing
veterans of the Vietnam war. Lim's design was chosen from 1,420 entries.
The Vietnam veteran sponsors set four major criteria for the design. It must: (1) be reflective and contemplative in character, (2) harmonize with its surroundings, especially the neighboring national memorials, (3) contain the names of all who died or remain missing, and (4) make no political statement about the war. Ms. Lin accomplished all of this. She created a park within a park - a quiet protected place that harmonized with the overall plan of Constitution Gardens. She chose polished black granite for the walls -- its mirror-like surface reflects the images of the surrounding trees, lawns, and monuments. The walls point to the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial to bring the memorial into historical context. The names are inscribed in chronological order from the date of casualty in order to present the war as a series of individual human sacrifices and give each name its own place in history. Ms. Lin describes the wall: "Walking into this grassy site contained by the walls of the memorial, we can barely make out the carved names upon the memorial's walls. These names, seemingly infinite in number, convey the sense of overwhelming numbers, while unifying these individuals into a whole."
1982
VINCENT CHIN IS KILLED! A young draftsman named Vincent Chin was attending his bachelor party at a suburban Detroit strip club called Fancy Pants. With the party well underway, Ronald Ebens, a white auto worker, began yelling racial slurs across the bar. "It's because of you little motherf*ckers that we're out of work," witnesses later remembered Ebens yelling at Chin. Chin struck Ebens and a fight ensued. Ebens' stepson, Michael Nitz - who had been recently laid off from his job at an auto plant - jumped in. But it was soon broken up by a parking attendant. Chin and his friends left the bar and went their separate ways. Twenty minutes later, Ebens and Nitz caught up with Chin in front of a fast-food restaurant. Ebens grabbed a baseball bat and delivered a blow to Chin's leg. Nitz held the wounded Chin while Ebens struck his head with the bat, bashing in his skull.
On May 9, 1983, "a multi-racial crowd of about 350 people rallied in downtown Detroit" and demanded that a circuit court judge review probationary sentences imposed on two men for the baseball bat slaying of a Chinese American last year." The ACJ organized this rally to show the support of the community in getting tougher sentences for Ebens and Nitz. Carl Sayers, an Episcopal priest, delivered the opening prayer to the hour-long rally saying, "It was a very clear miscarriage of justice. I am here because I want them to know that churches are with them." Following his opening speech more than a dozen speakers also spoke on behalf of Vincent Chin. A petition was then handed to a member of Judge Kauffman's staff at the Wayne County courthouse. This initial rally would be the first of many the ACJ would organize during the incident of Vincent Chin.
Asian Americans for Justice and the Chinese American Citizens Alliance were instrumental in this rally. Harold Fong, president of the local chapter of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance was quoted, "If the roles were reversed, and the victims were white and the murderers were Asian, I ask you, would the punishments be the same?" This quote was all over the papers and undoubtedly influential at rallying Asian communities to the cause of Vincent Chin. In Los Angeles, about 300 Asian Americans were joined by Mayor Tom Bradley at a City Hall rally "to demand justice for Chin." Branching out, the ACJ coordinated efforts nationally to have rallies to remember the death of Vincent Chin. Ebens and Nitz were charged with and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. For this, they each received a sentence of three years probation and a $3,000 fine. Later, federal civil-rights cases brought against the two defendants were appealed, and the juries acquitted each of them. Neither served a jail sentence. For additional information, please visit our article on Vincent Chin by clicking HERE. 1982 The National Association of
Asian American Professionals (NAAAP),
is a non-profit 501(c)(3), all-volunteer organization whose mission is
to promote the personal and professional development of the Asian American
community.
1983
SUBRAHMANYAN CHANCTRASEKHAR IS AWARDED THE NOBEL PRIZE In 1933, Chanctrasekhar earned his PhD from Cambridge University in England where he developed the theory of white dwarf stars. In 1983, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, which he shared with W.A. Fowler for their finding in the physical processes of the structure and evolution of stars. His other awards include the Catherine Wolfe Bruce gold medal in 1952 for lifetime contributions to astronomy, and the Royal Medal of the Royal Society in 1962. He has written numerous books on his theories and is recognized as one of the few scientists in history to consistently contribute a high level of scientific research. He died in August of 1995. 1983
Fred Korematsu, Min Yasui, and Gordon Hirabayashi file petitions to overturn
their World War II convictions for violating the curfew and evacuation
orders.
On Nov. 10, 1983, Patel ruled from the bench in the ceremonial courtroom she had opened to accommodate the crowds. She exonerated Korematsu and lambasted the government, which she said had based its decisions on "unsubstantiated facts, distortions and the (opinions) of one military commander whose views were seriously tainted by racism." In her written opinion the following spring, Patel said: "As a historical precedent, it stands as a constant caution that in times of war or declared military necessity, our institutions must be vigilant in protecting our constitutional guarantees...that in times of distress, the shield of military necessity and national security must not be used to protect governmental actions from close scrutiny and accountability." The ruling helped win a presidential apology and monetary redress for former internees. But Patel's decision didn't take Korematsu vs. United States off the books, where, as dissenting Justice Robert Jackson had written in the original case, the court's validation of military orders "...lies about like a loaded weapon." 1983
KOREAN AMERICAN COALITION IS FORMED The Korean American Coalition (KAC) is a non-profit, non-partisan community advocacy organization. Established in 1983, KAC's mission is to facilitate the Korean American community's participation in civic, legislative, and community affairs, and encourage the Korean American community to contribute and become an integral part of the broader American society.
The Wah Mee club (exclusive gambling and social club with high security) operated illegally in a basement space in a predominantly Chinese neighborhood; despite some street drug dealing and a bit of prostitution, the area generally had a reputation for a low rate of violent crime. The club's regulars included many wealthy restaurant-owners, several of whom were among the victims. Security at the club was based in part on a system of passing through multiple successive doors, which had been used in similar International District gambling dens for generations, and had usually been quite effective. Mak and his accomplices defeated the system only because they were known and trusted by the people at the club. Their presumed intent was to leave no witnesses, since club patrons could readily identify them, as, in fact, the one survivor did. Aftermath
On February 17, 1987 - the Washington State Supreme Court issued a stay of execution a month before Willie Mak's scheduled execution, but on May 2, 1988 the state Supreme Court let Mak's murder conviction stand. However, then on November 10, 1988 Willie Mak's execution was delayed indefinitely by a federal judge. On January 8, 1991 U.S. District Judge William Dwyer overturned Willie Mak's death sentence, saying Mak's attorneys failed to present evidence on their client's background that could have saved his life. On July 16, 1992 The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reinstate Mak's death sentence. On November 9, 1994 a King County Superior Court judge denied Mak's bid for a new trial but allowed prosecutors to hold a new sentencing hearing. On February 15, 2002, a King County Superior Court judge scheduled a sentencing hearing for September 2002. On April 29, 2002 a King County Superior Court judge (Judge Laura Inveen) ruled that Mak will not face the death penalty because the 1983 jury wasn't asked to determine how much of a role he had in the crime (i.e. A recent state Supreme Court ruling of December 2000 about aggravated-murder accomplices meant that he cannot be executed because the jurors weren’t asked whether two factors made the case a capital crime – killing in the course of a robbery and killing to conceal the robbers’ identities – along with deciding if Mak was a “major participant” in the murders.). On September 6, 2006, a parole board met to determine whether Tony Ng should receive parole on his 12th robbery term. If given parole, he would begin serving his 13th term, and be eligible for parole and potentially freed in 2010.
The Wah Mee Club was once a romantic, classy enclave where patrons -- the bulk of whom consisted of semi-affluent restaurant owners and businessmen and -women in the Chinese community -- danced to music played on a nickelodeon. It was a place where hard-working Chinese Americans spent their off-hours drinking and sharing stories. And it was undoubtedly a place where a lot of money changed hands because it was host to some of the highest-stakes gambling that could be found in Seattle and, for that matter, the entire Pacific Northwest. The exclusive, Chinese-only members of the Wah Mee Club were allowed to preserve an integral part of their culture -- gambling -- all the while profiting police officers on the side. The more popular bottle clubs in Chinatown were the New Chinatown, Congo Club, Blue Rose, 411 Club, the Ubangi, and the Wah Mee. All were hot spots for dancing, music, gambling, and booze. Many of these clubs dated back to the early-1920s. Entrepreneur and Asian legend Danny Woo owned the New Chinatown, located less than a block from the Wah Mee. In 1940 the Congo Club opened in Chinatown, at Maynard and Sixth Avenues. The Blue Rose, located near Chinatown, on Yesler Way and Thirteenth Avenue, was a small, two-room house that doubled as a club. The 411 Club was located on Maynard Avenue, around the corner from the Wah Mee and was a hot spot for some of the biggest names in jazz such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. The Ubangi Club was a black-owned nightclub hosting some of the nation's best jazz performers where Cab Calloway played mainly to a white clientele. Another Chinatown club -- formally named the Hong Kong Chinese Society Club -- locals aptly nicknamed the Club the "Bucket of Blood" because of its recognition as a rowdy joint, as well as the locale of a grisly murder after a police raid. In many of these Chinatown clubs -- the New Chinatown, Congo Club, Blue Rose, the 411 Club, the Ubangi, and the Wah Mee – patrons enjoyed booze, jazz, dancing, Opium dens, prostitutes, casinos, and the daily lottery. And the Tokiwa Hotel, located at Maynard Avenue South and South King Street, was a residential nexus for starving jazz musicians who played the Chinatown clubs.
1983
Vietnamese high school student
Thong Huynh is stabbed to death in Davis, Calif., by a white student
after being taunted by a group of whites. The defendant, a minor, is convicted
of manslaughter.
1984
1984 FRED KOREMATSU Judge June Patel vacates the conviction of Fred Korematsu who challenged the Japanese American evacuation during WWII. In other words - In the Korematsu's case, the court hearing the coram nobis appeal found that in his original trial the government withheld and distorted evidence, leading to his conviction. FYI - "CORAM NOBIS - In our presence; before us. The office of "writ of coram nobis" is to bring attention of court to, and obtain relief from errors of fact, such as a valid defense existing in facts of case, but which, without negligence on defendant's part, was not made, either through duress or fraud or excusable mistake, where facts did not appear on face of record, and were such as, if known in season, would have prevented rendition of the judgment questioned. The essence of coram nobis is that it is addressed to the very court which renders the judgment in which injustice is alleged to have been done, in contrast to appeals or review directed to another court; the words "coram nobis", meaning "our court," as compared to the common-law writ of coram vobis," meaning "your court," clearly point this up." 1985 The STS-51L was the 25th mission of the Space Shuttle Program, and the tenth of Space Shuttle Orbiter Challenger. Challenger, and her crew of seven, was launched at 11:38am EST from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 Pad B. Approximately 73 seconds later, Challenger was destroyed as a result of aerodynamic stress, killing all onboard. The cause was rooted in the history of the Space Shuttle Program: The o-rings on the solid rocket boosters could not properly seal at cold temperatures. Ellison Shoji Onizuka (June 24, 1946-January 28, 1986) was born and raised on Kona, Hawaii. He received a BS degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1968 and a Masters Degree in 1969 from the University of Colorado. The following year, he joined the U.S. Air Force and became a flight engineer. Onizuka later attended the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California and was a test pilot. He has flown over 1700 hours on 43 different aircraft. In 1978, he was selected by NASA for the astronaut program in 1978. He has spent over 72 hours in space on two spaceflights. Onizuka became the first Asian-American in space aboard Mission 51-C in 1985. This was a Department of Defense mission. Onizuka was killed in the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986. Out of the seven astronauts' families, Colonel Onizuka's widow, Lorna Onizuka, was the only survivor who did not file a lawsuit against Morton Thiokol, the company which built the solid rocket booster (the one that caused the explosion) for the death of her husband. Her explanation was short and simple when the press querried her motive. Her husband chose a career as a pilot. He piloted an experimental spacecraft (the Challenger) and he died in the line of duty. It was not Morton Thiokol's fault, in her opinion and she was sure her late husband would not want her to blame anyone. He chose to live by the sword and he proudly died by the sword. 1985
MICHAEL WOO - 1ST AA MEMBER OF L.A. CITY COUNCIL June 4, 1985: Michael Woo, the grandson of a Chinese laundryman, became the first Asian American member of the Los Angeles City Council, defeating Peggy Stevenson in the 13th District. 1985
HAING NGOR WINS AN OSCAR Haing S. Ngor wins an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in the film "The Killing Fields" for playing the role of Dith Pran, who tried to stop the holocaust in Cambodia. 1985 On June
2, 1985, an Asian man later identified as Charles
Ng was seen shoplifting in San Francisco. He
fled by the time police arrived, but Leonard Lake, who was with him, was
arrested when his car was searched and found to contain a pistol that
was illegally equipped with a silencer.
Charles Ng, with his buddy Leonard Lake, tortured, raped and murdered an unknown number of men, women and children at Lake's Wilseyville, California rural home that had been equipped with a fortified bunker which apparently was used solely as a holding cell for their victims. Law enforcement authorities believe that up to twenty-five people were murdered by the pair, but only officially recovered twelve bodies. Detectives found videotapes of these two people torturing and sexually abusing their victims among the evidence found on the property. In true "he-man" fashion, Ng ran away to Canada to avoid prosecution, and attempted to delay his trial proceedings when he was finally extradited back to the U.S. Convicted of eleven murders in 1999. 1985 Irene
Natividad became the first Asian to be voted as president of a national
political organization in the US - the National Women's Political Caucus
(NWPC). She was also chosen as one of the "100 Most Powerful Women in
America" by Ladies Home Journal. Her editorials have appeared in USA Today,
Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and many other publications.
1986 Monterey
Park, a small city east of Los Angeles, is identified as the first
suburban Chinatown in the U.S.. Center of activity for Chinese moves to
San Gabriel Valley. It's the start of the immigration eastward of the
Chinese communities as it starts in Monterey Park, proceeded to San Gabriel
and has extended to areas such as City of Industry, West Covina, Hacienda
Heights, Roland Heights and Puente Hills.
1986
IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT Immigration Reform and Control Act imposes civil and criminal penalties on employers who knowingly hire undocumented aliens. 1986 The first recorded meeting of a United
States President with a national Asian American organization. The Asian
American Voters Coalition met with President Reagan on January 9, 1986.
1986 200 Asian garment workers and their
supporters rally to demand training benefits to which they were entitled
after being displaced from their jobs at P&L Garment in Boston.
1987 1987
1ST ASIAN AMERICAN DEMOCRATS CONVENTION 3-day conference "Target '88" begins 1st national convention of Asian American Democrats. 1987 1987 100 Latino and SE Asian parents
protest against crowded, substandard schools, and sued for unconstitutional
segregation and denial of equal education opportunity.
1987 1987 South Asian Navroze
Mody is murdered in Hoboken, N.J. by "dotbusters," as part of a series
of organized hate attacks designed to drive South Asians out of the area.
1988 On
August 10, 1988 - the House Resolution 442 was signed into law by
President Ronald Reagan. It provides for a payment of $20,000 to each
surviving
Japanese American internee and a $1.25 billion education fund, among
other provisions. It sought to address the sense of betrayal felt by Japanese
Americans when FDR signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942.
It forced 110,000
Japanese Americans to liquidate their assets on 3-day notice and relocate
to remote prison camps.
The campaign to seek reparations was begun on July 10, 1970 by the western branch of the Japanese American Citizen's League. The campaign's emotional turning point came when 750 Japanese American witnesses recounted their experiences before the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. The first $20,000 redress payments were made on October 9, 1990 to 107-year-old Mamoru Eto and eight other elderly survivors. The American Army, fearing a Japanese invasion, gained permission under the War Relocation Authority to forcefully move 120,000 people to internment camps. Most of these prisoners were American citizens. Some were released after July of 1943 after proving their loyalty to the United States, but most were detained until December of 1944. The last camp closed in 1946. Over two centuries later, (through the " Reparations Bill" that was passed through Congress and signed into law by President Bush) the government issued $20,000 and a formal apology to each of the surviving WWII internees of all the camps. Read also about the National Japanese American Memorial in Hawaii that is being built in honor/memory of this tragic time in IS history. U.S. reaches agreement with Vietnam to allow political prisoners to emigrate to the U.S. 1988 The U.S. Senate votes 69% to 27 to
support redress
for Japanese Americans. American Homecoming Act allows children in Vietnam
born of American fathers to emigrate to the U.S.
1988 The Friends
of the Museum of Chinese American History is formed with representatives
from El Pueblo, the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California
and the local community.
1988 On August 10, 1988, President Reagan
signed a measure providing $20,000 payments to Japanese-Americans interned
during World War II.
1989
The Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans was organized to: promote
cooperation and understanding among people of Asian Pacific American descent
and among their representative organizations; foster friendship among
Americans of Asian Pacific descent and others in the community; promote,
represent, and advocate the interests of Asian Pacific American communities;
and promote education and awareness of Asian Pacific American heritage.
Now in its 20th year, CAPA still celebrates the cultural richness and
diversity of the Asian Pacific American community and its contributions
to the community at large.
1989
DAVID HENRY HWANG'S M.BUTTERFLY WINS A TONY AWARD M. Butterfly, a thrilling drama of politics, gender and culture clashes between the East and the West, was Hwang's Broadway debut in 1988. It has been made into a movie and is widely recognized as a masterpiece of theatre. Hwang grew up in Los Angeles during the late 60's and started to write down his family history when he was eleven. His family history is the source for his more recent play, Golden Child. Hwang now lives in New York with his wife and 10-month old son. 1989 Julia Chang Bloch's extensive
international political career began with the Peace Corps in 1964 where
she taught English as a second language in Manila. Some of her most important
work came when she worked for the Agency for International Development
(AID). At AID, she reviewed the Somalia refugee program and worked with
the State Department. From 1989-1993 Bloch was appointed by George Bush
to serve as the US Ambassador to Nepal where she oversaw Nepal's transition
to democracy and initiated and directed the Democracy Program and Initiative
in support of the consolidation of democracy in Nepal.
1989 1989
Five Southeast Asian grammar school children are killed in a Stockton
schoolyard. 300 Samoans march in Carson to protest
the brutal beating of members of the Dole family by fifty Cerritos deputies.
Thirty-five people were taken into custody and booked on "suspicion of
unlawful assembly, failure to disperse and battery on peace officers".
1989
Vietnamese Fishermen's Association of America brought a suit to stop
the Coast Guard from selective enforcement of the Jones Act which prohibits
non-citizens from owning or operating large boats in US waters.
1989
Patrick
Purdy fires 105 rounds from an assault rifle at students in an elementary
schoolyard in Stockton, Calif. in January, killing five Southeast Asian
children before shooting himself. Purdy reportedly blamed all minorities
for his failings.
1989
HATE CRIME SHOOTING! Ming Hai Jim Loo, a Chinese American, is shot outside a pool hall in Raleigh, N.C. on July 29. His two white assailants, Lloyd and Robert Piche, allegedly shouted: We shouldn't put up with Vietnamese in our country. Robert Piche is sentenced to 37 years behind bars; Lloyd's sentence is 4 years.
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