Violence against Asian Americans: What Legal History Reveals

The United States is experiencing what many call a surge of anti-Asian harassment, violence, and even murder. This wave is not unprecedented. Since the 1850s, the public policy of many states and territories, and ultimately the United States, was to discourage the presence of Asian people, who were regarded as inassimilable, ineradicably foreign, and undesirable additions to the American population. The desire to reserve opportunities for whites, and for political action against Asians, was often expressed through violence. In this talk, Professor Chin will outline some of the major aspects of anti-Asian policy in the United States, including racial denial of citizenship, the right to testify, to own land, to public benefits and employment, and to immigrate, and suggest some contemporary effects.

Introduction:
Madhavi Sunder
Professor of Law,
Associate Dean for International and Graduate Programs,
Georgetown Law

Featured Speaker:
Gabriel "Jack" Chin
Professor of Law,
Edward L. Barrett Junior Chair of Law,
Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Law
Director of Clinical Legal Education,
UC Davis School of Law

Closing Remarks:
William M. Treanor
Executive Vice President and Dean,
Paul Regis Dean Leadership Chair,
Professor of Law,
Georgetown Law