Image: Library of Congress

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

Thursday, May 6, 2021 | 5pm

ADMISSION: This online program is free

2021-05-06 17:00:00 UTC2021-05-06 23:00:00 UTC America/Los_AngelesThe CJM - 736 Mission St, San Francisco, CAThe Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882Signed into law on May 6, 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was one of many discriminatory laws enacted by the U.S. government, and banned immigration from China to the U.S. An emblem of the racist period known as the "Yellow Peril," the law was supported by many prominent San Francisco business leaders. Levi Strauss later condemned the Act, but its passage had long-lasting impacts on the early Chinese community in the U.S. In this talk, take a deeper look at an often-overlooked story with educator Sharon Lee-Nakayama, who will chart the chronology of the Exclusion Acts, the history behind them, and their effects on the early Chinese community in the United States.

Signed into law on May 6, 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was one of many discriminatory laws enacted by the U.S. government, and banned immigration from China to the U.S. An emblem of the racist period known as the "Yellow Peril," the law was supported by many prominent San Francisco business leaders. Levi Strauss later condemned the Act, but its passage had long-lasting impacts on the early Chinese community in the U.S.

In this talk, take a deeper look at an often-overlooked story with educator Sharon Lee-Nakayama, who will chart the chronology of the Exclusion Acts, the history behind them, and their effects on the early Chinese community in the United States.

This talk is presented in partnership with the San Francisco Chinese Historical Society.

About the Speaker

Sharon Lee-Nakayama is a fifth-generation Chinese-American, having been born and raised in San Francisco's Chinatown. She holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley in sociology and Spanish, and an MS in multicultural education with a focus on Chinese and Mexican cultures and language.

For twenty-four years, Lee-Nakayama was a middle school Spanish bilingual, primary language (Spanish) and ELD teacher, followed by ten years as a middle school administrator. She was also the curriculum director for Nakayoshi Gakko, the Japanese School in Mountain View, CA, and a docent at the American History Museum at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Lee-Nakayama is currently a volunteer docent at the Chinese Historical Museum in San Francisco's Chinatown.