The Bancroft Library, California Historical Society and Chinese Historical Society Present

The Chinese of California : A Struggle for Community
February 7 to August 30, 2008

From the gold country of Northern California to major metropolitan areas of Southern California and beyond, Chinese of California tells the story of the Chinese American fight for civil rights and the unique challenges that characterized the formation of Chinese communities in California.

As the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and further legislation removed the constitutional guarantee of equal protection under the law for people of Chinese descent, discrimination and violent attacks intensified. Since the Gold Rush to the building of the transcontinental railroad to the modern civil rights struggle, Chinese Californians have faced the challenge of organizing to fight for basic human rights—and for the very existence of their communities.

A joint project of the Bancroft Library, the California Historical Society, and the Chinese Historical Society of America, Chinese of California explores these stories, sharing from within the experiences of the Chinese communities’ struggles to survive.