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FEBRUARY 19, 2017 |
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EARLY IMMIGRATION:
FEARSOF ‘THEYELLOWPERIL’
Japantown, 1920s, SeattleWA. Courtesyof theMuseumof History and Industry.
News reports commonlyusedderogatory language and even racial slurs to talk about
JapaneseAmericans andother ethnicgroups. Popularmediaperpetuated stereotypes
about AsianAmericans as deceitful, unclean, anddangerous. Political leaderswarnedof
a
” arguing that the “Jap tidal wave” threatened toundermine theAmerican
social order.
This hateful rhetoric led to real-life consequences.Workers afraidof losing jobs to
immigrants used violence to expel Japanese laborers. Congress prohibitedAsian immigrants
frombecoming citizens and
from entering the country.
excluded Japanese, black and Jewish residents from certainneighborhoods.
Additional laws prohibited interracialmarriage, forced students to attend segregated
schools anddenied the right to
.
Despite these limitations, JapaneseAmericans foundways to resist discrimination, in some
cases evenbringing legal challenges against unfair laws. By 1940, therewere almost 7,000
JapaneseAmericans inSeattle, the city’s largest ethnicminoritygroup. They carvedout
aplace for themselves, turning Japantown (in today’sChinatown-International District)
into a thrivingbusiness and cultural center. Farmers gained amajor foothold in the area
surroundingSeattle, with 75percent of all producegrown in the region coming from
Japanese-owned farms.
MediaLiteracy:TheMeaning
Behind theMessage
All mediamessages are created with a
purpose: to inform, to entertain, to persuade.
Sometimes that purpose is affected bymotives
like political power or profit—so it’s important
to question our sources before accepting them
as fact. The article below appeared in The
Seattle Times on Aug. 9, 1908. Ask yourself:
•Who created this message and why?
•What writing techniques are used to grab
your attention?
•Howmight different audiences interpret
this message?
•Whose values and interests are being
represented—and whose aren’t?
Japanese immigrants began coming to theU.S.
in the late 19th century, findingwork in the railroad
and logging industries, takingup farming, or settling
inurban areaswhere they establishedbusinesses
like theTazumaStorepicturedbelow.
YukioTazuma
