Chinese Texans and Civil Rights

Chinese immigrants arrived in Texas in the 1870s and 1880s, primarily to build railroads and work as laborers. These early immigrants faced harsh working conditions and racism from those fearing they would take away jobs. Chinese Texans were also met with violence, punctuated by Judge Roy Bean’s reported 1884 ruling that it was not illegal to kill a Chinese. With anti-Chinese sentiment spreading through the western and southern states, Congress restricted immigration through the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), the only U.S. law to exclude a specific race from immigrating; it also denied citizenship to Chinese Americans.

As was true throughout Texas, discrimination against Chinese Texans was common in Houston. However, the Houston Chinese Community, which numbered only 50 in 1930, began to grow as immigrants came here from other southern states. In Houston, Chinese students could attend public schools with whites, and soon, Chinese Texans began attending state universities.

Through the efforts of American-born Chinese, economic and social injustices began to be righted. 1937 testimony by Edward K.T. Chen ( ) and Rose Don Wu ( ) helped defeat a proposed Texas law that would have prevented Chinese from owning urban property. In 1943, the Magnuson Act repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act. The Chinese American citizens alliance, including its Houston branch, under the direction of Albert C.B. Gee ( ), helped pass the immigration act of 1965, paving the way for large-scale Chinese immigration. Today, Chinese Texans continue to make a vital impact on politics and culture in Texas, standing as a tribute to the immigrants who withstood discrimination and thrived