Race and Space: How Laws Create and Impact Asian Spaces

Since its origins, America has existed as a racially segregated country. For most of its history, the law has been used to create and enforce this segregation. With the Reconstruction era’s 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, or as historian Eric Foner calls it, the “second founding,” the U.S. abolished slavery, granted citizenship, and enshrined equality before the law, at least in principle. And yet, in fundamental ways, we still live in a racially segregated country and city. Today, many Asian New Yorkers shop, eat, worship, reside, or learn in spaces where they are surrounded by others who look like them.

This panel explores several distinct spaces where Asian New Yorkers gather and examines how laws and policies have defined, developed, policed, and shaped these Asian spaces. Featured locations include massage parlors or spas, New York City’s multiple Chinatowns, takeout restaurants, and specialized public high schools. Panelists will discuss how different areas of law such as education law, criminal law, immigration law, and zoning laws impact these places.