chinese immigrants

ILLEGAL: The Chinese Immigrants of Angel Island

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Skyler Chin will present on Illegal, a poetry-rap-rock musical based on his grandfather’s immigration documents from when he was detained on Angel Island in 1923. The lyrics are inspired by poetry carved into the walls by Chinese Angel Island detainees. Chin wrote Illegal to give voice to Asian Americans like his grandfather whose stories had been left out of history, and to convey the fighting spirit of the people who began to define what it takes to become American.

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Chinese Immigration and Poetry at Angel Island and Ellis Island

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In the early twentieth century, most Chinese immigrants coming to the United States were detained at the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay.  There, they were subject to physical exams, interrogations, and long detentions aimed at upholding the exclusion laws that kept Chinese out of the country. Many detainees recorded their anger and frustrations, … Read more