[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 97 (Thursday, July 12, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7583-S7584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 RACISM

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, today I rise to call attention to racism 
in our society.
  There are certain moments when we are reminded that it exists, and 
that it is a very ugly thing. Recently, the Committee of 100, a group 
of prominent Chinese-Americans, published a survey that measured 
attitudes toward Asian-Americans, especially those of Chinese descent. 
It was the first such comprehensive survey--the group wanted to 
establish a baseline that can be compared to future studies so that we 
can determine whether racist attitudes against Chinese-Americans are 
rising or falling.
  The result of this first survey was distressing. Apparently, one-
quarter of Americans hold ``very negative attitudes'' toward Chinese-
Americans, and one-third think that Chinese-Americans are more likely 
to be loyal to China than to the United States. Stop and think about 
that: a charge of disloyalty is a sensational accusation when it is 
leveled by one American against another. This survey suggests that 90 
million people in this country accuse millions of their fellow 
Americans of disloyalty.
  The same poll also tested attitudes toward Asian-Americans in 
general, with similar results. Twenty-four percent of Americans would 
be upset if someone in their family married an Asian-American; 23 
percent would be uncomfortable voting for an Asian-American president; 
and 17 percent would be disappointed if an Asian-American moved into 
their neighborhood.
  Prejudice toward Chinese-Americans, and toward Asian-Americans in 
general, is not unique. Immigrants from all parts of the world have 
been stereotyped and reviled at some point in our

[[Page S7584]]

history, and many groups continue to face these attitudes today. I 
chose to focus on Chinese-Americans today only because the survey so 
surprised and concerned me.
  Chinese immigrants began entering the country in large numbers in the 
1850's. They were initially welcomed in the tight labor market of the 
rapidly expanding West. In fact, American industry brought many of the 
immigrants from China as contract laborers. Some of these immigrants 
toiled in gold mines and on the transcontinental railroad. Others 
worked in vegetable and fruit farms in California or on sugar 
plantations in Hawaii. Still others opened grocery stores, laundries, 
and other businesses.
  But as labor became more plentiful and the gold rush petered out, 
public sentiment toward these new Americans turned. A campaign to drive 
the Chinese out of the country was fueled by racist slogans and 
developed , at times, into all-out hysteria. Discriminatory laws and 
boycotts against Chinese labor resulted, along with lynchings and 
beatings. In 1882, the federal government put an official stamp on this 
racism by passing the Chinese Exclusion Act, which made it illegal for 
Chinese people to emigrate to this country. This unprecedented and 
embarrassing law stayed on the books until 1943.
  Another indignity that immigrants faced was the system of ``anti-
miscegenation'' laws against intermarriage. In 1880, California passed 
a statute forbidding marriage of a white person to a ``Negro, Mulatto, 
or Mongolian.'' The federal government passed the Cable Act in 1922, 
revoking the citizenship of any American woman who married an Asian 
man. It wasn't until 1967 that the Supreme Court struck down these 
laws.
  I am sorry to report that my own state of Montana was not immune to 
anti-immigrant action. Census data show that in 1870, the Chinese 
accounted for the largest foreign-born population in the state--larger 
even than the Irish. Chinese workers made a particularly significant 
contribution to the mining town of Butte, but by the 1880's they faced 
discrimination and hate attacks. Ads in newspapers appeared with the 
slogan ``Chinese need not apply'' Anti-peddling ordinances were enacted 
against Chinese grocers. In fact, the town's fourth mayor rode to 
victory on the slogan ``The Chinese must go.''
  There is no single description of a Chinese-American. Some Chinese-
Americans were already wealthy and well-educated when they arrived 
here. Others arrived in penury and followed the American path to 
education and success. Some Chinese-Americans continue to celebrate 
their Chinese origin. Others deny, or have forgotten completely, the 
cultural heritage of their ancestors. Yet all are Americans.
  Cruz Reynoso, the first Mexican-American to serve on California's 
Supreme Court, put it this way:

       Americans are not now, and never have been, one people 
     linguistically or ethnically. America is a political union--
     not a cultural, linguistic, religious, or racial union. It is 
     acceptance of our constitutional ideals of democracy, 
     equality, and freedom which acts as a unifier for us as 
     Americans.

  Political scientist Carl Friedrich made a similar point when he wrote 
in 1935: ``To be an American is an ideal, while to be a Frenchman is a 
fact.'' An individual is an American if he or she embraces the founding 
political ideals of our Nation.
  It is the responsibility of all of us, as the elected representatives 
of the American people, to combat racism in our society, to raise 
awareness of how racism damages our nation and our society, to point to 
the ideals that bind us together as citizens of this great nation. 
Thank you.

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