You are watching booktv on cspan2 with top nonfiction books and authors at the weekend. Tv, television for serious readers. She teaches American History at university is the wishes a professor, a Mcknight University professor, the rudolph chair in immigration history and the director of the immigration History Research center. Lee is the author of three awardwinning books in u. S. Immigration, americas gates, chinese immigration during the exclusionary era, 18821943, and angel island, gateway to america in the making of asian america, a history. At the immigration History Research center she has helped to merge immigration history with the digital humanities. She launched and oversees the National Endowment for the humanities funded immigration story project which works with recent immigrants and refugees to collect, preserve and share their experiences. Her book america for americans a history of xenophobia in the United States is the subject of tonight talk. Please welcome erika lee.
Tmac im glad you are here so we can get started. Since your last panel, we know you are going to bring it so we can wrap this up and close up strong. That may introduce our panelists. We have john yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans advancing justice. Mr. Yang leads the organization his to fight Asian Americans to create just america for all through Public Policy advocacy education litigation. His extensive legal background enables advancing justice to address the study all season programs legislative attempts to discriminate against and marginalize Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other minority communities. Mr. Vargas is the chief executive officer latino and elected officials. A nation a Membership Organization of latina policymakers and their supporters, governed by a 35 member board of directors. This vargas also serves is ceo and educational, and affiliated National Nonprofit organization strengthens american democracy by promoting full participatio
Track with the reality of how we have treated immigrants . Dr. Kraut the history of immigration in the u. S. Doesnt track at all with emma lazaruss wonderful quotation. It has been a lovehate relationship. In the 19th century, there was a popular immigrant saying, america beckons but americans repel. That is more accurate as to how our relationship with immigration has been in the United States. A great irony is that emma lazarus wrote the poem in 1883, and one year before, in 1882, the u. S. Passed the chinese exclusion law, excluding chinese laborers from coming to the u. S. In the years after that, increasingly restrictive legislation was passed. We want immigrants to calm, we beckon them with opportunity to take jobs as skilled, semiskilled, unskilled labor to build our country, construct our economy, but after they get here, frequently they are the object of scorn, they are discriminated against, they suffer some of the worst acts of prejudice imaginable. This is a very complicate
Kraut, you have spent your professional career as an historian studying u. S. Immigration. Many americans look to the statue of libertys famous poem by emma lazarus that says give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free as the embodiment of the way we think about this country and immigration. As you look at history, does it track with the reality of how we have treated immigrants . Dr. Kraut the history of immigration in the u. S. Doesnt track at all with emma lazaruss wonderful quotation. It has been a lovehate relationship. In the 19th century, there was a popular immigrant saying, america beckons but americans repel. That is more accurate as to how our relationship with immigration has been in the United States. One of the great ironies is that emma lazarus wrote the poem in 1883, and one year before, in 1882, the u. S. Passed the chinese exclusion law, excluding chinese laborers from coming to the United States. We would pass in the years after that i
Susan alan kraut, you have spent your professional career as an historian studying u. S. Immigration. Many americans look to the statue of libertys famous poem by emma lazarus that says give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free as the embodiment of the way we think about this country and immigration. As you look at history, does it track with the reality of how we have treated immigrants . Dr. Kraut the history of immigration in the u. S. Doesnt track at all with emma lazaruss wonderful quotation. In fact, it has been a lovehate relationship. In the 19th century, there was a popular immigrant saying, america beckons but americans repel. That is more accurate as to how our relationship with immigration has been in the United States. In fact, one of the great ironies is that emma lazarus wrote the poem in 1883, and one year before, in 1882, the u. S. Passed the chinese exclusion law, excluding chinese laborers from coming to the United States. We would p