Resilience & Rights: AAPI Courage in the Face of Adversity

AAPI Heritage Month Exhibition Now on View

New York State Capitol

Governor's Reception Room

Monday – Friday

7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Resilience & Rights: AAPI Courage in the Face of Adversity highlights New York Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) leaders and groups that have faced discrimination with courage, creativity, and collective action to expand the fundamental rights of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

Their experiences of life in the U.S. during the Chinese Exclusion Acts, as prisoners in the Japanese Internment Camps of World War II, as refugees fleeing war, and as activists on the frontlines of the labor movement, fostered a commitment to resist exclusionary policies and continue the fight for an equitable society.

By resisting exclusionary policies, challenging inequities, and fighting for civil rights, these leaders remind us that resilience and courage are fuel for the ongoing battle for equality.
 

*Please note that historical documents in this exhibition may contain outdated and offensive terminology and depictions.

view exhibit objects

As Chinese immigrants filled low-paying jobs in industries such as the railroad, mining, and hand laundries, native-born white Americans feared job competition and pointed to the Chinese as the cause of the nation’s high unemployment and low wages. The Act barred most Chinese immigrants from entering the U.S. for ten years and prohibited existing Chinese immigrants from naturalization. This was the nation’s first ethnic-based immigration law.

The Geary Act of 1892 extended the ban and required Chinese residents to carry residence cards or risk arrest and deportation. The Immigration Acts of 1917 and 1924 expanded the Geary Act restrictions by adding immigration quotas, literacy tests, and creating the “Asiatic Barred Zone.”

Congress repealed the exclusion acts during World War II when China was a member of the Allied Nations; however, immigration quotas remained, permitting only 105 Chinese immigrants per year. It was not until the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 that a pathway to American citizenship for Chinese immigrants became clear.

Image: Political cartoon from 1882 depicting the prejudicial climate in the American government toward Chinese immigrants. Courtesy of the New York Public Library.

Wong Chin Foo and the Chinese Equal Rights League

Wong Chin Foo fought against 19th century anti-Chinese prejudices through his work as a journalist and activist and played a vital role in forming the Chinese American identity. In the 1880s, Foo published the Chinese American, a newspaper in New York City, to inform Chinese immigrants about current political events.

Responding to the Geary Act, Foo and New York’s Chinese American community organized the Chinese Equal Rights League. The league led protests and rallies, and prepared a formal appeal against the act, arguing that Chinese residents were entitled to the same rights as American citizens. While Foo and the league were unable to overturn the Geary Act, their actions tested the limits of exclusionary laws and laid the groundwork for future activism.

Image at left: Wong Chin Foo (b.1847-1898) was born in northern China and emigrated to the U.S. in the 1860s with an American missionary family. In 1874, he was one of the first Chinese immigrants to become a naturalized American citizen before the Chinese Exclusion Acts prohibited this right.

Mabel Ping-Hua Lee and Women’s Suffrage

At just sixteen years old, Chinese immigrant Mabel Ping-Hua Lee joined the women’s suffrage movement and notably led the 1912 NYC Women’s Suffrage Parade on horseback—an incredible act of visibility during a period of anti-Chinese sentiment. Lee advocated for women’s rights and suffrage; even though she, as a Chinese American, would not be granted this fundamental right due to the Exclusion Acts.

In 1920, women received the right to vote in the U.S.; however, it was not until the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Acts in 1943 that some Chinese Americans were granted the right to vote. While Lee’s activism did not result in immediate legislative change for Chinese women in America, it successfully challenged the white-dominated narrative of the suffrage movement by creating visibility for immigrants and space for future advocacy.

Image at left: Dr. Mabel Ping-Hua Lee became the first Chinese American woman to receive a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University. Lee later led the First Chinese Baptist Church of New York City where she offered vocational and English classes, a health clinic, and kindergarten – quiet, yet powerful acts of resilience that uplifted her Chinese American community in New York.

During several global conflicts, New York state became a safe haven for many AAPI refugees.

Bhutanese Refugee Conflict in Nepal

In 1985, the Druk Gyalpo (King) of Bhutan implemented the Bhutanese Citizenship Act that aimed to promote a unified national identity. This act, referred to as “one nation, one people,” ultimately led to the forced removal of tens of thousands of Bhutanese citizens of Nepali origin, who were suddenly deemed “illegal immigrants.” Accounting for more than one-sixth of the country’s population, they were forced to renounce ownership of their land and leave their homes behind. By the 1990s, over 100,000 refugees lived in camps in Nepal.

From 2007 to 2016, refugees were brought to the United States and seven other countries as part of a Bhutanese resettlement program.

A Story of Resilience - Bijaya Khadka

Bijaya Khadka was one of those refugees. Raised in a Nepal refugee camp, Khadka moved to Rochester, New York in 2009 and became a pillar for local refugees, starting a nonprofit to help immigrants and refugees find a sense of identity when living in a new country.

“My journey from a stateless refugee boy to a proud American is not just my story - it is the story of many. And I share it not to seek sympathy, but to show the strength, resilience, and potential that every refugee carries within them.” - Bijaya Khadka

Conflict: United States War in Afghanistan

The War in Afghanistan was a twenty-year-long conflict between the United States and its allies, and the Taliban regime of Afghanistan that began in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

In the U.S., a tidal wave of xenophobia grew throughout the war. American citizens of Middle Eastern descent spent years battling prejudice and hate crimes. Thousands of refugees from Afghanistan were forced to rebuild their lives in unwelcoming environments.

Leadership and Service: Yousaf Sherzad

In the face of this discrimination, community leaders arose to help protect Afghan refugees in New York State. Yousaf Sherzad served in the Afghan National Police from 2006 to 2016 before moving to the

U.S. to focus on his passion for serving others. As acting president of the Afghan American Community Center in Albany, New York, Sherzad works to assist Afghan refugees with translation services, job placement, cultural orientation, and more. From law enforcement to community service, Sherzad’s resilience in the face of adversity has transformed the lives of countless people.

World War II: Japanese Internment Camps

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 launched the U.S. into World War II and led to rising paranoia and anti-Japanese sentiment across the country. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order authorizing the relocation of over 100,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast to internment camps. The camps were hastily made in remote areas such as deserts, plains and swamps throughout ten states. The camps were closed by 1946, but it was not until the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 that the U.S. government publicly renounced the camps, apologized for the injustice and offered reparations to all citizens who were incarcerated.

Miné Okubo’s Citizen 13660

Artist Miné Okubo was one of many children interned in these camps. Forced to live in a horse racetrack-turned-camp away from their family, she and her brother slept in a tiny 20-by-9-foot horse stall. But despite the harsh conditions, she wished to document them and created autobiographical drawings of her life in the camp. Okubo even opened an art school in the camp and published a small literary magazine.

After the war, Okubo moved to New York and published her drawings in a graphic memoir called Citizen 13660. Her book was the first account of an internee’s life in the camps to be published.
 

The Chinese Hand Laundry Alliance

Chinese immigrants have long faced discriminatory labor practices in America, from wage and hours exploitation to exclusion from employment protection—particularly in the laundry and garment industries.

In the 1930s, the Chinese Hand Laundry Alliance (CHLA) was organized in response to a New York City bill to raise hand laundry licensing fees and require proof of citizenship, which most Chinese immigrants could not provide. The CHLA successfully pressured officials to reduce fees and grant exemptions to the citizenship clause for Chinese New Yorkers, protecting the rights of its 3,200 members.

Decades later, thousands of Chinese immigrant women working in New York City’s garment industry were clocking 12-hour days in crowded, unhygienic facilities for low wages. In 1982, the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) organized a strike in which more than 20,000 workers successfully fought for, and achieved, better childcare, healthcare, fair pay, and safety.

Above Image: A packed New York City garment factory with fabric piles and several Chinese workers. Photograph taken by Bud Glick, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection.

From the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to modern-day hate crimes, AAPI communities have faced acts of discrimination and prejudice in many forms. The individuals and organizations highlighted in this exhibition exemplify the meaning of resilience and have refused to give up when confronted with adversity.

New York State has become a home for many Asian refugees escaping conflict. Of those who found safety in the state, most arrived without connections or basic understanding of English. Despite all of this, many have met and overcome these challenges and have risen to be voices for their communities.

Today, Asian and Pacific Islander American New Yorkers continue to celebrate the unique contributions of AAPI communities and advocate for the protection of all human rights.

During the COVID-19 global pandemic, anti-Asian hate crimes surged, prompting the launch of the #StopAsianHate campaign in New York to raise awareness and stop the spread of hate in New York.

In 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul established the New York State Asian American and Pacific Islander commission to support the economic, health, educational, and social well-being needs of AAPI communities. The Commission develops policy recommendations, implements public education campaigns, and raises awareness of state and local resources for AAPI communities.

For nearly 200 years, AAPI communities have helped build New York through their labor and cultural contributions, despite persistent discriminatory and exclusionary policies. Through resilience, AAPI communities inspire future generations to continue the fight for greater equality and justice.