Ethnic Studies | Ethnic Groups | Practice|

Iroquois Confederacy

Sophisticated governance systems

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)

Government agency (1824) that managed communication with N.A./criticized for corruption & poor oversight.

Indian Removal Act

1830 by President Andrew Jackson; allowed federal gov. to negotiate land treaties w/ N.A. tribes

Trail of Tears

Forced march of the Cherokee Nation to move west of the Mississippi in the 1830s

Indian Appropriations Act (1851)

Formally est. the reservation system by funding the relocation of tribes onto designated lands

Reservation

Land where N.A. tribes were forcibly relocated; created by treaties that were often broken or unfairly negotiated by the U.S. gov.

Conditions:

• Lack of proper education & healthcare

• Land was oftentimes poor quality

• Tribal sovereignty restricted

Assimilation

Process of encouraging/ forcing an individual to adopt culture of dominant society; at the expense of their own traditions & cultural identity

Occupation of Alcatraz (1969)

• Native American activists took over Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.
  

• They demanded the return of Indigenous lands, tribal self-government (sovereignty), and an end to corruption in the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
  

• It became a powerful symbol of Native activism and the fight for rights.

1970s: AIM (American Indian Movement)

Demands treaty enforcement and tribal rights; publicized Indigenous struggles

Manilamen

1st wave of Asians to arrive were Filipino sailors

Coolies

Immigrants

Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882

• Banned Chinese laborers for 10 yrs

• Denied citizenship to immigrants

• Prohibited family immigration

Immigration Act of 1917:

• Est. Asiatic Barred Zone; included much of Asia except Japan & Philippines

• Required immigrants over 16 to take literacy test

Immigration Act of 1924:

• Banned all immigration from Asia

• Est. strict national origins quotas; limited immigration favored Western European/excluded most Asian

Executive Order 9066 (1942):

Enacted by FDR; gave military the power to designate certain regions as “military areas” & remove persons deemed as threat

Japanese Internment

Forced relocation & imprisonment of over 120,000 Japanese Americans in govt. run camps

Immigration & Nationality Act of 1965

Abolished immigration quotas based on country of origin; preference system based on job skills, family relationships, & refugees

• CRM shed light on discrimination in U.S. immigration system

Important Effects:

• Increased immigration from Asian & Latin American countries

• Next 3 decades → over 18 million legal immigrants come into U.S.

• Lrg undocumented immigrant pop.

Third World Liberation Strike

Student led (San Francisco State College) protest; demanded ethnic studies college & more faculty/students of color

The Model Minority Myth

• Stereotype portrays Asians as universally successful

• Ignores diversity & struggles within Asian communities

• Used to downplay racism against other minorities

De Jure Segregation

• It means racial separation that is required and enforced by laws. (legislation)

  • Example: Jim Crow laws, Black Codes, and laws that restricted voting rights based on race.

De Facto Segregation

• It means races are separated because of everyday social behaviors and choices, not because of official laws.

• For example, where people live, work, or go to school can be separated by race due to things like housing discrimination or economic differences.

Example: Even if laws don’t force segregation, it still happens in practice.

Brown v. Board of Education

• Supreme court case that declared racial segregation in public schools as unconstitutional

  • Overturned “separate but equal” doctrine est. by Plessy v. Ferguson

Brown v. Board of Education II

Follow-up Supreme Court decision that ordered schools to desegregate “with all deliberate speed”

The Little Rock Nine

Nine Black students who integrated an Central High School in Arkansas

Orval Faubus

• In 1957, Governor Orval Faubus tried to stop nine Black students—the Little Rock Nine—from entering a formerly all-white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas.

• He used the Arkansas National Guard to block them.

• President Dwight D. Eisenhower then sent federal troops to protect the students and make sure the Brown v. Board of Education ruling was enforced, allowing the students to attend school safely.

The Civil Rights Act of 1957

• Signed into law by President Eisenhower; first civil rights law since Reconstruction

  • Created the Civil Rights Division in the Justice Department

  • Est. the U.S. Civil Rights Commission

  • Gave the federal government the power to take legal steps to protect the right to vote

Rosa Parks

African American seamstress who refused give up her seat to a white patron on the bus; started the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956)

Boycott

A form of protest in which people refuse to buy, use, or participate in something

Housing Segregation

Separation of people into different residential areas based on identity.

Red Lining

Refusing to give money for mortgages in black neighborhoods

Racial Covenants

Clauses in property deed that historically restricted the sale or occupancy of land based on race or ethnicity, effectively segregation neighborhoods

Marcus Garvey

1887-1940; charismatic leader who organized a black empowerment movement in Harlem during 1920s; promoted economic and cultural independence

What did Marcus Garvey do?

• Promoted Black pride, unity, and self-reliance: Movements and leaders encouraged Black people to feel proud of their heritage, come together as a community, and depend on themselves instead of others.

• "Back to Africa" movement: This movement encouraged African Americans to return to Africa to build their own independent, powerful nation.

• Pan Africanism: The belief that all people of African descent around the world should unite and support each other as one global community.

Malcolm X

Dad killed by KKK; grew up in foster homes; in prison he converted to Islam

Nation of Islam

• The Nation of Islam is a religious and political movement founded in the 1930s in the United States.
  

• It promotes Black self-reliance, pride, and separation from white society.
  

• It combines elements of Islam with ideas about Black empowerment.
  

• Famous leaders include Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X (before he left the group).
  

• The group encouraged Black people to build their own businesses, communities, and institutions.

Black nationalism

Movement that encouraged Black ppl to control their own communities (focus on political awareness/economic growth)

The Black Panther Party

• Founded in 1966 in Oakland, CA by Bobby Seale & Huey P. Newton

• Org. initially created to protect Black communities from police violence

What did the Black Panther party do?

• Advocated for Black self-determination, armed self defense, & cultural pride

• Community programs: 

• Free Breakfast for Children Program

• Free health clinics/med. Services

• Education programs (political education and civic awareness)

Roots of the Movement

• The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) changed the border between Mexico and the U.S.

• Many people who were Mexican found themselves living in the U.S. and were promised full citizenship and rights.

• Despite this promise, Mexican Americans — especially farm workers — faced unfair treatment for decades.

• During hard economic times like the Great Depression, many were pushed out of jobs and even deported, despite being longtime U.S. residents.

• In the 1960s, inspired by the African American Civil Rights Movement, Chicanos began fighting for equality.

• The Chicano Movement focused mainly on land rights, workers’ rights, and educational and political equality.

Reclaiming Land and Identity

• The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) promised people in the new U.S. territory they could keep their land.

• This promise was broken — many Mexican Americans lost their land.

• Chicano activists tried to reclaim these lands in the Southwest but were not successful.

• They then promoted the idea of sacred, ancestral lands.

• They popularized Aztlán — a region in northern Mexico and the southern U.S. — believed to be the original homeland of the Mexican people.

• Even without official ownership, Aztlán became a symbol of heritage and Mexican American identity.

Farmworkers’ Rights

• Many Mexican Americans were migrant farmworkers, moving from farm to farm with the seasons.

• Migrant farmworkers were often treated very poorly, and their kids rarely stayed in school long.

• In the 1960s, the Chicano Movement aimed to protect migrant families and their rights.

• Workers organized into larger groups to stand up to farm owners and demand better conditions.

• Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA).

• The NFWA led boycotts against growers who refused fair treatment and pushed for new laws.

• The government responded with some new protections, like higher wages and better job security.

• Unions like the NFWA still work today to protect Mexican American workers’ rights.

Equality in Education

• In 1947, a California court ruled it was illegal to segregate white and Mexican American students.

• Despite this, big inequalities remained in schools.

• Many Chicano kids had to move often because their parents were migrant farmworkers.

• Many didn’t speak English well, and their parents often didn’t speak English at all, making school harder.

• As a result, only about 25% of Chicano students graduated from high school.

• Schools in poorer areas with more Chicano students got less funding than wealthier, mostly white schools.

• Students saw how this cycle pushed them into the same low-paying jobs as their parents.

• High school and college students formed Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA).

• They organized walkouts and pushed schools and leaders for education reform.

• They demanded more Mexican American history in classes and more Mexican American teachers.

Political Involvement

• The changes the Chicano Movement fought for didn’t happen overnight but progress was made over time.

• MEChA inspired many Chicanos to get involved in politics and social issues.

• This activism helped create the Raza Unida Party, a political party for Chicanos.

• The Chicano Movement is less famous than the Civil Rights Movement in the South but just as important for civil rights.

• It mainly focused on land rights, workers’ rights, and education reform but also tackled other equality issues.

• In the 1970s, Chicana women worked to get healthcare forms in Spanish as well as English.

• The movement achieved many goals over decades and still fights for fair treatment in schools, jobs, and media.

• Most importantly, the Chicano Movement showed Mexican Americans they have a strong voice in society and politics.

Document B: The Munson Report

• In 1941, President Roosevelt asked the State Department to check the loyalty of Japanese Americans.

• Curtis B. Munson did this investigation in October–November 1941.

• The result was the “Munson Report,” given to Roosevelt on November 7, 1941.

• The report said there was no Japanese “problem” on the West Coast.

• It found no risk of an armed uprising by Japanese Americans.

• It said some sabotage might happen but mostly by outside agents, not local Japanese Americans.

• Many were on suspect lists for minor things, like giving pro-Japan speeches.

• Intelligence believed only a small number were actually dangerous.

• Japanese Americans were unlikely saboteurs because their appearance made them easy to spot.

• The report said Communists were actually a bigger threat than Japanese Americans.

• Most Japanese Americans were farmers, fishermen, or small business owners with no access to military plants or complex machinery.

Document C: The Crisis

• This excerpt is from The Crisis, the NAACP’s magazine, written after Japanese American incarceration camps were set up.

• The editorial points out that no camps were created for Japanese Americans on the East Coast, where their population was small.

• The real military threat on the East Coast was from Germany and Italy.

• Despite this, the U.S. government did not imprison Germans or Italians — or their American-born children — like they did with Japanese Americans.

• The editorial argues this difference is because Germans and Italians were considered “white.”

• The piece says race was the main reason thousands of Japanese American citizens were sent to camps, while no German or Italian Americans were.

Document D: The Korematsu Supreme Court Ruling

• In 1944, Fred Korematsu challenged his conviction for avoiding incarceration of Japanese Americans.

• The Supreme Court ruled that national security was more important than Korematsu’s individual rights.

• The Court upheld Executive Order 9066, which allowed forced removal and incarceration.

• The opinion acknowledged the hardships imposed but said hardships are part of war.

• It said all citizens share war burdens, and citizenship includes responsibilities.

• The Court said excluding citizens without direct emergency is usually unconstitutional.

• But in wartime, protections must match the threat, and the West Coast was considered threatened by Japan.

• The Court rejected the idea that the order was based on racial prejudice.

• It said Korematsu was excluded due to military necessity, not hostility to race.

• Congress had authorized military leaders to take these actions for security reasons.

Document E: Personal Justice Denied

• In 1980, Congress created the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians to investigate Japanese American detention during WWII.

• The Commission held 20 days of hearings across the U.S., especially on the West Coast, hearing from over 750 witnesses including evacuees, officials, and experts.

• They reviewed government records, personal accounts, and historical analyses.

• The Commission concluded Executive Order 9066 was not justified by military necessity.

• The decisions to exclude, detain, and later end exclusion were based on racial prejudice, war hysteria, and poor political leadership—not military facts.

• Ignorance about Japanese Americans and fear of Japan fueled a rushed policy.

• The policy caused grave injustice by excluding and detaining Japanese Americans without individual evidence or review.