Evento

Who Is American? Chinese Exclusion, Japanese Internment, and Today

How have politics shaped our perceptions of Americanness throughout U.S. history? And how do todays conversations on immigration and exclusion compare with political, legal, and cultural scenarios from our past? On the 76th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, join this dynamic conversation about the ongoing struggle to define who is American. View an excerpt of The Chinese Exclusion Act, a documentary on the United States first significant immigration restriction law, passed in 1882. Then listen to an excerpt from the acclaimed play Hold These Truths, based on the true story of Japanese-American Gordon Hirabayashi, who resisted internment during WWII. Paul Wantanabe, Director of the Institute for Asian American Studies, will remark on connections between Chinese exclusion, Japanese internment, and todays immigration issues, and moderate a conversation between the audience and Hold These Truths director Sato Amush.

This program is made possible with support from the Lowell Institute.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, registration requested at http://osmhdec7-17.bpt.me

Co-presented by the Chinese Historical Society of New England and Old South Meeting House, with support from The Lyric Stage Company, Insitute for Asian American Studies/UMass Boston, Japanese American Citizens League-NE, ArtsEmerson and Boston Asian American Film Festival