by Martin and Rich Lee
Why are there so many Chinese restaurants even in small rural towns? It’s been over 80 years since the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act which was the first major legislation to bar a specific national group from immigration to the United States. But this xenophobic and racist law set in motion creative and resilient efforts by Chinese immigrants to resist and overcome these barriers. The establishment of Chinese restaurants in the early 1900s served as a way for Chinese immigration to continue, albeit slowly, through legal loopholes for merchants to bring restaurant workers from China. Of course, many of these workers were family members allowing for family reunification. So yes, there are a lot of Chinese restaurants and thank goodness!
Martin and Rich Lee are second generation Korean American brothers. Martin is a retired elementary school teacher and the illustrator of the strip. Rich is a professor of psychology in Asian American studies at the University of Minnesota and writes the content.
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.
We’re now on BlueSky. You can now keep up with the latest AAPI news there and on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and X.
We are supported by generous donations from our readers and by such charitable foundations as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
You can make your tax-deductible donations here via credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Venmo. Stock donations and donations via DAFs are also welcomed.