Dear Students,

Do you know that the rights of Chinese people in America have not always been protected? In fact from the years of 1882 to 1943 (that's over 60 years!) Chinese people were excluded from entering the United States. How could the United States do this you might ask? Isn't it racist to exclude one nationality from entering the United States? Yes it is racist, but the United States has not always provided all people with civil rights. Because the United States now gives everyone equal rights (civil rights) it is easy to forget that there was a time when women and minorities (such as Chinese American people and African American people) were discriminated against. Many Americans had to fight and protest in order to help ensure civil rights for everyone! Without the help of these brave Americans, it is possible that Chinese people would have been discriminated against for an even longer period of time! Without civil rights none of you would be here in America today! What exactly are Civil Rights you ask? Civil rights are rights that are necessary in order to be treated as an equal member of society. Throughout the history of the United States, sometimes minority groups have had to fight to secure their civil rights. A minority group is any group of people who are not treated equally and sometimes have their political voice taken away. In United States history, women, African Americans, immigrants, and people with disabilities are all minority groups that have had to fight to ensure their civil rights. Did you know that for America's first 141 years as a country: from 1776 until 1917 more than one half of the adults in the United States were not allowed to vote? We will begin our civil rights unit by learning about what women did in order to fight for the civil rights they deserved such as the right to vote.

Then, during the next portion of our civil rights unit we will focus on African American civil rights. Although today if you look at our school, you will see Chinese, African American, Hispanic American, and Caucasian students all peacefully attending school together, this was not always the case. Until the year 1954 black and white children were required to attend separate schools. Not only that, African American people had to sit on the back of buses, back of movie theaters and use different drinking fountains than white people did. We will learn about the special marches and other forms of nonviolent protest that African Americans engaged in order to receive their rights. Last, but definitely not least, we will focus on the rights that the Chinese American community has won right here in Chinatown! In 2004 4 democratic mayoral candidates came to speak to people in Chinatown about issues impacting the Chinese-American community. This was a special victory for Chinese Americans because as late as the 1980s New York City's mayoral candidates had turned down all invitations to come speak in Chinatown. If politicians do not come to Chinatown this is unfair and unequal because then Chinese-Americans do not have the same information about voting that other Americans get! Clearly, the fight for civil rights and equality is an ongoing battle. Furthermore, although many Americans today receive equal rights, this is not something that should be taken for granted. Many Americans in the past faced discrimination and had to work hard to ensure that future Americans would get equality!