United States:
How important a role in our transportation today was played by Chinese Americans. 12,000 Chinese American men were hired to perform dangerous work on the railroad that white men refused to do. Although they outperformed other laborers, they were paid less. Despite all the hardships, the Chinese laborers never quit and thanks to them, America became the first continent to have a coast to coast railroad.
Canada:
Chinese labor was used to build the railroad, and later to maintain it. Over 17,000 Chinese came to Canada from 1881 through 1884. Several thousand came from the coastal areas of the United States where they helped build the American transcontinental railroad, but the majority arrived directly from southern China. While most of these arrivals worked as laborers on the railroad, exact numbers are unknown.
They encountered a hostile reception in British Columbia. The province already had a sizeable Chinese population following the gold rush in the late 1850s, and racism towards the Chinese was widespread. Newspaper articles and editorial illustrations of the time repeatedly portrayed the Chinese in a degrading way. Many feared that Chinese workers, who were willing to accept lower wages, would take jobs away from white workers. Also, the Chinese culture was abhorrent to white Canadians who did not understand Chinese cultural practices in areas such as dress, living conditions and even funeral rites.
https://www.mhso.ca/tiesthatbind/ChineseRailWorkers.php
Our affirmation: I take a moment to give thanks to all the women and men in this country who never gave up in creating a more connected experience for all of us.
Invitation to Action: Become educated as to the discrimination of Asian Americans today.
