On Dec. 5, Pearl S. Buck International President and CEO Christy Holland, board Chair Mateen Afzal and board member Stephanie Sun participated in CRCEA80, a national conference to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Pearl S. Buck International’s founder, Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, humanitarian, and activist Pearl S. Buck, was a major influence and deeply involved in the effort to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Presenters at the conference included various Chinese-American and Asian-American U.S. Representatives, dignitaries, and committee members. “Today’s occasion not only commemorates legislative change but also pays homage to the tireless efforts of one remarkable woman who led in repealing the Chinese Exclusion Act, Ms. Pearl S. Buck,” Sun said in her remarks.
“Ms. Buck was steadfast in her pursuit to overturn Chinese exclusion laws barring Chinese immigrants from entering the United States,” noted Holland in her remarks. Pearl Buck “repeatedly used her voice and publications to end targeted attempts to block immigration.”
Afzal also spoke at the event about his experience as the son of a mixed race and first-generation immigrant couple from Sweden and India, and how the repeal of the CEA opened doors to the American dream for not just Chinese immigrants but for immigrants of other Asian descents, such as his father.
The repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act by the Magnuson Act on Dec. 17, 1943 allowed for Chinese immigration to the United States for the first time since the act went into effect in 1882. Pearl S. Buck and Richard J. Walsh were leading figures in the movement to abolish Chinese exclusion. Buck spoke against the discrimination of Chinese through various media outlets of the time, including a radio broadcast in March of 1942. Buck and Walsh were also part of the Citizens Committee to Repeal Chinese Exclusion, which formed in 1943 and was instrumental in arguing for the exclusion act’s repeal. Buck was a vital part of this committee, and Walsh was the chairman of the committee.
A formal apology for the legislation was given by the House of Representatives on June 18, 2012.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.
