Looking Back to Move Forward this Lunar New Year; Let's honor the Chinese railroad workers on the 150th Anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad

Statement

As we celebrate the Lunar New Year season, I wish a joyous celebration to everyone observing the holiday in my district in Queens, and across the United States and the world. This year we usher in the Year of the Pig which is symbolized by wealth and good fortune. Whether you are a new immigrant or a lifelong resident of this country, diverse Asian American communities celebrate Lunar New Year by enjoying large family reunions, sharing delicious home cooked meals, exchanging red envelopes and honoring our ancestors and elders. Even as we partake in these festivities, however, we must fully acknowledge and understand the struggles our communities faced in the past struggles that have allowed us to flourish today.

Our difficult past created the space needed for today's growing conversations on Asian American diversity and inclusion. With the 150th anniversary of the First Transcontinental Railroad quickly approaching on May 10, 2019, I urge all Americans to recognize the struggles and successes of the thousands of Chinese railroad workers.

Ever since Asian Americans first immigrated to the United States, we have constantly had to prove our "Americanness." Among the first Asian immigrants were laborers from China who came to the U.S. to work on the First Transcontinental Railroad. Over a century and a half ago, the Chinese were used as cheap labor to do the most dangerous work laying the tracks of our transcontinental railway and building the California delta levees. They strengthened our nation's infrastructure, only to be persecuted when their labor was seen as competition and when the dirtiest work was done.

While working in the Sierras, Chinese workers hung in baskets, 2,000 feet above raging rivers, to blast into the impenetrable granite mountain to make way for laying the tracks. These railroad workers left an indelible mark in the history of this nation. Their contributions laid the tracks for a greater economic prosperity and movement in the United States.

Sadly, their work was met with xenophobic hysteria across this country that led to the series of anti-Chinese immigration laws. While we have come a long way from the prejudice and social isolation that Chinese laborers faced just 150 years ago, today, Asian American acceptance into society is far from perfect; in fact, I still face xenophobia as a Member of Congress. Personally, as a Chinese American, I feel indebted to the Chinese railroad workers for being pioneers in advancing equal opportunities and rights for all Americans.

I am currently leading a bipartisan letter to the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee that encourages the U.S. Postal Service to issue a stamp commemorating the Chinese railroad workers. I want this part of American history to be remembered. I want to share our history so that future generations are not ashamed of our past, but proud of the workers' bravery and their fight for equality. A stamp would allow all Americans to incorporate this part of history into their daily lives, and continue our efforts to weave the story of Asian Americans into the American story.

With the beginning of the Year of the Pig, I wish good health, success, and happiness to you and your families. Above all, I challenge each of us to reflect on our history, embrace those who appear different from us, and celebrate those who came before us to lay the groundwork to strengthen our American story.

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