"Asian Hate: Plan of Action" with Mr. Jimmy Chao, University of South Carolina

Event Description:

History is like a mirror. Looking into the history can reflect often what will happen today. Whenever there is a challenging problem, there is a scapegoat. You can see a live example in the past two years—the out-of-control pandemic led to “China Virus” and “Kung Flu.” And inevitably it turned into Asian hate. As this country became a nation, its founders sought to restrict eligibility for citizenship. In 1790 the Congress passed a law limiting naturalization to "free white persons." The first Asians to arrive in the United States in large numbers were the Chinese, who came to work on Hawaiian plantations by the 1840s and to the West Coast of the mainland starting in the early 1850s to work in gold mines and later to help build the cross-country railroads. In 1882, the Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act—the only United States Iaw to prevent immigration and naturalization on the basis of race. In 1924 the Immigration Act excluded all Asians. In 1942, in the middle of WWII, Japanese Internment Camps were established; an estimated 110,000-120,000 Japanese-Americans were placed into camps. In 1965 the ban on AAPI immigration was lifted. In 1991, the majority of American voters believed that Asian Americans were not discriminated against in the United States although Asian Americans suffered widely the pain and humiliation of bigotry and acts of violence. Some even believed that Asian Americans received "too many special advantages.” Do we see any difference today after 30 years? According to “the Illusion of Asian Success” by Ascend Foundation, Asians are least likely to be promoted. Goldman Sacks has 27% Asian employees, but the ratio dropped to only 11% among the executives and senior managers, and no Asian reached the level of its executive officers. What can we do to effect the changes? • Educate yourself on what it’s like to be an Asian American. Share our stories, get familiar with our history. We are stronger in numbers • Realign the Mindset • Volunteer or donate to local community groups like Non-profits, SC Commission of Minority Affairs, PAC, political candidates, etc. • Support Asian American businesses in your community • Amplify Asian artists, authors, and activists • Speak up – silence is violence. User your voice and influence. Report acts of hate • Facilitate cross-cultural unity. • Register and Vote land of laws. This is also our country. We need to gain our rightful place by playing the same game. VOTE. Speaker: Jimmy Chao is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of South Carolina and many other states. He is the founder and CEO of Chao and Associates from 1987, an engineering firm specialized structural, civil engineering and land surveying. Mr. Chao currently serves on the Board of Directors as Chairman for the First Community Bank. He is also the Chairman for the SC Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors and Capital City and Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board. He is a member of SC Commission for Minority Affairs, AAPI committee. He teaches at the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of University of South Carolina since 2011 as an Adjunct Professor. He also established his scholarship at the University of South Carolina to benefit the minority structural engineering students.