Asian Americans are the fastest-growing demographic group in the United States, yet across 250 years of American history, their stories and the discrimination they faced have often been overlooked. A new PBS documentary by Judy Woodruff, part of her series America at a Crossroads, examines how that past continues to shape questions about who belongs in America.
The report traces the history through the eyes of Michael Luo, journalist and author of 'Strangers in the Land.' Luo recounts his own experience in 2016 when a stranger on Manhattan's Upper East Side told him to 'go back to China,' prompting him to respond: 'I was born in this country.' He sees his personal confrontation as part of a much deeper pattern stretching through American history. 'It is that question that we have been wrestling with for much of the history of the American republic of who gets to be an American,' Luo said.
What the Right Is Saying
Some conservative voices emphasize that immigration restrictions, including the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, reflected broader debates about national sovereignty and rule of law rather than purely racial animus. Luo notes in the documentary that at the time, both Republicans and Democrats engaged in anti-Chinese rhetoric, with Republicans seeking votes on the West Coast by capitalizing on growing hostility toward Chinese arrivals.
Other commentators have argued that 1965 immigration reforms, signed by President Lyndon Johnson at the Statue of Liberty, fundamentally changed the relationship between immigrant groups and American identity, leading to the large-scale migration that produced today's diaspora. Luo acknowledges this is 'not just the story of the Chinese in America' but applies to 'any number of immigrant groups who have been treated as strangers.'
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive scholars and Asian American advocates argue that recognizing this overlooked history is essential to understanding persistent inequalities today. Luo describes the 'precarity' of the Asian American experience, noting that despite apparent success in certain institutions, shocks like COVID-19 or economic downturns reveal underlying vulnerability. 'We have seen throughout American history the way that happens,' he said.
The documentary highlights how Chinese laborers played enormous roles in building the transcontinental railroad, yet were segregated from white workers and paid far less. Advocates for historical recognition point to this pattern of contribution without acknowledgment as central to understanding Asian American experiences of marginalization.
What the Numbers Show
The documentary details several key historical statistics: the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first U.S. law to bar entry based explicitly on race and nationality. Nearly 200 communities in the American West expelled Chinese residents, many violently, during a period historians call 'the Driving Out.' In 1871, at least 17 Chinese immigrants were killed in a mass lynching in Los Angeles. The exclusion era lasted 83 years before restrictions began to ease during World War II.
The landmark Supreme Court ruling on birthright citizenship stemming from the case of San Francisco-born Wong Kim Ark continues to be tested in courts today. Today, the United States is home to the largest Chinese diaspora outside of Asia.
The Bottom Line
The documentary arrives as Asian American communities report rising incidents of discrimination and as debates over immigration policy remain politically charged. Luo argues that examining this history reveals a consistent thread: 'Difference is hard... I think just human nature.' He suggests the multiracial experiment in California served as a test for the country, one he believes it did not pass particularly well. The film ultimately poses questions about whether America should be held to a higher standard given its founding ideals of equality, and how understanding this overlooked history might inform contemporary debates over belonging and national identity.