125th Anniversary Celebration of birthright citizenship in birthplace of Wong Kim Ark

Two hundred people packed into SF Chinatown to mark the 125-year anniversary of a court ruling that guaranteed birthright citizenship in the United States over the weekend. The celebration, hosted jointly by the 6 companies and the Chinese Historical Society of America, featured commemorations from public officials and a lively discussion among a group of law professors and legal historians researching the legacy of Wong Kim Ark. Panelists included Professor Charles McClain, Professor Gabriel Jack Chin, Professor Amanda Frost, and 1990 Dirctor Susana Liu-Hedberg. Yours truly moderated.  (Coverage from Channel 7 news (timestamp is 9:26) and English and Chinese-language newspapers continues to unfold as the week of events culminates today, March 28, 2023. Photo, L-R Chen, McClain, Chin, Frost, Liu-Hedberg.)

In addition, the Center for Race, Immigration, Citizenship, and Equality (RICE) at UC Law San Francisco hosted a March 23 lecture from Professor Sam Erman (video posted) and a Chinatown tour that included a stop (and selfie) in front of Wong Kim Ark’s birthplace. (Photo, L-R: Ming Hsu Chen, Amanda Frost, Rachel Rosenbloom, Sam Erman.)

Continuing coverage of the Wong Kim Ark decision will be added to this thread: Professor Amanda Frost wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post and Jack Chin spoke with NPR.

MHC