Chinese Exclusion Act

First, Chinese immigrants get basically in the Mississippi Delta to work in the cotton fields cause they were cheap to paid and politically voiceless due to their ( in my opinion, they are not that voiceless, Americans understood that type of behavior like this but they just have a different way of taking thing from our « western » way. Actually Chinese culture inculcates the fact of taking on oneself, of not spreading it state of mind for all to see… which leads Americans to think that they are manageable)

However at the end of slavery, they decided to leave the ship to take a new path

They really had to face a bunch of injustices and a lot of struggles as well. First of all, they settled in from Memphis to Vicksburg then they started opening grocery stores and change their lives and black’s, by supplying all the districts when the latter were no longer the concern of whites.

Another point is that these businesses included the whole family everyone involved, they used to work 7 days a week, morning until night, 365 days a year, such a hardworking community.

By the way they were clearly underpaid, like 4/5 times less than a white citizen.

Moreover, they were not allowed to own any property so they had to sleep in the back or basement of their shops.

Nevertheless, they did survive to all of this by focusing on their own, their traditional values while integrating in the same time and never letting go of this conviction of success and better life.

They use to gathered to share a big traditional dinner as usual, counting stories, in order to keep these memories, souls and smiles always awake.

For celebrations and dances as well.

After a generation, they finally were allowed to go to white public school

Besides, due to the unemployment and poverty that started to settle in in the city, the groceries became a target to the broke people in the area, armed robberies, assaults get usual.

According to my view, I don’t think that they attained « the American Dream » as they say , because this expression for me is just a maneuvre that attracts greedy people into the American system. So they had not, however they succeed by not letting unfair weight of life flow them down, by persevering in their ambitions, they worked hard afford a beautiful future to their offsprings, some became doctors, other pharmaciens, other militaries, which means good status in the society.

Now they are Chinese restaurants all over the country more than fast-food which is the favorite’s American food, they have established themselves in American life and no one can deny it.

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