1907 Bellingham race riot explained

The Bellingham riots occurred on September 4, 1907, in Bellingham, Washington, United States.^[1] A mob of 400–500 white men, predominantly members of the Asiatic Exclusion League, with intentions to exclude Indian immigrants from the work force of the local lumber mills, attacked the homes of the South Asian Indians.^[2] The Indians were mostly Sikhs but were labelled as Hindus by much of the media of the day.^[3]

Events

The mob threw the East Indian workers into the streets, beat them, and pocketed their valuables. The authorities co-operated with the mob by corralling the beaten Indian immigrants into the City Hall, ostensibly for their safety.^[4] "By the next day 125 South Asians had been driven out of town and were on their way to British Columbia".^[5] According to one report, disputed by local leaders and newspapers, six East Indians were hospitalized; no one was killed. About 100 were held overnight in the Bellingham jail, reportedly under "protective custody". Although five men were arrested, they were later released and none of the participants in the mob violence were prosecuted.^[6]

Some victims of the riots migrated to Everett, Washington where two months later, they received similar treatment.^[7] Similar riots occurred during this period in Vancouver, BC^[8] and California.^[9]

Legacy

To acknowledge and atone for the riots, Whatcom County Executive Pete Kremen and Bellingham Mayor Tim Douglas jointly proclaimed the 100th anniversary of the riots, Sept. 4, 2007, a "Day of Healing and Reconciliation."^[10] A granite monument, the Arch of Healing and Reconciliation, was erected in downtown Bellingham and dedicated in 2018 in memory of the three groups of Asian immigrants who were expelled from the region: the Chinese in 1885, the Indians in 1907, and the Japanese in 1942.^[11]

See also

• , that followed those in Bellingham
• List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States

Further reading

• Web site: Englesberg . Paul . The 1907 Bellingham Riot and Anti-Asian Hostilities in the Pacific Northwest . Canadian Sikh Centre . 2013-03-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030641/http://www.canadiansikhcentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Paul-Englesber-Bellingham-Riots-read-on-9.22.12.pdf . 2016-03-04 . dead.
• Hallberg . Gerald N. . Bellingham, Washington's Anti-Hindu Riot . Journal of the West . 12 . 1973 . 163–175 . 1783221 . 0022-5169.
• Book: Jensen, Joan M. . Joan M. Jensen . Passage from India: Asian Indian immigrants in North America . Yale University Press . New Haven . 1988 . 978-0-300-03846-0 . 1342141898 . registration . Internet Archive.
• Lee . Erika . Erika Lee . Hemispheric Orientalism and the 1907 Pacific Coast Race Riots . Amerasia Journal . 33 . 2 . 2007 . 0044-7471 . 10.17953/amer.33.2.y263745731125524 . 19–48 . 1259572954.
• Book: McMahon, Suzanne . 2001 . Echoes of freedom: South Asian pioneers in California, 1899-1965 . registration . Center for South Asian Studies, University of California . Berkeley, CA, US . Internet Archive . 978-0-944613-41-2 . 1341891513.

External links

• Web site: Bellingham Riot materials . South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA). This includes a video documentary and archival print materials.
• Web site: Koritala . Srirajasekhar Bobby . A historical perspective of Americans of Asian Indian origin . infinityfoundation.com . December 13, 2016 . 2024-01-10.
• Web site: The Racial Politics of Empire: South Asian Revolutionaries on the Pacific Coast . Sixth European Social Science History Conference . 2005-12-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20051217160400/http://www2.iisg.nl/esshc/programme.asp?selyear=8&pap=3720 . 2005-12-17 . dead.

Notes and References

1. Web site: The 1907 Bellingham Riots . Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project . University of Washington . 2024-01-09.
2. Web site: Lieb . Emily . December 26, 2006 . White workingmen attack Bellingham's East Indian millworkers on September 4, 1907 . 2024-01-09 . HistoryLink.org . Essay 8039.
3. Web site: The 1907 Bellingham Riots: News Coverage 1907-2007 . Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project . University of Washington . 2024-01-09.
4. Web site: Cahn . David . The 1907 Bellingham Riots in Historical Context . 2008 . Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project . University of Washington . 2024-01-09.
5. Lee . Erika . Erika Lee . 2007-11-01 . The "Yellow Peril" and Asian Exclusion in the Americas . Pacific Historical Review . en . 76 . 4 . 537–562 . 10.1525/phr.2007.76.4.537 . 0030-8684 . 10.1525/phr.2007.76.4.537 . 6965417308.
6. Wynne . Robert E. . 1966 . American Labor Leaders and the Vancouver Anti-Oriental Riot . The Pacific Northwest Quarterly . 57 . 4 . 174 . 0030-8803 . 40488175 . 9972703563.
7. Web site: Labovitch . Lisa . June 4, 2021 . White mob gathers to expel Asian Indian laborers from Everett on November 2, 1907 . January 9, 2024 . HistoryLink.org . Essay 21247.
8. Web site: Vancouver Courier . Vancouver Courier . August 31, 2007 . Two-day conference examines city's 1907 race riot . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121104211807/http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=27e737a2-acbb-4671-a6c1-5f39adaee1d8&k=77221 . 2012-11-04 . canada.com.
9. Book: McMahon, Suzanne . The Great White Wall . https://archive.org/details/echoesoffreedoms0000mcma/page/22/mode/2up . registration . 2001 . Echoes of freedom: South Asian pioneers in California, 1899-1965 . registration . Center for South Asian Studies, University of California . Berkeley, CA, US . Internet Archive . 978-0-944613-41-2 . 1341891513 . 23–-24.
10. Web site: Human Rights Commemorative Project leaflet . 2007-09-04 . 2010-09-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140309005304/http://www.cob.org/documents/features/hrcp-leaflet.pdf . March 9, 2014 . Arch of Healing and Reconciliation . Bellingham, WA.
11. Web site: Arch of Healing and Reconciliation to Honor Diversity and Immigrants in Washington State . Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism . 2017-10-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200920172702/https://www.bellingham.org/press-releases/arch-healing-reconciliation-honor-diversity-immigrants-washington-state/ . 2020-09-20 . dead.