📜 Let's unpack a dark chapter of U.S. history that still echoes today. In 1875, Congress passed the Page Act – the first federal law codifying anti-Asian discrimination by specifically barring Chinese women from entering America. 💔
🔥 Fueled by 'Yellow Peril' hysteria on the West Coast, lawmakers claimed to prevent 'immoral purposes' – but really weaponized racism to control migration. This set the stage for later exclusion acts and family separation policies, as many Chinese men couldn't reunite with wives or start families. 🚫👩👧
💡 Fun(?) fact: The Act used sneaky legal language about 'forced labor' to target an entire gender and ethnicity. Sound familiar? Many historians see parallels with modern immigration debates. 💬
🌱 While we celebrate #AAPI heritage today, this law reminds us how systemic racism gets baked into policies. Next time someone says 'It's just history,' show them the receipts. 📚✊
