NPR Host

And maybe they thought, this can't happen here. San Francisco was much bigger, more cosmopolitan, and had a much bigger Chinatown.

And maybe they thought, this can't happen here. San Francisco was much bigger, more cosmopolitan, and had a much bigger Chinatown.

And maybe they thought, this can't happen here. San Francisco was much bigger, more cosmopolitan, and had a much bigger Chinatown.

In what started as a labor strike, a group of angry men, driven by the idea that Chinese immigrants were taking their jobs by working for less, marched towards Chinatown and started setting buildings on fire. They killed four men that night.

In what started as a labor strike, a group of angry men, driven by the idea that Chinese immigrants were taking their jobs by working for less, marched towards Chinatown and started setting buildings on fire. They killed four men that night.

In what started as a labor strike, a group of angry men, driven by the idea that Chinese immigrants were taking their jobs by working for less, marched towards Chinatown and started setting buildings on fire. They killed four men that night.

Anti-Chinese violence had landed on the doorstep of Wong Kim Ark's family. Eventually,

Anti-Chinese violence had landed on the doorstep of Wong Kim Ark's family. Eventually,

Anti-Chinese violence had landed on the doorstep of Wong Kim Ark's family. Eventually,

When Wong Kim Ark's family left the United States after the 1877 anti-Chinese riots in San Francisco, they never came back.

When Wong Kim Ark's family left the United States after the 1877 anti-Chinese riots in San Francisco, they never came back.

When Wong Kim Ark's family left the United States after the 1877 anti-Chinese riots in San Francisco, they never came back.

Something that would have been really challenging in the U.S. because there were so few Chinese women and because Chinese men were legally barred or socially discouraged from marrying outside their race.

Something that would have been really challenging in the U.S. because there were so few Chinese women and because Chinese men were legally barred or socially discouraged from marrying outside their race.

Something that would have been really challenging in the U.S. because there were so few Chinese women and because Chinese men were legally barred or socially discouraged from marrying outside their race.

But he didn't stay long. After several months, he returned to the United States to work. And he repeated this process again a couple of years later, going back to China to visit his wife and his growing family. But in 1895, on what he must have expected to be another uneventful trip from China to San Francisco…

But he didn't stay long. After several months, he returned to the United States to work. And he repeated this process again a couple of years later, going back to China to visit his wife and his growing family. But in 1895, on what he must have expected to be another uneventful trip from China to San Francisco…

But he didn't stay long. After several months, he returned to the United States to work. And he repeated this process again a couple of years later, going back to China to visit his wife and his growing family. But in 1895, on what he must have expected to be another uneventful trip from China to San Francisco…

Coming up, Wong Kim Ark fights back in court.

Coming up, Wong Kim Ark fights back in court.