Asian American Historical Money Story

To create real equity in society, it’s necessary to learn about how marginalized cultures created their financial imprint on society. During AAPI Heritage Month, we pulled an excerpt from my book Our Money Stories and broke down Asian American financial History. Although I am not Asian American, it is important to honor and celebrate others, especially when it comes to their money story.

Cindy's 2nd Generation Japenese- American Story 

Living in all four time zones in the US, Cindy had a unique experience learning about other cultures and herself. Nerding out to all things cinema, it's no wonder you'd catch Cindy podcasting and claiming her nerdiness far and wide. Cindy was a 20 something, making it as a freelancer and living in New York City. Her mother had always taught her the power of savings, and Cindy believed those skills helped her become a good Asian daughter. 

 “I am a saver. I always have been when I was younger; my mother gave me an allowance, and a small portion of that allowance has gone into saving. So, as I got older, I followed the same instructions as what my mom told me. I have money saved, I invest a portion of my investment accounts, and I spend the rest. My mother always taught me that no one would help you with your money, so you have to take care of yourself because no one will. I also look at my friends that are always talking about being broke, but they don't save, and I do worry for them, but I'd like to stop spending money on avocado toast.”

         Cindy was proud of her upbringing, and her mother prepared her to survive the high cost of living in New York. As the conversation with Cindy progressed, I knew that there was something that she wasn't sharing. There was. There was a strong sense of guilt from her taking care of herself financially. I asked her if any questions occurred with the money that concerned her. She said that there was a strong sense of guilt with her mom and grandmother.

  “My grandmother was in a Japanese internment camp in the US, and she had land, and the government took her property and put her in an internment camp. I asked my mom to talk more about it, but I know it would be too much. I know that my family carries around fear—the fear of not having anything. My family had land and lost their homes during WWII, and lived in an internment camp. I try to honor my grandmother. I think some of the patterns are drawbacks to my grandmother. You know I haven't purchased glasses in two years. I know that it's not that bad, but I need to check my prescription, but I'm so scared to spend my money.” 

Cindy was dealing with her family's trauma. During WWII, her family lived in the United States during the Exclusionary Act. To make matters further complex, Cindy's family was Japanese, and her family lost everything and were incarcerated during WWII. It's important to note that Cindy took care of her finances, but her family dealt with a scarcity mindset. Imagine how you’d feel if your family lost their financial stability in such a short time? 

Asian Americans helped build the US Economy.

         Asian Americans were pivotal in building America's economy.  In the 19th Century, Filipino, Chinese, and Japanese migrated to the United States to find jobs. Chinese Immigrants moved to the West to work on railroads during the Gold Rush. Japanese immigrants moved to Hawaii to work in the Sugarcane fields. Filipino immigrants moved to Louisiana as hunters and trappers, but Filipinos were considered "silent occupants in the US for decades. The US government wanted to occupy the Philippines, so there was a different agreement surrounding Japanese and Chinese immigrants.

Working in the railroads and construction, Asian migration benefited American businesses because Asian immigrants were cheap labor. Asian Americans had a tough time becoming citizens in the United States for the first hundred years of migration. One of the major roadblocks was racism and the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Racism in the US against Asian Americans

         As Asian cultures moved into the United States, new racial identity beliefs began to plague the conversation. Pioneering in race identity pseudoscience was Dr. Samuel George Morton. Dr. Morton wrote the Types of Mankind, which was an in-depth study regarding race biology. Race biology is the belief that there is a hierarchy of the best race based on brain size. In Types of Mankind, the premise was that Chinese and non-whites are lesser beings.[xxxiii] News publications and political propaganda stirred "'race science," and American citizens started believing that Chinese immigrants were less than human. This anti-Chinese, and later anti-Japanese and was bound to turn into American policy. Legal action soon followed. 

The Chinese Exclusion Act

         The first notable legal documentation occurred in 1882. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first significant law restricting Chinese immigration into the United States. Signed by President Arthur, the Act declared that the Chinese were ineligible for citizenship and created a block for Asian migration in the United States. The Exclusion Act was renewed for another ten years, making it illegal for Chinese Americans to enter the United States legally. 

         The US eliminated and stopped Chinese and Japanese migration for over 70 years. For decades, Chinese Americans and others from the Asian Diaspora couldn't receive citizenship, mainly through the Chinese Exclusion Act.

It wasn't until 1943 that Congress repealed the Exclusion Act, and not fully practiced until 1965.[xxxvi] While President Franklin Roosevelt signed the repeal, he also created an executive order in 1942 to place Japanese descents in isolated camps during World War II. The Immigration Act of 1965 officially allowed Asian Americans to immigrate to the United States and be citizens legally.

Why is this important?

Our cultural paths can predict our futures if we aren’t aware of them. When we looked at Cindy’s Story, we noticed that many of her famili’s traumas continued onto their lives.