This excellent essay sparked an old memory, so I looked up the law. Most people are not aware of the different sets of laws governing different groups of people in California. Writing different laws for different groups of people, made it very difficult, often impossible for people to work together in common cause. Examples include:

1906, the San Francisco, California Board of Education passed a regulation whereby children of Japanese descent would be required to attend racially segregated and separate schools.

The California Alien Land Law of 1913 was specifically created to prevent land ownership among Japanese citizens who were residing in the state of California.

The Chinese were not allowed to become citizens until 1943.

The Chinese were not allowed to own land until 1952.

One particular law illustrates the way in which “racism” was established as a legally binding concept. While I warn you it is shocking, I recommend people read the Supreme Court’s complete rationale – link here https://cite.case.law/cal/4/399/

For now, these excerpts are worth reading.

THE PEOPLE, Respondent, v. GEORGE W. HALL, Appellant.Cal. 1854.

**1 *399 Section 394 of the Civil Practice Act provides, “No Indian or Negro shall be allowed to testify as a witness in any action in which a White person is a party.”

Section 14 of the Criminal Act provides, “No Black, or Mulatto person, or Indian shall be allowed to give evidence in favor of, or against a White man.”

Held, that the words, Indian, Negro, Black and White, are generic terms, designating

race.

That, therefore, Chinese and all other people not white, are included in the prohibition from being witnesses against Whites . . .

The appellant, a free white citizen of this State, was convicted of murder upon the testimony of Chinese witnesses . . . [Chinese are] a race of people whom nature has marked as inferior, and who are incapable of progress or intellectual development beyond a certain point, as their history has shown; differing in language, opinions, color, and physical conformation; between whom and ourselves nature has placed an impassable difference . . .

For these reasons, we are of opinion that the testimony was inadmissible.