Intro

          Making up 24% of Asian Americans within the United States, Chinese Americans of both past and present have had a complicated relationship with their American identity. Similar to other Asian American identities, many Chinese Americans from the late 1900s to today have been tolerated for their economic value as an educated class of immigrant labor. Yet, their perceived American status has persistently been jeopardized by the confounding fears of a rising communist China. Despite their individual disdain towards Communism or their patriotic attitudes towards America, their loyalty continues to be doubted. This complex dynamic of tolerance and fear disrupts the lives of Chinese Americans. It is our hope that through the stories we convey about three different Chinese Americans, we can help to both humanize Chinese Americans and expose some of the inconsistencies that undergird the US’s criminal justice apparatus.