Chinese in Minnesota

The People of Minnesota Series

Author Sherri Gebert Fuller, Foreword by Bill Holm

Minnesota Historical Society Press (January 5, 2004)

A concise history of Chinese in Minnesota including immigration patterns, cultural and social organizations, businesses, politics, education, and family life.

Description

Minnesota’s first Chinese settlers, fleeing racial violence in California, established scores of small businesses after they arrived in the late 1870s. Newspapers eagerly published reports of the small Chinese community’s activities, including New Year’s festivities, marriages, and restaurant openings—as well as allegations of tong activity and of their political ties to China. Beginning in 1882 federal laws stopping Chinese immigration and denying citizenship put particular pressure on the community, which was also accused of resisting Americanization. By the 1960s, a new wave of immigrants, including students, businessmen, and professionals from both Mainland China and Taiwan, began to bring new energy and issues to the state’s Chinese community.

This concise history of the Chinese in Minnesota, the newest addition to The People of Minnesota series, examines the rich history of this ethnic group including immigration patterns, cultural and social organizations, businesses, politics, education, and family life.

Author Sherri Gebert Fuller relates their story from the early days to the flourishing of ties between Minnesota and China and the professional, educational, and cultural successes of this vital community.

Author information

Sherri Gebert Fuller is a project manager for museum collections at the Minnesota Historical Society. She was co-curator of the MHS exhibit “The Chinese American Experience in Minnesota.”

Related resources

Library Guide: Chinese in Minnesota Overview

Oral Histories: Chinese immigrants in Minnesota, Minnesota Chinese Oral History Project

Book: Chinese-ness by Wing Young Huie

MNopedia: Liang May Seen

Minnesota History: Liang May Seen and the Early Chinese Community in Minneapolis, Mirrored Identities: The Moys of St. Paul, Yang T'Su: Chinese Altar from Minneapolis

Collection Finding Aids: Weiming Lu

• This title is also available at your favorite e-book vendor.
• 101 pages
• 6 x 9 inches
• ISBN: 9780873514705