WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Pearl S. Buck International leadership team traveled to the nation’s capital on December 5 to participate in CRCEA80, a national conference to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act.
The team included Pearl S. Buck International President & CEO Christy Holland, Board Chair Mateen Afzal and Board Member Stephanie Sun, who collectively spoke about Buck’s involvement in the effort to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act, according to a press release from the organization.
“Today’s occasion not only commemorates legislative change but also pays homage to the tireless efforts of one remarkable woman who led in repealing the Chinese Exclusion Act, Ms. Pearl S. Buck,” said Sun.
“Ms. Buck was steadfast in her pursuit to overturn Chinese exclusion laws barring Chinese immigrants from entering the United States,” said Holland. Pearl Buck “repeatedly used her voice and publications to end targeted attempts to block immigration.”
Afzal spoke about his experience as the son of a mixed race and first-generation immigrant couple from Sweden and India and how the repeal of the CEA opened doors to the American dream for not just Chinese immigrants but for immigrants of other Asian descents, such as his father.
Other presenters at the conference included various Chinese-American and Asian-American U.S. Representatives, dignitaries, and committee members, said the release.
The repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act by the Magnuson Act on December 17, 1943 allowed for Chinese immigration to the United States for the first time since the Act went into effect in 1882. Pearl S. Buck and Richard J. Walsh were leading figures in the movement to abolish Chinese Exclusion. Buck spoke against the discrimination of Chinese through various media outlets of the time, including a radio broadcast in March of 1942. Buck and Walsh were also part of the Citizens Committee to Repeal Chinese Exclusion, which formed in 1943 and was instrumental in arguing for the exclusion act’s repeal. A formal apology for the legislation was given by the House of Representatives on June 18, 2012.
At the end of the conference, Pearl S. Buck International was presented with a plaque commemorating Pearl Buck’s role in the act’s repeal. The plaque reads, in part, “Chinese Americans are forever grateful to Pearl S. Buck for her lead in repealing the Chinese Exclusion Act.”
“We were delighted to have been invited to this significant event commemorating the 80th anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act,” said Holland. “It was an honor to share the convictions which motivated Buck and Walsh to strategize, influence, and advocate for this important repeal of federal law. Further, it was both educational and inspirational to learn from prominent Chinese American scholars, political figures, advocates, and allies.”
Pearl S. Buck International® provides opportunities to explore and appreciate other cultures, builds better lives for children around the globe and promotes the legacy of its founder by preserving and interpreting her National Historic Landmark Home.
