Laserfiche WebLink
DRAFT <br /> A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF <br /> SANTA ANA APOLOGIZING TO CHINESE IMMIGRANTS <br /> AND THEIR DESCENDANTS FOR ACTS OF <br /> FUNDAMENTAL INJUSTICE AND DISCRIMINATION, <br /> SEEKING FORGIVENESS AND COMMITTING TO THE <br /> RECTIFICATION OF PAST POLICIES AND MISDEEDS <br /> WHEREAS, Chinese Americans have a long and rich history in the United States, <br /> California, Orange County and Santa Ana; and <br /> WHEREAS, the many contributions of Chinese Americans, both past and present, <br /> should be acknowledged and celebrated; and <br /> WHEREAS, since the late 19th century, the United States Congress, the State of <br /> California, and the City of Santa Ana enacted adverse laws specifically targeting Chinese <br /> people on the basis of race, most notably with the federal passage of the Chinese <br /> Exclusion Act of 1882, the first federal law ever passed excluding a group of immigrants <br /> solely on the basis of race or nationality. The Chinese Exclusion Act set the precedent for <br /> racist foreign and national policy that led to broader exclusion laws; and <br /> WHEREAS, Chinese immigrants were met with virulent racism, xenophobia and <br /> the violence of anti-Chinese sentiment in Santa Ana and denied equal protection under <br /> the law; and <br /> WHEREAS, during this period, growth in the Chinese population, combined with <br /> economic regression and pervasive anti-Chinese sentiments lead to the use of <br /> government authority to remove Chinese Americans in Santa Ana; and <br /> WHEREAS, the policies, resolutions, and other actions of the City of Santa Ana <br /> and President George A. Edgar (Mayor) and the Board of Trustees (City Council) A.C. <br /> Tiede, John Cubbon, George L. Wright, and James Sleeper directly contributed to the <br /> xenophobic discrimination and racial violence faced by Chinese immigrants with the <br /> support and encouragement of City Attorney Colonel W.F. Heathman and Orange County <br /> District Attorney Horace Head; and <br /> WHEREAS, the City made plans to remove Chinese residents and merchants in <br /> Santa Ana's Chinatown as part of an urban renewal effort to gain control of those <br /> properties for the building of the new City Hall and on May 25, 1906, the Board of Trustees <br /> passed a resolution and issued an order to the Fire Marshal to deliberately set fire to <br /> Chinatown leading to the destruction of homes and businesses and the displacement of <br /> Santa Ana's Chinese community; and <br /> Resolution No. 2022-XXX <br /> Page 1 of 3 <br />