The History of the Anti-Filipino Riots in Washington State

Asian American History 101

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 42! It’s another installment of Most Forgotten Massacres. Today we’re going to talk about the Anti-Filipino Riots in Washington State. Although the discrimination and violence occurred in the 1920s and 1930s, the tension had been building for a few decades because the dislike of Asian laborers can be traced back to the Chinese during the Gold Rush and railroad days, the Japanese in the agricultural fields, and the South Asians in agriculture and lumber mills. For Filipinos in Washington State, many of them came in as U.S. Nationals, but they became labeled as Aliens after a few years.

In this episode, we share some of the cultural, political, economic, and social issues that led to the violence against Filipino laborers in Washington. Predominantly occurring in Yakima Valley, Seattle, and Bremerton, the events highlighted a widespread problem that was exacerbated by politicians, labor leaders, nativist groups, and the media.

In our opening we talk about Shohei Ohtani and the LA Dodgers as well as Adele Lim and the Princess Diaries 3. In our recurring segment, we talk about the National Federation of Filipino American Associations. They do a lot of advocacy and empowerment work. You can learn more or donate on their website.

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Segments

• 00:25 Intro: Talking Shohei Ohtani and Adele Lim on Princess Diaries 3
• 05:50 The History of the Anti-Filipino Riots in Washington State
• 28:14 Organizations to Know: National Federation of Filipino American Associations