May 6, 1882 is black day in the American history for this is when the Senate approved the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act. "The Act," as activist Christopher Ho refers to it, "was a reactionary xenphobic policy, it;'s as simple as that." At the time the Chinese laborers-both skilled and unskilled-found themselves in the midst of an economic battle that they certainly did ask to a part of.

Around 1840, Chinese arrived in significant numbers, lured to the Pacific coast of the United States by the stories of “Gold Mountain” (California) during the gold rush of the 1840s and 1850s and brought by labor brokers to build the Central Pacific Railroad. Mamy arrived expecting to spend a few years working, thus earning enough money to return to China. Employed primarily by railroad magnates who refused to pay organzied labor a living wage, the Chinese were a cheap but hard-working subsitute.

Over 120 years later, Chinese immigrants are a vital part communities in nearly every region of the U.S. Nowhere, perhaps, has their prescence been such a dynamic force culturally and socially as it is in New York City. In Manhattan, Chinatown comprises a large area of lower Manhattan one time dominated by Easter European Jews and Italian immigrants. It is such a bustling and vibrant market place that brings out hundreds of thousands of people on any given day.

New York City’s Chinatown, the largest Chinatown in the United States is home to the largest concentration of Chinese in the western hemisphe .Its two square miles are bordered by Kenmore and Delancey streets on the north, East and Worth streets on the south, Allen street on the east, and Broadway on the west. With a population of about 150,000, Chinatown is the favored destination point for Chinese immigrants, though in recent years the neighborhood has also become home to Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Burmese, Vietnamese, and Filipinos among others

While Chinatown remains the physical and cultural center for the Chinese immigrant community, satellite communities are flourishing in Queens. In 2001, John Liu became the frst Asian-American elected to the New York City Council representing Council District 20 in the northeast part of Queens.