The Chinese Massacre of 1871
On October 24, 1871, seventeen Chinese men including a 15-year-old were killed by a mob in Los Angeles’ historic Chinatown. Known as the Chinese Massacre of 1871, it was the culmination of growing anti-Chinese sentiment leading to racially motivated violence. The incident is said to have begun when Officer Jesus Bilderrain and rancher Robert Thompson responded to a gunfight between members of rival Chinese tongs that broke out resulting in the death of tong fighter Ah Choy. Officer Bilderrain was wounded and Robert Thompson was mortally wounded while responding to the altercation.
Word spread about the shooting of Officer Bilderrain and the death of Thompson, which sparked a riot that lasted for three hours and involved a mob of 500 Angelenos entering Chinatown to loot Chinese homes and businesses and to assault every Chinese person they could find. Join us in commemorating all the lives lost on this fateful day 148 years ago.
Featured Artists
Sponsors
This commemorative event would not be possible without the generous support from the following sources:
Kellogg Foundation’s Truth, Racial Healing, & Transformation – Los Angeles
The Marian and Charles Holmes Performing Arts Fund
Scripps College Dean of Faculty Harper Lecture Fund
Scripps College Public Events
Scripps College Music Department
Pacific Basin Institute of Pomona College
Scripps College Humanities Institute
TCCS Chicano Latino Student Affairs
Scripps College History Department
Scripps Communities of Resources and Empowerment
The Center for Asian Pacific American Students at Pitzer College
The Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies at the Claremont Colleges
The Asian American Resource Center of Pomona College
Asian American Student Union of Scripps College