Chinese Americans in the Mississippi Delta: Difference between revisions
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The '''Mississippi Delta Chinese''' are a small community of Chinese Americans that has lived in the [[Mississippi Delta]] region since the late 1800s. A related population of Chinese Americans lives across the [[Mississippi River]] in the [[Arkansas Delta]] and the nearby city of [[Memphis, Tennessee]].<ref>"Chinese," Enclyopedia of Arkansas, 2017 [https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/chinese-5971/]</ref> |
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The [[Mississippi delta]] has been home to a small, but influential, Chinese Community starting from the [[American Reconstruction]] period just after the [[American Civil War]]. Because the labor system was unsettled, Cotton planters recruited Chinese laborers as a potential replacement for the freed African slaves. The first Chinese are listed as living in [[Bolivar County]] in 1870, but it was not until the 1900s that Chinese immigration to the delta became more numerous. Though initially recruited for working in the fields, picking cotton, but soon soured on farming. Due to arriving mostly as merchants as opposed to laborers, they started opening grocery stores, mostly catering to the African-American communities in which they lived. For many decades the Chinese community in the Mississippi delta was one of the largest [[Chinese American]] community in the American South, although in more recent times many have either moved away from the Delta or from Mississippi entirely, to the larger Chinese enclaves on the West Coast and Northeast. |
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== History == |
== History == |
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The earliest Chinese settlers in the [[Mississippi Delta]] were laborers recruited by cotton planters to supplement the recently emancipated African freedmen during [[American Reconstruction | Reconstruction]]. Like other early Chinese Americans, the first Chinese immigrants were peasants and merchants from the [[Sze Yap]] region of [[Guangdong province]] in [[South China|Southern China]]. All of them were single and married men who worked in Mississippi and sent most of their income back to their families in China. As they were neither black nor white, the Chinese were often classified as "colored" in early government records.<ref>Loewen, James W. 1971. ''The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White,'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press</ref><ref>Quan, Robert Seto. 1982. ''Lotus Among the Magnolias: The Mississippi Chinese'', Jackson: University Press of Mississippi</ref> |
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Many of the Chinese families who settled in the delta tended to originate from the [[Sze Yap]] province of [[South China|Southern China]] a more cosmopolitan area than most regions of China at the time due to having a long history of foreign traders. Immigrants tended to come from peasant or artisan families. In an economic and historical situation mirrored by many of their counterparts who instead immigrated to the Caribbean or Latin America, most of the initial immigrants were young men who traveled to Mississippi with the intention of saving up money to send back home to be used when they returned there. However, upon arrival they were greeted by many of their countrymen who had arrived there for the same reasons. The first immigrants were almost entirely male, with few women initially making the long journey. As they were neither black nor European-American, they were either classified as non-white or "Chinese" on early census records. Since they did not originally intend to remain in the delta they were more concerned with economic success than social status or recognition, however by the 1970's there were as many as 3,000 Americans of Chinese descent living in the delta.<ref name="JamesEstrin">{{cite web|last1=Estrin|first1=James|title=Neither Black Nor White in the Mississippi Delta|url=https://www.nytimes.com|website=The New York Times|publisher=The New York Times Company|accessdate=26 April 2018|ref=2}}</ref> |
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By the end of the 1870s, the Chinese had abandoned the plantations and began opening small family-owned grocery stories in the many small towns of the Delta. Chinese families began moving to the Delta in the early 1900s, and most modern Mississippi Delta Chinese are the descendants of Chinese who arrived in Mississippi during this time. Until the end of the 1900s, Chinese-owned groceries could be found in every Delta city and town, serving both white and black customers. Chinese children were originally segregated from the white public schools, and segregated Chinese schools were built for them in [[Greenville, Mississippi | Greenville]] and [[Cleveland, Mississippi | Cleveland]]. However, these schools were closed and Chinese children were allowed to attend both white schools and white colleges after the Second World War. <ref>Jung, John. 2011. ''Chopsticks in the Land of Cotton: Lives of Mississippi Delta Chinese Grocers.'', Yin & Yang Press.</ref><ref>Thornell, John G. 2008. "A Culture in Decline: The Mississippi Delta Chinese," ''Southeast Review of Asian Studies'' 30: 196-202</ref> |
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== Grocery Stores == |
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The population of the Mississippi Delta Chinese exploded after war. Many young Chinese men from the Mississippi Delta served as soldiers during the Second World War, and many women from China married these soldiers and settled in the Delta as [[war brides]] after the war. By the 1970s there were as many as 3,000 Americans of Chinese descent living in the Delta, especially American-born Chinese children who were raised in the Delta. For decades the Mississippi Delta Chinese community was one of the largest [[Chinese American]] communities in the American South, but since then, many families have moved to larger cities in Texas, the West Coast, and the Northeast. Most of the historic Chinese groceries have already closed, and only a few families remain in the Delta.<ref> Gong, Gwendolyn. The Mississippi Chinese of World War II: A Delta Tribute. Cleveland, Mississippi: Delta State University, 2015. </ref> <ref> Block, Melissa. “The Legacy Of The Mississippi Delta Chinese.” NPR, 2017 Mar. 18. https://www.npr.org/2017/03/18/519017287/the-legacy-of-the-mississippi-delta-chinese </ref> <ref name="JamesEstrin">{{cite web|last1=Estrin|first1=James|title=Neither Black Nor White in the Mississippi Delta|url=https://www.nytimes.com|website=The New York Times|publisher=The New York Times Company|accessdate=26 April 2018|ref=2}}</ref> |
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Quickly realizing that working in cotton fields did not produce economic success they quickly abandoned the fields and instead turned towards the retail sector, specifically opening up and running small grocery stores scattered throughout the delta, with the first such store most likely opening in Bolivar County in the early 1870's. They were simple one room shacks who catered mostly to poor black laborers who worked on the plantations. Stores in those days were not self-service and customers had to ask for what they wanted, because they did not speak Chinese and the store owners did not speak English. This was accomplished by pointing at the desired merchandise, usually either molasses, corn meal, or various types of meat. Often times, the grocery stores would be passed from father to son, over many generations.<ref name="CharlesReaganWilson" /> |
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== Ethnic Identity == |
== Ethnic Identity == |
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Revision as of 01:25, 29 July 2019
The Mississippi Delta Chinese are a small community of Chinese Americans that has lived in the Mississippi Delta region since the late 1800s. A related population of Chinese Americans lives across the Mississippi River in the Arkansas Delta and the nearby city of Memphis, Tennessee.[1]
History
The earliest Chinese settlers in the Mississippi Delta were laborers recruited by cotton planters to supplement the recently emancipated African freedmen during Reconstruction. Like other early Chinese Americans, the first Chinese immigrants were peasants and merchants from the Sze Yap region of Guangdong province in Southern China. All of them were single and married men who worked in Mississippi and sent most of their income back to their families in China. As they were neither black nor white, the Chinese were often classified as "colored" in early government records.[2][3]
By the end of the 1870s, the Chinese had abandoned the plantations and began opening small family-owned grocery stories in the many small towns of the Delta. Chinese families began moving to the Delta in the early 1900s, and most modern Mississippi Delta Chinese are the descendants of Chinese who arrived in Mississippi during this time. Until the end of the 1900s, Chinese-owned groceries could be found in every Delta city and town, serving both white and black customers. Chinese children were originally segregated from the white public schools, and segregated Chinese schools were built for them in Greenville and Cleveland. However, these schools were closed and Chinese children were allowed to attend both white schools and white colleges after the Second World War. [4][5]
The population of the Mississippi Delta Chinese exploded after war. Many young Chinese men from the Mississippi Delta served as soldiers during the Second World War, and many women from China married these soldiers and settled in the Delta as war brides after the war. By the 1970s there were as many as 3,000 Americans of Chinese descent living in the Delta, especially American-born Chinese children who were raised in the Delta. For decades the Mississippi Delta Chinese community was one of the largest Chinese American communities in the American South, but since then, many families have moved to larger cities in Texas, the West Coast, and the Northeast. Most of the historic Chinese groceries have already closed, and only a few families remain in the Delta.[6] [7] [8]
Ethnic Identity
Arriving into a strictly segregated society with whites on top and blacks on the bottom, the Chinese carved out their own unique niche in a primarily biracial society. Neither black nor white, they were initially classified as "non-white" and later as simply "Chinese". While not seen as being on the same social status as whites neither were they seen on the same level as blacks despite often living in black neighborhoods and serving mostly black clients and customers. The Chinese were middlemen between blacks and whites, often providing a needed contact point in a segregated society. The Chinese initially attended separate Chinese schools separate from both blacks and whites although in later decades before segregation officially was outlawed, they often attended schools with white students. In many cases they sought to identify with white society as much as they could due to whites having the highest status in Jim Crow society.[9]
Notable People
- Sam Chu Lin, Journalist and News Anchor
- Ne-Yo, Singer, Songwriter, Record Producer
References
- ^ "Chinese," Enclyopedia of Arkansas, 2017 [1]
- ^ Loewen, James W. 1971. The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White, Cambridge: Harvard University Press
- ^ Quan, Robert Seto. 1982. Lotus Among the Magnolias: The Mississippi Chinese, Jackson: University Press of Mississippi
- ^ Jung, John. 2011. Chopsticks in the Land of Cotton: Lives of Mississippi Delta Chinese Grocers., Yin & Yang Press.
- ^ Thornell, John G. 2008. "A Culture in Decline: The Mississippi Delta Chinese," Southeast Review of Asian Studies 30: 196-202
- ^ Gong, Gwendolyn. The Mississippi Chinese of World War II: A Delta Tribute. Cleveland, Mississippi: Delta State University, 2015.
- ^ Block, Melissa. “The Legacy Of The Mississippi Delta Chinese.” NPR, 2017 Mar. 18. https://www.npr.org/2017/03/18/519017287/the-legacy-of-the-mississippi-delta-chinese
- ^ Estrin, James. "Neither Black Nor White in the Mississippi Delta". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ^ Wilson, Charles Reagan. "Chinese in Mississippi: An Ethnic People in a Biracial Society". Mississippi History Now. Mississippi Historical Society. Retrieved 26 April 2018.