"assembly center"
A euphemism for the WWII temporary detention centers in
which Japanese American citizens and permanent resident aliens were
imprisoned prior to their being sent to War Relocation Authority
concentration camps.
"Celestial"
A derogatory word for a person of Chinese descent. It comes from a
former term for China, "Celestial Empire."
"Chinaman" and
"Chinamen"
During the era of anti-Chinese prejudice, the terms "Chinaman" and
"Chinamen" were used in a derogatory way when speaking about the
Chinese.
Unfortunately, many people still use those words without realizing that
today both terms are perceived by many as having racist connotations.
If
used at all, the words "Chinaman" or "Chinamen" should always have
quotes
around them, or be contained within a phrase that is itself a direct
quotation.
For more information, please refer to pp. 47-48 of the booklet, Asian
Pacific Americans: A Handbook on How to Cover and Portray Our Nation's
Fastest Growing Minority Group, edited by Bill Sing (1989, National
Conference of Christians and Jews, Los Angeles).
"Chinese
Ovens"
Small domed rock structures have been
reported at numerous places in the
West. Those that occur on railroad-related sites are mainly associated
with railroad construction camps; a few are known to have been built by
later section gang workers. While folklore has often referred to them
as
"Chinese ovens," no archaeological or documentary evidence has yet been
found that would definitely support a Chinese association with either
their
manufacture or use in the United States. Instead, there is reason to
believe
that they were built and used mainly by Italian (or sometimes Greek)
immigrants, for baking
bread. Intriguingly, similarly-shaped structures in Australia are
Chinese "pig ovens" used to roast pigs for ceremonial occasions. See
(type "rock ovens" after following link) "Who's Been Workin' on the
Railroad?: An Examination of the Construction, Distribution, and
Ethnic Origins of Domed Rock Ovens on Railroad-Related Sites," by
Priscilla Wegars, in Historical
Archaeology, 25(1):37-65, 1991.
"Chinese
Tunnels"
Many communities where large numbers
of Chinese people once lived are today
rumored to have so-called "Chinese
tunnels" under downtown buildings
and
streets. This myth continues to be perpetuated despite overwhelming
evidence
to the contrary.
"Chinese
Walls"
Hand-stacked, wall-like, rock tailings on placer mining
sites are often called "Chinese Walls." However, other miners, besides
those of Chinese descent, often stacked waste rock neatly too. Rock
walls that were actually built by Chinese miners will have Chinese
artifacts in their vicinity, and/or there will be mining claim records
at the county courthouse that indicate purchase or lease of that area
by Chinese miners.
"ching-chong"
An "ethnic slur historically directed at people of
Chinese ancestry," mocking the tones of the Chinese language.
Contemporary racist usage directs it at other people of Asian ancestry.
"Chink"
A derogatory word for a Chinese person, sometimes
perpetuated in geographic names that need to be changed.
"concentration camp" vs. "internment camp"
Although the term “internment camp.” is often applied to the War
Relocation Authority (WRA) camps for West Coast families, such as in
the official name for the recently designated Minidoka Internment
National Monument, the WRA facilities should technically, and more
accurately, be termed concentration camps. While they were not “death
camps” in the same sense as the concentration camps operated by Nazi
Germany during World War II, they nevertheless housed both U.S.
citizens and non-citizens who were forcibly imprisoned there and who
could not come and go freely. Internment camps, such as northern
Idaho's Kooskia Internment Camp, housed only non-citizens.
"coolie"
The term "coolie" has often been used to describe Chinese laborers who
came to the western U.S. to work. However, because that term has
come to have the connotation of "slave laborer," it is inaccurate,
since the Chinese who came to this country were not slave
laborers. Although a few paid for their own passage, either by
selling their possessions or borrowing money from relatives, most of
them came on a "credit ticket" system, where their passage money was
advanced to them. Once they had arrived and were working the
advance would gradually be deducted from their wages.
"draft
dodgers"/"draft evaders"/"draft resisters"
During World War II, while they and their families were incarcerated
in War Relocation Authority concentration camps, a number of Japanese
American
young men resisted the draft as a protest against their
unconstitutional
imprisonment and as a protest against being assigned only to the Army,
and only to segregated infantry combat units. These men should
more
properly be referred to as "resisters
of conscience." Their story has been told in Frank Abe's
film,
"Conscience and the Constitution."
EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066
AUTHORIZING THE SECRETARY OF WAR TO
PRESCRIBE MILITARY AREAS
WHEREAS the
successful prosecution of the war requires
every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to
national-defense
material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities as
defined in Section 4, Act of April 20, 1918, 40 Stat. 533, as amended
by
the Act of November 30, 1940, 54 Stat. 1220, and the Act of August 21,
1941, 55 Stat. 655 (U.S.C., Title 50, Sec. 104):
NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested
in me as President of the United States, and Commander in Chief of the
Army and Navy, I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War,
and
the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate,
whenever
he or any designated Commander deems such action necessary or
desirable,
to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or
the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all
persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of
any
person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever
restrictions
the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose
in
his discretion. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized to
provide
for residents of any such area who are excluded therefrom, such
transportation,
food, shelter, and other accommodations as may be necessary, in the
judgment of the Secretary of War or the said Military Commander, and
until
other arrangements are made, to accomplish the purpose of this
order.
The designation of military areas in any region or locality shall
supersede
designations of prohibited and restricted areas by the Attorney General
under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941, and shall supersede
the responsibility and authority of the Attorney General under the said
Proclamation in respect of such prohibited and restricted areas.
I hereby further authorize and direct the Secretary
of War and the said Military Commanders to take such other steps as he
or the appropriate Military Commander may deem advisable to enforce
compliance
with the restrictions applicable to each Military area hereinabove
authorized
to be designated, including the use of Federal troops and other Federal
Agencies, with authority to accept assistance of state and local
agencies.
I hereby further authorize and direct all Executive
Departments, independent establishments and other Federal Agencies, to
assist the Secretary of War or the said Military Commanders in carrying
out this Executive Order, including the furnishing of medical aid,
hospitalization,
food, clothing, transportation, use of land, shelter, and other
supplies,
equipment, utilities, facilities, and services.
This order shall not be construed as modifying or
limiting in any way the authority heretofore granted under Executive
Order
No. 8972, dated December 12, 1941, nor shall it be construed as
limiting
or modifying the duty and responsibility of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation,
with respect to the investigation of alleged acts of sabotage or the
duty
and responsibility of the Attorney General and the Department of
Justice
under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941, prescribing
regulations
for the conduct and control of alien enemies, except as such duty and
responsibility
is superseded by the designation of military areas hereunder.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
THE WHITE HOUSE,
February 19, 1942
(Copied from Congressional Information Service, Presidential Executive
Orders and Proclamations, p. 1092-1093, microfiche, Documents
Department,
University of Idaho Library).
"44 Ronin"
Resisters of conscience from the Minidoka concentration camp.
"442nd Battalion"
An incorrect designation for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team; possibly
confusing that group with the 100th Infantry Battalion.
442nd Regimental
Combat Team
This was a World War II all-Nisei combat unit that fought in
Europe.
For their numbers, they were the most highly decorated unit during the
war. See also 100th Infantry Battalion (under "o").
"Jap"
A derogatory word for a person of Japanese descent, sometimes
perpetuated in geographic names that need to be changed.
"joss house"
The term "joss" comes from the Portuguese, deus,
meaning a god. Many western communities had Chinese temples, which
Caucasians
called "joss houses." Today, the more respectful term "temple" is best
used, since it is the English translation of the Chinese word for these
structures.
"model minority"
One often hears this phrase to describe Asian Americans. While
it is well-meant, and certainly preferable to last century's "yellow
peril,"
the current phrase is as much a stereotype as its predecessor, since it
implies that all Asian Americans are the same. The United States'
resemblance to a "melting pot," amalgamating people from varied racial
and ethnic backgrounds, should be replaced by the image of a "tossed
salad,"
in which people from many races and ethnic groups make their own
individual
and distinctive contributions to our nation's cultural and historical
banquet.
100th Infantry
Battalion
This was a World War II combat unit composed of Nisei from
Hawaii.
They fought in North Africa and Italy. In June 1944 they became
the
first battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (see also,
under
"f").
"opium den"
Opium processed for smoking could be legally imported into the United
States until 1909. Because it was a legal drug, the U.S. government
taxed
it heavily, just as today's legal drugs, tobacco and alcohol, are also
heavily taxed. Some, not all, Chinese used the drug, as did some
Caucasians.
Opium was used socially, similar to today's custom of "happy hour," and
it was also used medicinally. Where opium was not outlawed by state or
local ordinance, its use was legal. Therefore, places where it was
legally
smoked are more properly called opium-smoking establishments, rather
than
"opium dens."
"Orientals"
The booklet, Asian
Pacific
Americans: A Handbook on How to Cover and Portray Our Nation's Fastest
Growing Minority Group, edited by Bill Sing (1989, National
Conference
of Christians and Jews, Los Angeles, 1989), p. 54, states:
"No longer preferred, except for objects such as Oriental rugs.
Although
some Asian Pacifics, particularly older [people] and those living in
Hawaii,
still refer to themselves as Orientals, most persons active in or
familiar
with the Asian Pacific American community flinch when hearing the term.
To them, Oriental has a negative and outdated ring, much as Negro does
in the black community. Also, many Asian Pacifics object to the term
because
it was imposed on them by non-Asians."
"relocation camp"
A euphemism for the WWII concentration camps that imprisoned both U.S.
citizens and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestry.
"sojourner"
Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, many Chinese people came to
the West intending to make their fortunes
and then return home. So did people from other ethnic groups, such as
Italians
and Greeks. However, some authors have used the word "sojourner" in a
way that implies that only
Chinese people were sojourners. This association is inaccurate, because
many Chinese immigrants died before they could return to China, and
others settled here permanently. Consequently,
its use for Chinese people should be limited to describing ones who are
known to have
returned
to China permanently.
Spelling
of Chinese names
Chinese names that were historically spelled using Cantonese
pronunciation should not be given modern respellings to reflect
Mandarin sound. For example, the name of Cantonese speaker Ng Poon Chu,
a Presbyterian minister who founded a newspaper in San Francisco and
who lived in California from 1881 to his death in 1931, should not be
respelled as "Wu Panzhao," the Mandarin pronunciation for the
characters of his name. For more on this subject, see "Ramifications of
Respelling Chinese Names," by Emma Woo Louie, Asian American Comparative Collection
Newsletter, 9(3): 5-6, September 2002.
"tong"
The word "tong" has come to have unfortunate connotations because of
its association with the term "tong war," referring to armed conflicts
between rival Chinese groups seeking to control illegal activities such
as gambling, opium smoking, and prostitution. "Tong" actually means
"hall" or "parlor,"
in the sense of a society or association, and most Chinese tongs were
men's
fraternal or social organizations that existed to provide benevolent
services
to their members.
white
White, whether it is written white or White, is not the "opposite"
of Chinese, Japanese, or any other Asian group. Caucasian is a
better
term, or one might use non-Chinese, non-Japanese, and so on.