Person

Beth Lew Williams

Bylines

The Ritual of Civic Apology

Cities across the American West are issuing belated apologies for 19th-century expulsions of Chinese residents, but their meaning and audience remain uncertain.

by Beth Lew Williams via The New Yorker on September 13, 2025

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Photo of an elderly Jane Stanford, dressed in lace and beads.

The Robber Baroness of Northern California

Authorities who investigated Jane Stanford’s mysterious death said the wealthy widow had no enemies. A new book finds that she had many.

by Maia Silber via The New Yorker on May 30, 2022

Tarred as a “coolie race,” the Chinese were cast as a threat to free white labor. Train with fire around it and a face in the back.

America Was Eager for Chinese Immigrants. What Happened?

In the gold-rush era, ceremonial greetings swiftly gave way to bigotry and violence.

by Michael Luo via The New Yorker on August 20, 2021

Illustration by Valerie Chiang; Source text from PBS; Library of Congress; Source photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnston / Library of Congress / Corbis / Getty (children); Getty (other)

The Forgotten History of the Campaign to Purge Chinese from America

The surge in violence against Asian-Americans is a reminder that America’s present reality reflects its exclusionary past.

by Michael Luo via The New Yorker on April 22, 2021

Activists holding a banner saying "STOP ASIAN HATE"

Violence Against Asian Americans Is Part of a Troubling Pattern

Recognizing that is crucial to ending the violence and the hate driving it.

by Stephanie Hinnershitz via Made By History on March 11, 2021

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