The Bellingham riots occurred on September 4, 1907, in Bellingham, Washington, United States. A mob of approximately 500 white men, predominantly members of the Asiatic Exclusion League, with intentions to exclude Indian immigrants from the work force of the local lumber mills, attacked the homes of the South Asian Indians. The Indians were mostly Sikhs from Punjab but were labelled as Hindus by much of the media of the day.

Article from the 16 September 1906 Puget Sound American newspaper incorrectly describing turbaned Sikhs as "Hindu" and their unfavorable immigration to Bellingham

Background and Context

In the early 1900s, Bellingham was home to an adequate number of Asian Immigrants who came to Bellingham from places such as the Daoba Region of Punjab, in search of better job opportunities that would help to not only support their families, but to contribute to India’s growing independence movement. Bellingham was home to , fishing and the Great Northern Railway, which helped to provide prospective jobs for the immigrants.

Hundreds of Sikhs, Japanese, Koreans, Chinese and several other Asian immigrants emigrated to Bellingham and found active employment, until September 4th, 1907.

Events

The mob threw the South Asian workers into the streets, beat them, and pocketed their valuables. The authorities co-operated with the mob by corralling the beaten Indian immigrants into the City Hall, ostensibly for their safety. "By the next day 125 South Asians had been driven out of town and were on their way to British Columbia". According to one report, disputed by local leaders and newspapers, six South Asians were hospitalized; no one was killed. About 100 were held overnight in the Bellingham jail, reportedly under "protective custody". Although five men were arrested, they were later released and none of the participants in the mob violence were prosecuted.

Some victims of the riots migrated to Everett, Washington where two months later, they received similar treatment. Similar riots occurred during this period in Vancouver, BC and California.

Legacy

To acknowledge and atone for the riots, Whatcom County Executive Pete Kremen and Bellingham Mayor Tim Douglas jointly proclaimed the 100th anniversary of the riots, Sept. 4, 2007, a "Day of Healing and Reconciliation." A granite monument, the Arch of Healing and Reconciliation, was erected in downtown Bellingham and dedicated in 2018 in memory of the three groups of Asian immigrants who were expelled from the region: the Chinese in 1885, the Indians in 1907, and the Japanese in 1942.

See also

Further reading

  • Englesberg, Paul (March 1, 2013). (PDF). Canadian Sikh Centre. Archived from (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
  • Hallberg, Gerald N. (1973). "Bellingham, Washington's Anti-Hindu Riot". Journal of the West. 12: 163–175. ISSN. OCLC.
  • Jensen, Joan M. (1988). . New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN978-0-300-03846-0. OCLC – via Internet Archive.
  • Lee, Erika (2007). "Hemispheric Orientalism and the 1907 Pacific Coast Race Riots". Amerasia Journal. 33 (2): 19–48. doi:. ISSN. OCLC.
  • McMahon, Suzanne (2001). . Berkeley, CA, US: Center for South Asian Studies, University of California. ISBN978-0-944613-41-2. OCLC – via Internet Archive.

External links

  • . South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA).[dead link] This includes a video documentary and archival print materials.
  • Koritala, Srirajasekhar Bobby (December 13, 2016). . infinityfoundation.com.
  • . Sixth European Social Science History Conference. December 17, 2005. Archived from on December 17, 2005.