On the 100th anniversary of the Immigration Act of 1924, the case of Gin Foo Wong highlights how Asian immigrants attempted to circumvent the law’s nativist policies through the tactic of creating “paper” sons and daughters.
A new By the People crowdsourced transcription campaign, “American Federation of Labor Records: Letters in the Progressive Era,” launched in late April. By taking part in the campaign, volunteers will discover how the labor union engaged with issues of race, class, and gender during the early twentieth century.
"Comprised of more than 172,000 items, the AFL collection is a potential treasure trove, yet the work has only just begun. The field of labor history has much to gain by continuing to analyze these records through an intersectional lens," writes Mills Pennebaker, a fall 2021 Archives, History, and Heritage Advanced intern, who discusses her experience researching issues of race, gender, regionalism, and class in the recently digitized American Federation of Labor Records.