Pacific Northwest Racial Relations

Racial relations in the Pacific Northwest took a turn for the worst starting in the middle of the 19th century and were shaped drastically during the events leading up to both World Wars and the years that followed them. Both Asian and Black populations found themselves in the face of racial suppression stemming from the events that occurred during the World Wars. The Pacific Northwest as far as the rest of the United States had been a place, which had generally held better racial relations. Consequently in the face of growing Colored population along with growing competition in the job market the Northwest shifted to a place of racial suppression. The World Wars acted as catalysts for the rising anti-Colored feelings in the Northwest causing …show more content…
With Chinese immigrants banned a need for a new source of labor was needed, enticing the Japanese to begin immigrating to the Pacific Northwest in the 1880’s. In just twenty years had a population of 7,000 in Washington and Oregon, becoming the largest minority group in Seattle causing racial tensions with the White population to rise. However unlike the Chinese who were sojourners and had no intentions of staying for the most part, the Japanese presented a new problem for the White population as the Japanese saw this as an opportunity to establish a new home in America. While initially brought into to provide labor in the railroad industry and factories the Japanese quickly began establishing their own businesses and farmsteads, something the Chinese had rarely done. While the Japanese were not allowed to buy land to due racism in the Pacific Northwest, many saved up money to lease land creating some independence for their families. Just as wide spread Anti-Chinese sentiment was in the 19th century, the Anti-Japanese sentiment became wide spread during the early 20th century in the face of their success, leading to several attempts to debilitate them just as the …show more content…
Blacks and Japanese experienced the war in extremely different ways. WWII brought about the beginnings of the modern Blacks experience in the Pacific Northwest. During the war Blacks of the Northwest found themselves able to find some opportunities in the face of war breaking out in Europe working on manufacturing planes and ships for the war effort. Due to these economic opportunities the Black population of Seattle and Portland grew tremendously, giving the Blacks a stronger community as both old settlers and new arrivals were able to find common ground on resisting prejudice. WWII had opened up job opportunities for Blacks that had not existed before, however many of those opportunities came at the expense of the Japanese while they were in internment camps. This caused racial tensions to rise between the Blacks and Japanese themselves after the war had ended, as portrayed by John Okada, “A shooting gallery stood where once had been a clothing store; fish and chips had replaced a jewelry shop; and a bunch of Negroes were horsing around raucously in front of a pool parlor. Everything looked older and dirtier and