U.S. Department of Labor on Friday hosted a public ceremony to mark inducting of 12,000 Chinese railroad workers, who worked between 1865 to 1869 in the country, into the agency’s Hall of Honor. The ceremony was attended by Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, Deputy Secretary of Labor Christopher Lu, as well as descendants of the Chinese railroad workers.
Also, a two-day celebration of the indispensable but often ignored role played by Chinese workers in building the transcontinental railroad completed 145 years ago Saturday — began Friday at Utah’s state Capitol. Friday’s festivities focused on the reading of proclamations honoring the Chinese Transcontinental Railroad Commemoration Project by representatives of Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams.
U.S. President Barack Obama proclaimed early this week that May has been designated “Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month,” in part because the Transcontinental Railroad was completed on May 10, 1869.
On Saturday, our friend the New York City photographer Corky Lee intends to “commit an act of photographic justice” and to recreate that picture, but with descendants of those Chinese laborers in places where their ancestors should have been since 80 percent of Central Pacific Railroad’s workforce was Chinese but were out of the picture. If you are in Utah, try to catch the opportunity to support the historical event. Details: https://www.facebook.com/events.
Photo credit Wan Zhao