After more than a century, Vancouver's 'bloody' anti-Asian riot still resonates

More than a century ago,rioterssmashed windows and destroyed the shops and homes of Asian Canadians in Vancouver.

The anti-Asian riot of 1907 involved amob of about 9,000 people,according toCanadian Encyclopedia, andlasted two days and nights.

Now, a new book examinesthe 1907 anti-Asian violence in Vancouver and aims to providecontextfor the current wave of anti-Asian prejudice.

White Riot isbased onan immersive, self-guided walking tour created in 2019 by Henry Tsang, who teaches at theEmily Carr University of Art and Design.

No lives were lost during the riot, according to Tsang'sWhite Riot, but "there were close calls."

The book notes that "only five rioters were eventually found guilty and given jail terms of one to six months."

'Bloody battle'

In 1907, the Vancouver Trades and Labour Council, alabour movement organization,helped found a local chapter of the Asiatic Exclusion League, which began in San Francisco. Its first public eventwas a parade and demonstrationon Sept. 7, 1907,to create awareness and lobby the federal government to pass laws to exclude Asians fromCanada.

Then-Vancouver mayorAlexander Bethuneand his wife took part in a cavalcade, along with city councillors, labour leaders, and leaders from church groups,that went through downtown Vancouver and stopped atCity Hall.

Speeches inside City Hall were relayed outside to a crowd of thousands.

"Estimates [are]up to one thirdof Vancouver's population came out for this parade," Tsang said. "It was kind of crazy popular."

Guest speakersfrom the U.S. and New Zealand stoked the crowd, Tsang said.

"A mob broke out," he said. "That mob went down to Chinatown, which was nearby, and started attacking people."

Tsang says the streets of Chinatown were largely quietas residents concerned about the parade barred their doors and hoped things would blow over.

When things didn't calmdown, members of the communitytook up arms.

"They brought out all the guns and ammunition and they set up patrols and they started to take back their streets," he said. "So hand-to-hand combat happened for two days."

The riot movedtoward a community of Japanese Canadians on Powell Street.

"The Japanese had more time to set up," Tsang said."They had barricades ready by the time the mob went into the area. It was a bloody battle."

Following the riot, Chinese Canadians went on strike for three days and "effectively shut down the city," Tsang said.

Recent rise in anti-Asian hate

The book comes in the wake of arise in anti-Asian hate in Vancouver.

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, policesaidanti-Asian hate crimes in Vancouver increased from12 incidents in 2019to 98 in 2020 a717-per-cent spike.

In Richmond, south of Vancouver, police saidthey've recorded 46 hate crimes and incidentsin 2021, up from 34 in 2020; 67per cent were related to racial discrimination, and of the people targeted, 61 per cent were Asian.

Lawyer and advocate Steven Ngotold CBC that figures reported by any jurisdiction should be taken with a grain of salt.

"The reality is people have just given up [reporting]," he said.

Examining the historicroots of racism in Canada, Tsang says,can help us better understand where we are today.

"I was shocked that I didn't learn about this until I was later in my 20s," he said. "Why wasn't this brought up in school?"