Have you ever heard of the Watsonville Riots of 1930?
From January 19, 1930 - January 23, 1930, racially motivated acts of violence toward Filipinos occurred. Prior to the riots, anti-Filipino rhetoric was already in place as a result of immigration policies and capitalistic acts by those who employed Filipino farm workers. During these riots, hunting parties would drag Filipinos out of their homes and beat them to near death. Some of the Filipinos were even thrown over bridges.
These riots eventually stopped, but acknowledgement did not occur until many years later. It wasn't until 2011 when the State of California issued an apology. And it wasn't until 2020 that the City of Watsonville, CA issued their formal apology.
How much about this event did you know about?
