An LA mob once massacred 18 Chinese people. Now, a push to never forget the racist assault
LOS ANGELES — It happened in the early days of Los Angeles, when the city was a dusty, violent, frontier town. An eruption of gunfire around 4 p.m. on Oct. 24, 1871, spurred what's believed to be the most lethal example of racial violence ever recorded in the city — the Los Angeles Chinese massacre. Hundreds made up the largely white mob that descended upon what's now downtown Los Angeles. ...
by Gregory Yee, Los Angeles Times
Aug 28, 2022
4 minutes
LOS ANGELES — It happened in the early days of Los Angeles, when the city was a dusty, violent, frontier town.
An eruption of gunfire around 4 p.m. on Oct. 24, 1871, spurred what's believed to be the most lethal example of racial violence ever recorded in the city — the Los Angeles Chinese massacre.
Hundreds made up the largely white mob that descended upon what's now downtown Los Angeles. They indiscriminately beat, shot or hanged any Chinese person they saw.
"Then, every rickety shanty in Chinatown was looted. 'Boys, help yourselves,' was the cry," according to an account of the lynchings published by the Los Angeles Times in 1999.
left at least 18 Chinese people,
You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
Start your free 30 days