On May 10, the anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad – whose challenging construction owes a great deal to the hard work of Chinese immigrants, Assemblymembers William Colton (D—Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Dyker Heights) and Grace Lee (D-Lower Manhattan) and Councilmember Susan Zhuang (D—Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Gravesend, Dyker Heights, Boro Park and Sunset Park) will host a press conference in advance of the May 14 celebration of these workers to be held at the State Capitol in Albany, N.Y.
The press conference will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 10 at Assemblyman Colton’s office, 155 Kings Highway, Brooklyn, NY 11223.
On May 14, at the State Capitol, Assemblyman Colton will be introducing a resolution recognizing the achievements of the Chinese-American railroad workers, many of whose descendants live in Brooklyn today. The effort is supported by the Assembly’s Asian Pacific American Task Force, which is assisting in coordinating an exhibit in Albany tracing the history of those often-forgotten early laborers. Assemblyman Colton plans to bring a group of constituents up to the state capital to view the exhibit and be present when the resolution is voted on by the Assembly. This year is the 156th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.
“These workers were instrumental in America’s growth, at a time when coast-to-coast expansion was a cherished goal,” said Assemblyman Colton. “Their heroic efforts – undertaken often under difficult conditions – was a key to our success, and should be celebrated as the achievement it was.”
According to the United States Department of Labor (DOL), which includes Chinese Railroad Workers in its online Hall of Fame, Chinese immigrants worked on the construction of the western stretch of the Transcontinental Railroad between 1865 and 1869, despite difficult and often dangerous working conditions and in the face of prejudice.
As many as 20,000 Chinese laborers toiled in the effort, according to Stanford University, which initiated the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project in 2012, in recognition of the realization that those who worked on the railroad had basically been ignored by history.
