Dismantling White Privilege: The Central Pacific Railroad

Beginning in the 1850s, Chinese immigrants came to California, fleeing poverty and overpopulation from the Canton Province back in China. Fifteen years later, while the Transcontinental Railroad was being built, there was a labor shortage due to harsh working conditions. Though there was great prejudice against Chinese workers, Charles Crocker, one of the four founders of the Central Pacific Line, suggested hiring the Chinese as laborers.

Prejudices turned to exploitation when the white employers realized that many of the Chinese workers employed better work habits than the previous Irish laborers, the white employers went as far as to advertise in China to recruit laborers to come work for the railroad. Despite being punctual and more well-behaved, they received lower pay than white workers. White foremen were in charge and Chinese workers averaged $27-$30 a month and this did not include food or board. Furthermore, Chinese laborers worked 12 hour long days, 6 days a week. Their white counterparts however, were paid $35 a month which included board even though they were described as having poorer work habits as well as less of a work ethic.

In addition to being paid less and receiving less benefits, Chinese workers were also put to work on the more difficult stretches like the line that crossed through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In order to create a railroad through cliffs that were thousands of feet above the valley, Chinese immigrants hung against the cliffs and hammered rail beds into the stone.

To add insult to injury, ‘special’ taxes were imposed on Chinese immigrants as well being denied the right to vote, obtain citizenship or serve as a witness in court. If Chinese immigrants had children, their children were sent to segregated schools.

The exploitation of Chinese immigrants and laborers is another example of white supremacy in the United States. I will not demean this fact by signifying this as ‘history’ because white supremacy continues to exist in the labor field today and the purpose of this edition is to provide a historical analysis of the origins of the state of affairs that are present in the United States today.

Another point must be made. The discrimination directed against the Chinese immigrants was racism and not nationalism, meaning the discrimination was based on the color of the skin of the immigrants and not solely based on the fact that they were immigrants. Irish immigrants were paid more and provided with more resources even though they had inferior work ethics and habits. They were paid more because they were white and the Chinese immigrants were paid less because of the color of their skin.

Aware of the discriminatory practices, the Chinese immigrants waged a strike for equal treatment. The white employers responded by cutting off their food supply and starved them back to their unsafe and unequal working conditions. Unable to fight for their rights because of the financial abuse that their white employers held over them, the Chinese immigrants were dependent upon their abusers for food.

The treatment of the Chinese immigrants is proof that employment discrimination based on race and ethnicity is not new in this country. Employment discrimination is another form of institutionalized racism that has generations of roots that must be first acknowledged so that they can then be dismantled.

Employment discrimination has deeper roots than simple bigotry. Employment discrimination is geared to make the minority dependent upon the employer all while exploiting them by not paying the minority enough wages thus perpetuating the cycle of abuse and dependency. This form of disenfranchisement succeeded in keeping the Chinese, or minority population, powerless while allowing the white population to maintain absolute control, which still can be seen today.

None of these instances were isolated. Employment discrimination directed towards the Chinese immigrants, or the belief that Chinese lives were literally worth less than white lives, are a direct result of the same mentalities that reduced human lives to property and displacing millions of others. Yes individually these acts are horrific, and the impact should not be reduced; but the underlying theme that permeates each event is the belief that lives of color are inherently less than.

What is more, employment discrimination is not an accident or an oversight by leadership; rather, employment discrimination is a conscious choice. Charles Crocker and his white employers knew they were paying their Chinese laborers less than the white laborers who were completing the same, but most likely easier, work. Similarly, refusing to provide the Chinese workers with housing and food even though they provided those same resources to white employees was a deliberate choice, meaning that racism was chosen.

This is the issue, racism is chosen. Whenever an employer discriminates based on race or ethnicity, that racism is chosen. Whenever sacred tribal lands are stolen or under contest, that racism is chosen. When white police officers shoot unarmed people of color, give paid time off and then acquitted of their actions, that racism is chosen.

There is more than enough evidence present in this country today that proves racism is chosen. If racism is to be dismantled, that too must be a choice. The choice must be made to deliberately dismantle and break apart racist institutions. It is not enough to ne neutral, and that too must be recognized as a choice, to choose to remain quiet in the face of racism allows that racism to persist.

White people must begin to realize that there is only way to dismantle racism and that is to make the conscious choice to act out against it. Choice and act are verbs meaning that movement must take place. Changing one’s thoughts is the first step towards dismantling racism but the work must not stop there. White people must make the conscious choice to be the change in this country that has not happened yet. Sure progress has been made and important progress; but lives of color are taken everyday in this country and progress may no longer be enough.

A revolution is needed. A revolution of the mind. A revolution that is open to new ways of thinking, no matter how difficult or uncomfortable they may be. White people must acknowledge that it is a privilege to only have uncomfortable thoughts because people of color live uncomfortable lives daily due to the multiple forms of institutionalized racism present in this country. They say that thoughts lead to beliefs and beliefs lead to actions and if thoughts can be changed then so can beliefs and ultimately, so can actions.

The only way that lives will be saved in this country is if actions are changed and they must be changed yesterday.