Alejandra Reyes, & Dr. José Alamillo
Chinese immigrant communities emerged in Ventura County beginning in mid-nineteenth century and into the early twentieth century, but they been completely eradicated from the history books. My research will map the Chinese immigrant communities also known as “Chinatowns” in Ventura County from 1980s to the 1920s. My research question is why did Chinese immigrant communities emerged and then disappeared from Ventura County? I will be researching immigration laws, family archives, newspaper articles, census and to understand the rise and fall of Chinese immigrant communities. My expected findings are that Chinese immigrant communities in Ventura County had fallen victim to the nativist laws, racial discrimination, and racially restrictive covenants that led to their expulsion from Ventura to Oxnard and ultimately outside of Ventura County. Understanding what happened to the Chinese who are “buried in the past” will help us to understand how other immigrant groups were racialized in relation to one another.