If these walls could talk

Yes, it's a cliche often heard but Monday night I thought the story on "History Detectives" was a perfect illustration of this saying. "History Detectives" is a show on channel 11 (PBS). I love channel 11 because they broadcast some amazing, educational programs. For example, how many people are aware of the connection between the bubonic plague and HIV/AIDS? I didn't know there was a connection until I saw a program about one year ago on WTTW.

Monday's episode gave new meaning to the phrase "if these walls could talk". In the early 20th century, Chinese immigrants were detained and questioned at Angel Island in San Francisco. Because the Chinese were targets of discrimination at the time, the conditions at Angel Island were not pleasant. Many of the detainees craved poems in Chinese on the walls of the detention building. The building and poems are still present today and a group is trying to preserve this historical structure and its contents. As it was explained in the program, poetry is a traditional way of expressing and dealing with grief in the Chinese culture. As a result, the immigrants documented their experiences on the walls. As the history detectives worked with a group of translators, it was clear that the walls had many tales of sadness, disillusionment, frustration, and anger. Angel Island stands as a reminder of how fear and ignorance can lead to injustices.

The program also showed how there is always some immigrant group that is discriminated against thru out American history. Unfortunately, at the present time, it is Latinos, specifically Mexicans. People are always arguing that Mexicans are stealing jobs from Americans. So much attention and energy is placed on securing the Mexican/US border. In the early 20th century, the Chinese were seen as the threat to the American economy.