Migration is a natural part of living systems, and human history is no exception. Yet it remains one of the most debated public issues of our time.
Both people and borders move. Who is allowed to move, and who is granted rights, lies at the heart of how nations define belonging. In Germany and the United States alike, these debates have been deeply intertwined with evolving ideas of race and ethnicity.
These timelines trace how citizenship and belonging have been constructed, challenged, and redefined through laws, social movements, global events, and cultural works — and how those histories continue to shape the present.
In June of 1982, the violent murder of Vincent Chin became a symbol for the Asian American community and the Pan-Asian American movement. A son of Chinese immigrants, Vincent Chin was killed by Ronald Eben and Michael Nitz, two autoworkers, in Detroit, Michigan. An argument fueled with racial slurs erupted between the three men while Chin was out celebrating his bachelor party. Eben and Nitz blamed the Japanese auto industry for the economic crash of Detroit. Later that evening, the two men went out in search of Chin and violently killed him.
PBS
