Asian Lawyer finally got recognized, took a long time

[theking]

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1st Chinese American lawyer gets Columbia Law honor, highlights past barriers
Hong Yen Chang was a trailblazer when racial hostility led to discriminatory laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Columbia Law School has honored Hong Yen Chang, a trailblazing Chinese immigrant who carved out a career in the legal field during a time when those of Chinese descent experienced rampant discrimination and were unwelcome in the U.S.

The law school announced this month that its Center for Chinese Legal Studies will be named for Chang, who not only made history in 1886 as the school's first Chinese graduate but also went on to become the first Chinese American to be admitted as a lawyer in the country. He did so during a period of labor unrest and fears about the loss of white racial purity in the country, which led to discriminatory legislation like the Chinese Exclusion Act, experts say.

Gabriel J. Chin, a professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law who helped lead the charge to posthumously admit Chang to the State Bar of California — which once banned him — said there is no doubt that the announcement is significant.

"This is an important recognition of the long history of Asians and other people of color in the United States," Chin said.

Beginning Friday, the center will be known as the Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies, the school said in a statement.