This Day in History: 0000-06-23
June 24, 1867 – “Thousands of Chinese Railroad Laborers Strike in Western U.S.” Between 5,000-7,000 thousand Chinese laborers working on the Transcontinental Railroad staged a strike in the Sierras to protest overseers who whipped and restrained them from seeking other work. They won the right not to be whipped or beaten. A second strike in Nevada desert won Chinese laborers the right to receive the same pay as their White counterparts. But the Chinese were still required to buy their own supplies while Whites got free room, board and supplies.
November 5, 1996 - "Gary Locke Elected to Washington State Governorship"
Gary Locke became the first Asian American elected governor of a mainland state when he won the governorship by a wide margin. Locke's success in raising the state's educational standards and balancing its budget led to a landslide victory for a second term in 2000. He decided not to run for a third term because he wanted to spend more time with his two young children, but was chosen to deliver the Democratic rebuttal to President George W. Bush's State of the Union Address in 2004.