Wong Kim Ark sued to protect his rights as a citizen. Although this card is usually interpreted as control and possession of physically tangible things, without basic resources of citizenship, health, and human rights, we don’t have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Don’t give up what’s important to you.
Assess your needs, protect your boundaries & resources. Stability, frugality. Take care of yourself so that you can take care of others.
Wong Kim Ark was born in San Francisco in 1873. In 1895, after a short trip to China, he was denied re-entry to the US because of the Chinese Exclusion Act. He was confined for 5 months on a steamship in SF Bay while he challenged the government. His great-granddaughter, Sandra Wong, said, “He was just a regular guy. He just wanted to do what he thought was right.”
SF attorney George Collins, US Attorney Henry Foote and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association provided legal assistance. The case eventually went to the Supreme Court, which ruled in Wong’s favor in a 6-2 decision, based on the birthright citizenship language of the 14th Amendment.
