The historian and artist Henry Tsang discusses his new book White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2023), with Joseph Planta.

White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver by Henry Tsang (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: White Riot

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

On 07 September 1907, thousands gathered in front of Vancouver’s City Hall to protest Asian immigration, then stormed neighbourhoods where many of Chinese and Japanese descent made their homes, Chinatown, and a portion of Powell Street. A 360-degree-video walking tour was created by Henry Tsang, offering a recounting of this historic event, through a series of panoramic photographs following the path of the mob. It’s still available online at www.360riotwalk.ca, and a number of events were held including walking tours, that were also multimedia, using tablets or one’s own phone. A new book, White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver, provides the history of the event, as well as visuals used in the walking tour. A number of archival photographs which one could juxtapose to current images, or live if you were doing the walking tour, are colourised, bringing this history to life in some cases. As one sees in the book, there are photographs of people taking the tour, and Henry leading some of the events. A number of those photographs are from 2019, and what makes this book timely and useful, is that it also contains essays that bring us to the present, chronicling the rise of anti-Asian violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are essays from historians, activists, and urban planners, including a foreword from Patricia E. Roy. The book comes out next week, and Henry Tsang joins me now to reflect on this walking tour, its legacy, and now this book, and the future, which still includes COVID, and the lingering of prevailing attitudes that make a lot of people in this city still unsafe. Henry Tsang is an artist who explores the spatial politics of history, language, community, food, and community translation in relationship to place. His artwork takes the form of gallery exhibitions, 360-degree video walking tours, curated dinners, and public art. He also teaches at Emily Carr University of Art + Design here in Vancouver. His Twitter handle is @HenryVancouver. This new book is published by Arsenal Pulp Press. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Henry Tsang; Mr. Tsang, good morning.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (22.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS