Bruce Lee Was An Anchor Baby

The first in a video series — Ten Ways To See Bruce Lee!

From the day he was born, Bruce Lee was changing the world. And he still is. Let’s start with this: Bruce Lee was an anchor baby. 

He was born in 1940 in San Francisco Chinatown. His parents were here on temporary work visas to perform in the Chinese opera. When Bruce was four months old, they all moved back to Hong Kong where he would grow up. 

But because he had been born in the U.S, he was a U.S. citizen.

This is a right that was made possible by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It was fought for by people like Frederick Douglass. It was secured by one of the first Chinese to be born in the U.S., a man named Wong Kim Ark, in a Supreme Court case in 1898. The Court affirmed that it didn’t matter what race you were, if you are born here, you are an American.

This has come to be called the principle of birthright citizenship.

Now you’ve probably heard there’s controversy about this idea.

And you may have heard this slur: anchor baby… 

Watch the rest above! 

This is the first video in a ten-episode series, Ten Ways To See Bruce Lee, that accompanies the new book, Water Mirror Echo. Out September 23rd. For more info, visit watermirrorecho.net.

Every Tuesday we’ll be dropping another short on Bruce Lee. Stay tuned!

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LINKS:

May 19th Project on birthright citizenship: https://bit.ly/WongKimArk519

Protect birthright citizenship now: https://stopaapihate.org/protect-birthright-citizenship/

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CREDITS:

Executive Produced by the The Mash-Up Americans, Amy S. Choi and Rebecca Lehrer

Editing by Grant Stakenas, Born Ready Films

Production Management by Shelby Sandlin, The Mash-Up Americans

Photos of Bruce Lee courtesy of the Bruce Lee Family Archive

Music courtesy Blackalicious

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