Robert Chang

Robert Chang brings critical historical perspectives to contemporary discussions about immigration and civil rights through his examination of America's exclusionary past. His TED-Ed talk on the dark history of the Chinese Exclusion Act illuminates one of the most significant yet underexamined chapters in American immigration policy, exploring how the 1882 law became the first race-based immigration ban in U.

S. history.

Through his work, Chang demonstrates how historical legislation shaped decades of discrimination and established precedents that reverberated through American society. His research reveals the complex interplay between economic anxiety, racial prejudice, and political opportunism that drove exclusionary policies, offering valuable insights into patterns that continue to influence immigration debates today.