The Real History of Angel Island

People often learn about Ellis Island when they are taught the history of immigration in the US. However, many people also came through Angel Island in California.

Angel Island Immigration Station was the main US immigration site on the west coast from 1910 to 1940. Although hundreds of thousands of immigrants from all over the world passed through the station for processing, the stories behind the island and the people who went there have largely been left out of history. Learn all about the Angel Island Immigration Station, including the immigration laws that excluded people, the conditions of the site, and the rise of “paper children.”

Have you ever considered what’s missing from history books? In Left Out of History, explore the misunderstood and underexamined past in this engaging series. Compelling photographs and primary sources help bring previously buried history to light.

Read Woke™ Books are created in partnership with Cicely Lewis, the Read Woke librarian. Inspired by a belief that knowledge is power, Read Woke Books seek to amplify the voices of people of the global majority (people who are of African, Arab, Asian, and Latin American descent and identify as not white), provide information about groups that have been disenfranchised, share perspectives of people who have been underrepresented or oppressed, challenge social norms and disrupt the status quo, and encourage readers to take action in their community.