ANGEL ISLAND STATE PARK, Calif. — Schoolchildren crowd into the barracks of this former immigration station, poring over poems of sadness and longing carved into the walls by the million-plus immigrants who passed through the “Ellis Island of the West” decades ago.
Some of their ancestors were among the mostly Chinese immigrants detained on this island in San Francisco Bay.
Back in their classroom, these fourth-graders will do some writing of their own, joining others petitioning Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to spare Angel Island from a proposal that 220 state parks be closed because of California’s $24.3 billion budget deficit.
Advocates say the station represents a chapter in history that is finally being recognized.
“Can you imagine recommending Ellis Island be closed?” asked historian Judy Yung. “It would mean a part of our past is being closed to us.”
