The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art was founded in 1859 by American industrialist Peter Cooper, who dreamed of educating talented young people at an institution that was “open and free to all.” For over a century, the striking Italianate brownstone building has been an important site in New York City’s civil rights and social justice history. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and an individual New York City landmark in 1965.

On September 22, 1892, a group of 1,000 U.S. citizens and 200 Chinese merchants and laborers gathered at The Cooper Union’s Great Hall to protest the Geary Act, forming the Chinese Equal Rights League. The Geary Act, which had passed that year, required Chinese residents of the United States to carry a resident permit at all times. If a person did not carry a permit, they would risk deportation or a year’s worth of hard labor. Under the Geary Act, Chinese residents were also prohibited from bearing witness in court and from receiving bail in habeas corpus proceedings. At its first meeting, the Chinese Equal Rights League passed a resolution, published as a pamphlet, condemning both the Act’s immigration restrictions and its denial of citizenship to Chinese-Americans. The resolution demanded that the act make a formal distinction between recent Chinese immigrants and resident Chinese-Americans. The Philadelphia merchant Lee Sam Ping was elected president of the organization. Wong Chin Foo, a journalist and activist who is credited with founding the organization and with coining the term “Chinese-American,” was elected as secretary. 

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art 由美国实业家Peter Cooper于1859年创立，

他梦想着在一所“开放且免费”的机构中培养才华横溢的年轻人。一个多世纪以来，这座引人注目的

意大利风格褐石建筑一直是纽约市民权和社会正义历史上的重要见证。它于1961年被列为国家历史地标，并于1965年被列为纽约市地标。

1892年9月22日，1000名美国公民和200名中国商人及劳工聚集在Cooper Union Great Hall，抗议Geary Act，并成立了华人平等权利联盟（Chinese Equal Rights League）。该法案于当年通过，要求居住在美国的华人必须始终携带居留证。如果没有居留证，他们将面临被驱逐出境或一年的苦役。根据《吉里法案》，华裔居民还被禁止出庭作证，并在人身保护令程序中获得保释。华人平权联盟在其首次会议上通过了一项决议，并以小册子的形式出版，谴责该法案的移民限制及其拒绝给予华裔美国人公民身份的做法。该决议要求该法案正式区分新近移民和常住华裔美国人。费城商人李三平当选为该组织的主席。记者兼活动家wang清富（Wong Chin Foo）被选为秘书，WONG清富被认为是该组织的创始人，也是“华裔美国人”一词的创造者。