In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act became the first law that prohibited individuals from entering the U.S. based on race. In 1986, MOCA developed the exhibition, In the Shadow of Liberty: Graphics of Chinese Exclusion, 1870s - 1890s. The exhibition opening coincided with the 100th year celebration of the Statue of Liberty. Thus, the name of the show critiques the 1886 opening of the Statue of Liberty, a mask of freedom in the United States, while Chinese Americans experienced overt exclusion. In the same year, the New York Times developed a piece called, “Why Asian Students Excel,” bringing attention to a new way of perceiving Asian Americans: the model minority myth. Throughout these events, MOCA strived to ask, “How do we want to gain our liberty? Through exclusion of some or inclusion of all?”

1882年，美国排华法案成为了美国第一条基于种族禁止个人进入美国的法律。1986年美国华人博物馆举办了展览”在自由的阴影之中：美国排华图片展，一八七〇年代至一八九〇年代纽约华埠历史研究社珍贵图片巡回展”。这个展览开幕恰逢自由女神像诞辰一百周年。因此，展览的题目直接批评了1886年自由女神像的开启，这是美国自由的面具，当时美国华人正经历公开的排斥。在展出的同一年（1986年），《纽约时报》刊登了一篇文章，标题为《亚裔学生为何优秀？》，让人们关注到了一种对美国亚裔的新看法：所谓“模范少数族裔”的神话。在这期间，美国华人博物馆不断自问：“我们如何获得自由？通过对少数人的排斥还是通过对所有人的包容？”

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