Los Angeles to mark 1871 massacre of Chinese

The lives of at least 18 Chinese, including a teenage boy and a doctor, were tragically cut short during an October afternoon 151 years ago. They were either shot or hanged as an angry mob of around 500 people descended upon Chinatown to take revenge on the accidental shooting of a white man.

The 1871 massacre wiped out close to 10 percent of the small Chinese population living in Los Angeles at the time. Historians estimated that nearly 1 in 10 of the roughly 5,700 residents in the city participated in the massacre.

For a long time, this dark chapter in the city's history was little known even to locals in the city. It was not taught in history books. A sidewalk plaque in downtown Los Angeles serves as the only reminder of the violent episode.