The United States has a rich yet complex history surrounding immigration and race relations. This chapter delves into the historical backdrop that laid the foundation for the present-day realities of race relations and the impact on immigrant and non-immigrant faculty of color in the United States. Since the country’s inception, immigration and immigrant experiences have shaped the nation’s demographics, culture, and economy. However, the constant refrain of the United States as being a nation of immigrants conceals the fact that this description originated from and benefitted those in power. What follows is a historical accounting that explores the creation of race and racism as experienced by native-born Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and those whose ancestors were brought to the land now known as the United States.