were any of the newsies asian? also, can i make a newsies oc have an earring or is that taboo?
Excellent questions! Before I delve into the history, don't forget that our very own Swifty the Rake of Newsies (1992) fame is an Asian newsie!
When it comes to the backgrounds of the real newsies involved with the 1899 strike, I think it's important to understand that these children were a reflection of late 20th century immigration patterns to New York.
A July 1899 article in the New York Tribune notes the following:
Only a few years ago nine-tenths of the newsboys were of Irish parentage, but other elements have come into the business, and, according to the figures given by “Dave” Simons, the ex-president of the Newsboys’ Union, two-fifths are now Jews, one-fifth Irish, one-fifth Italian, and one-fifth “[Black], goils, cripples, old women, fakirs, beggars an’ sich.”
These figures provided by Dave Simons agree with the fact that the largest groups of immigrants to New York in the 1890s included the Irish, Italians, and Eastern European Jews. The following map by the Tenement-House Committee details the "Proportion of each Nationality" in Manhattan based on data from the 1890 census. (Note that here "Natives" refers to "Native" New Yorkers aka those born in New York.)
The Tenement-House Committee maps, c. 1895.
I personally have not found any Asian newsies in researching the strike, however this doesn't mean that Asian newsies are out of the question! The backgrounds of the newsies weren't very often noted in newspapers, and it is very difficult tracking down newsies in the census. Historically, the largest group of Asian immigrants to New York in the 1800s were Chinese, and by the 1870s Chinatown was a vibrant community concentrated around Mott, Pell, and Doyers streets in Manhattan. Just years later in 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act greatly restricted all further immigration from China to the United States, but small numbers may still have managed to settle in New York either illegally or through family connections.
I've found the following excellent maps from the University of Washington's America's Great Migrations Project detailing the total number of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders living in each state by decade:
In 1880, there were 614 Chinese people living in New York state.
By 1900, this number had increased to 6716! There were also 101 Japanese people living in New York state.
In regards to your second question, past decades had seen pierced ears among sailors and explorers, but by the late 20th century earrings were very much considered "feminine" in western culture, and you likely wouldn't find very many men sporting them as a result.
It might interest you to know that at the same time, pierced ears weren't necessarily the norm among women! Instead, clip-on or "screw-back" earrings were often worn and were very popular and practical. Also, earrings in general (even beyond western culture) weren't really worn by children at the time, as piercings most commonly took place in adulthood. It wouldn't be until the 21st century that childhood piercings become more widespread.
All that's to say, if you'd like to make a newsie who has an earring, I imagine there must be a very interesting story behind it!
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