Asian American Studies 197B
Spring Quarter 2002

Political Tours of Communities
Chinatown Political Tour by Ryan Chen, Ching Huang, Ken Ichiroku, and Julie Yoshioka

We chose to tour the Chinatown community for a variety of reasons. The most common among us was the fact that we knew very little about the community as a whole. Also, we knew that we would be spending a lot of time working there on the Youth Mural Project and wanted to know more about the community we were working with. Although Diana and Ching both grew up in Chinatown, Ching noted that he knew very little about the community problems and its history. Diana, on the other hand, felt a much stronger connection to the community. In Chinatown, she learned a lot about the difficulties in life and believed that living there influenced her life and helped shape her character. Ryan, originally from the Bay Area, saw this as an opportunity to compare the San Francisco Chinatown to the Los Angeles one. Growing up, he remembered visiting Chinatown to buy groceries and supplies. By touring the Los Angeles Chinatown, Ryan wanted to see if there was the same strong sense of community and bond that he felt was evident in San Francisco. Ken and Julie chose the Chinatown community because, unlike the other group members, they were not Chinese. Both were relatively unfamiliar with Chinese-American culture and wanted to know more about the issues and history of the community that they would be working with.

None of us have really had an extensive knowledge on Chinatown from previous classes. Although some of us have taken Asian-American Studies courses, none of these courses have really focused on Chinatown in depth. Ken remembered some general knowledge about the racist laws that helped form Chinatowns across the country – mainly a desire to isolate Chinese men from the Euro-American, female populations. As a result, Chinatowns formed as bachelor societies, providing ethnic goods and services.

In terms of preparing for the tour, Diana and Ching had volunteered to lead it since they had grown up in the area. The rest of the group tried to help in researching information on the Internet. We learned that the first Chinese in Los Angeles was recorded in 1852 and by 1870, a community of over 200 Chinese was formed on Calle de Los Negros. In time, the population of the Los Angeles Chinatown reached 3000, mostly male. The Chinese Exclusion act of 1882 prevented any further growth of the community. We also decided to talk to many community members to gain a more accurate understanding of the people and issues of Chinatown. We talked to store merchants, visiting tourists, store customers, and Chinatown residents. We asked merchants and shoppers about the significance of owning a store and shopping at Chinatown. We found out that Chinatown consisted about 90% Chinese/Vietnamese and 10% Hispanic. Many of the stores are opened for more than ten years, but businesses have been slowing down because of competition among other stores. Many said that Chinatown has improved a lot, meaning that it looks a lot cleaner, and safer than before.

The issues we focused on were mainly the questions we asked of the Chinatown residents. We wanted to know why they lived, worked, shopped in the area and what they felt about the changing/staying conditions of the area. We wanted to see the different attitudes and perspectives of Chinatown from the viewpoint of a tourist versus a store merchant or a youth growing up in the neighborhood. We talked to a wide variety of people — old, young, male, female, first-generation, second-generation, tourist, and resident. We wanted to know why the "outsiders" came to Chinatown and what they thought of it. We also wanted to know the motivations behind people who chose to work and live in the area. We also examined Castelar Elementary School, the second oldest continuing elementary school in Los Angeles, by talking to some AATP (Asian American Tutorial Project) tutors from UCLA and talked to them about the function of AATP in the Chinatown community. We talked to tutors about why they chose to volunteer in the program and what they felt about the program as well as the Chinatown community as a whole.

We learned a lot from our political tour. It was very different from a basic tourist’s view of Chinatown. We didn’t necessarily look at all of the commercially famous places, but instead focused our interests on the people who inhabit Chinatown. As a result, we were able to find out a lot about the not-so-glamorous components of the community. By actually speaking to the people who composed this community, we took a more active approach in understanding the community. An important aspect of knowledge comes with being able to interpret what is truth from myth. By talking to people, we were able to take raw information and interpret it for ourselves. This was important because we weren't necessarily influenced by what others wanted us to believe and were able to come to our own conclusions.

We began our political tour at the Far East Plaza. We first visited Wing Hop Feng, which is one of the oldest shops in Chinatown. It sold primarily Chinese artifacts, clothes, food, medicines, and herbs. Next we visited the Chinatown Service Center’s Youth Center. We were told that the main function of the center is to teach English to new immigrant students. Many students wanted to participate in the program, but there were a limited number of tutors available, so the program was only able to take about 20 students. We then proceeded to the Superior Poultry and interviewed one of the employees there. He told us that he and his family live in Chinatown, and the reason why he worked in Chinatown was because it is close to Castelar Elementary where his son attended and he thought the job was easy. Next, we passed by Cathay bank, which was the first Chinese-American owned bank in Los Angeles. The establishment of this bank provided a safe place for Chinese-Americans to keep their money and valuables. Before Cathay, most Chinese-Americans kept their money and valuables at home since they did not trust the American banks. Last, we concluded our tour at the Saigon Plaza. Some of our group members asked why there was a Saigon Plaza in Chinatown. Diana pointed out that the reason why is was named the Saigon Plaza was because the shop owners are all from Vietnam. Many ethnically Chinese from Vietnam had recently moved into Chinatown.

We think we would be able to share this knowledge with others by first telling them that a Chinatown even exists in Los Angeles; it is important not to assume what others know. Further, we now know much more about Chinatown’s history and landmarks. We also know a lot more than the average glossy facts that are commonly associated with Chinatown. It is important to question what we are told. Previous to this tour, most of us were fairly ignorant about a lot of the underlying motivations, politics, and influences in Chinatown. It is important to now take this knowledge and use it to educate others. In terms of educating others, many people choose to be ignorant on issues that do not directly pertain to themselves. These are the people who have the greatest need for this education since they prefer to hold onto their preconceived misconceptions. We could start small, by simply educating our own circle of friends and telling them some of the things we learned. Also, by using our various connections to student and community groups, we can further disperse this type of information to a wider population. Even working with the Chinatown Mural Project, we might be able to educate some of the staff and students working on the project. Our connections to AATP could also be a way to share facts among students who have a stronger connection to the Chinatown community. UCLA has a very large Chinese-American population, so we feel that many students would be responsive to Chinatown issues since they might feel a personal bond to the community.

We all feel that in order to increase our understanding of the Chinatown community, we should actively participate in its activities and services. This means continuous interaction with some component of the community whether that be socially, politically, or economically. For example, many of our group members expressed interest in becoming tutors at the Youth Center or AATP after this project is completed. We understand that our once-a-week presence is probably not enough to establish a profound relationship to Chinatown, but we think it is important in making connections and establishing a somewhat insider’s view to build a foundation that can later be built upon. To better understand this community it is also important to filter the information that we hear and recognize the falsities and stereotypes that Chinatown represents to others. It is a matter of taking this knowledge and then trying to dispel the myths. This can be accomplished by educating the community within (either by taking an active role in the community, whether that be through volunteering in it or working there) as well as the community outside (whether that be to actively counter the misrepresentations people have about it or to take them there and dispel their misconceptions).

The role of students in our communities should be much more developed. As of now, very few classes require students to step outside of the classroom into the "real world" and witness for themselves the things they learn in textbooks. What one learns in the classroom is mostly comprised of theories and concepts based under ideal conditions. We have to understand that in the real world, conditions are oftentimes not ideal. Students have a very unique position. They are somewhat unrestrained by the responsibilities of family and responsibility, so they aren’t as restricted when supporting an issue. We think they should use their resources connected to an institute of higher education to confront the powers that be. Also, by being educated on these issues at an early age, they have their entire lives to continue to work on developing their involvement and pursuing change.