The History of Destroying Chinatowns

Asian American History 101

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 40! Chinatowns have been around in the U.S. since the middle 1800s, but not all of them survived the racism, xenophobia, and discrimination that was rampant throughout the 1800s and 1900s. In this episode, we discuss the environment that resulted in several Chinatowns being destroyed. We spend time sharing the events that happened in the Chinatowns in Antioch and Santa Ana, California as well as in Denver, Colorado. We take additional time to talk about the Chinatowns in San Jose, California… all five of them. Lives and livelihoods were lost with each violent act, and it’s the history that is being forgotten. There are some organizations trying to make sure that previously destroyed Chinatowns and the history of Chinese Americans are remembered:

• The Market Street Chinatown Archaeological Project
• Chinese Historical and Cultural Project
• No Place Project
• China Alley in Hanford, California

If you’re looking for background information, then we recommend listening to our following past episodes:

• Ethnic Enclaves
• The History of Stereotypical Chinatown Architecture
• A History of Anti-Asian Massacres and Lynchings.

To close this episode, we bring back our recurring segment called Obscure Asian Comic Book Characters and feature the Karate Kid… it’s not who you’re probably thinking of. For additional previous episodes and information, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or social media links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [e-mail].

Segments

• 00:25 Intro and Talking Dodgers and Giants API Historic Moment
• 03:37 The History of Destroying Chinatowns
• 25:25 Obscure Asian Comic Book Characters, The Karate Kid