Chinatown Reborn

Since I've known Detroit before I could talk or walk, I have some very vintage memories of the city that stretch all the way back to the 1970s. Some of my earliest memories -- ever -- were made in D town. In fact, I'm just barely old enough to remember the vestiges of Detroit's old Chinatown. Yet remembering what once was gets more difficult with new development, especially when it's driven by corporate interests and gentrification.

In 2023, a full block of historic buildings with significant cultural ties that still live in the memories of many people from Detroit was demolished by developers, despite calls for a moratorium on demolition. But last year, plans to designate the area with a historical marker and revitalize its cultural heritage received substantial support from the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan.

Lunar New Year Community Fair hosted by Association of Chinese Americans (Detroit)

Of course, Detroit has had more than one Chinatown. The city's earliest Chinese residents arrived in the late nineteenth century. After Chinatown was forced to move around the city in the name of "urban renewal", the turbulent times the community faced as a marginalized ethnic group erupted into a hate crime tragedy that clearly marked the community's final exile from Detroit. There are still Chinese and other Asian residents in Southeast Michigan, but they've been scattered across the suburbs for the last 40 years.

In response to its traumatic past and most recent redevelopment plans, the Detroit Chinatown Vision Committee has emerged with a new direction for the future. Led by pillars of the city's social justice movements, such as Rowland Hwang, who is also the President of American Citizens for Justice. the grassroots committee has achieved several successful preliminary steps toward the revitalization of Detroit's historic Chinatown neighborhood in the Cass Corridor. However, there are definitely more obstacles to overcome on the road to reclaiming Detroit's diverse and unique heritage and protecting it from billionaire corporatization. It's an exciting time to learn more stories from more Detroiters -- past and present -- and what they think the future may hold for us all.

"Love" calligraphy table at the Lunar New Year Community Fair, Association of Chinese Americans