Description:
Native Washingtonian Regina Chow McPhie discusses her family history in DC's Chinatown and reflects on the necessity of perserving Chinese heritage in the area. She talks about how her family was involved in Chinatown from its earliest days, and how her grandfather helped start the Lee Family Association. She says that her grandfather and other immigrants were relegated to domestic work, such as the laundry business, due to racial discrimination and a hatred of the Chinese. Regina talks about how Chinatown has significantly diminished. She remembers visiting Chinatown and connecting with thousands of other Chinese in the 60s and 70s, whereas now only about 300 Chinese live in the area. While she admires the DC government's efforts to preserve Chinatown, she thinks they can do more, perhaps with money collected from parking tickets. She says now that Chinatown is struggling to exist. Regina sees a dichotomy between the older and younger generations in terms of the importance of preserving heritage. She views this as extremely important: "if you don't have your heritage, you don't have your history. You don't exist."
