Recent DC transplant Lance Tran discusses the meaning of Chinatown to him. Growing up in Missouri, he reflects on not having big celebrations of his culture. He remembers going to Chinatown for the first time in San Francisco and being struck by the sense of community and the pervasiveness of Chinese culture. Lance sees Chinatown as a way to connect with his culture, speak Cantonese, and as a place of refuge. He talks about the future of Chinatown, and hopes that the city can strike a balance between creating a place that is open and welcoming for everyone, while not displacing original residents. He says that we need to be mindful of issues like gentrification.
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."
Native Washingtonian Rita Moy reflects on her history with the Chinese New Year celebration in Chinatown. She remembers coming down to Chinatown for the festival by streetcar as a child, going to family association buildings, receiving "red envelopes" of money gifts, and watching the firecrackers with her siblings from the top floor of buildings. She briefly talks about her father's involvement in Chinatown politics, such as with the Moy Family Association. Rita discusses how she's seen Chinatown evolve: whereas it used to be a tight-knit communtiy of mostly Southern Chinese, an increase in diversity has led to what she sees as good changes. While she says DC Chinese have scattered around the DC area, the Lunar New Year is now "a diverse group celebration."