Our Chinatown

Hate crimes against Asian-Americans in 16 cities rose by 150% in 2020.* These incidents ranged from violent attacks and verbal abuse to the vandalization of Asian-owned businesses.

Chinatown means many things to the business owners and residents who call the community home — long days, back-breaking work, a painful past, belonging, resilience, opportunity, the American dream. And as they look to the future, legacy. In Our Chinatown, legacy business owners reflect on 2020 and the importance of family as a throughline of Chinatown’s past, present, and future.

“Even against all odds, you can still make it. The American dream is still here in Chinatown.” —Jefferson Li, 47 Division St. Trading Co.

“I realized how important my family is and how I wanted to be around them every day. I want to keep [the businesses] in the family.” —Liz Yee, Tonii’s Fresh Rice Noodle and Kam Hing Coffee Shop

“For us, Chinatown is our livelihood. It’s a safe space for my parents, it was a safe space for me growing up, to grow into my identity.” Alice Liu, Grand Tea & Imports

Read more about these business owners → squ.re/ourchinatown

Our Chinatown was directed and photographed by Red Gaskell for Even/Odd Films. Red is a Filipino/Chinese-American filmmaker and photographer, and founder of RG Studios. He splits his time between Los Angeles and Brooklyn, and has worked with Everlane, Atoms, 368, Airbnb, Nike, and others. See more of his work at rgstudios.co.

*Source: squ.re/CSUSBstudy

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