Marlon Meyer
Northwest Asia Weekly
Protesters wait outside for a King County Council budget meeting (Photo by Eugene Tianchuan)
Chinatown-International District (CID) cosmetology school owner Kim Nguyen stood before the judges lined up like a judge to ask a question that might well define the past and present efforts of Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) community survives in this country.
“We’re your people, aren’t we?” she asked.
Correct the injury
Nguyen was speaking at the King County Council budget meeting on Oct. 19 as part of a group of about 60 protesters from the CID who, for the first time, demanded some return from the government, which they have supported through taxes and abided by for centuries. Harass and persecute them through exclusion laws, red lines, and environmental injustice.
Protesters demanded $20 million in investment funds for behavioral health services, economic recovery and public safety.
In the wake of the catastrophic damage to the CID, not only over the last century, but because of the dramatic increase in shootings, homicides, arson, rape and assaults over the past few years, community advocates are asking the county to correct past harm and prevent further damage.
“We’ve come to you. We want safety. We want clean streets. We want our businesses to thrive. We want our communities to thrive. Magnolia has it, Laurelhurst has it, View Ridge has it, Madrona has it. All beautiful security community,” said Amy Chen Lozano. “CID deserves it too.”
a pilot program
This is a moment with several precursors. The county has agreed to scrap plans to expand a large homeless shelter at the CID border after months of residents protesting.
Community advocates said they were also inspired by a plan recently proposed by Deputy Mayor Greg Wong to provide more services to CIDs on an eight-week trial. That will include directing officials from other parts of the city to the CID, increasing cleanup services, and working to remove graffiti, according to Tanya Woo, a member of a task force made up of city and county officials.
In his remarks at the council meeting, Woo thanked the county for stopping the expansion of homeless shelters and said there were already 20 shelters within a one-mile radius of CID.
Echoing comments made by other protesters, she said the increase in crime was tied to those who prey on the homeless.
As an illustration of the disparity between the CID and the rest of the city, she said the CID averages one homicide a month, compared to a year in every other neighborhood in the city.
“Please don’t leave us, please help us,” she said.
last of its kind
Woo said in a separate interview that requiring an investment fund to provide grants to community-based organizations is an important step forward.
Culturally, Asian-American and Asian-American communities are not used to being outspoken about their needs, she said.
“We’ve never asked for anything before,” she said.
Ronald Takaki, a member of the American Society of Historians, in his book “History of Asian Americans: Strangers from Different Shores,” argues that because of their role in centuries of systemic racism and their Amid the recent stereotype of being a “model minority,” Asian Americans are in a unique position to question questions of belonging and identity within broader American culture.
Protesters at the conference returned to the theme, even arguing that the Seattle CID was the last of its kind.
Community advocate Matt Chan said there has been a unique space for communities of color to mingle and learn to live side by side over the centuries.
“We were all pushed into this area and we made it work,” he said. “There is no such thing anywhere in this country, not even in the world.”
“No good news”
In urging the council to approve the investment fund, Donald Liu said he and his wife, both in their 80s, were no longer afraid to go out at night.
Crime, vandalism and harassment have increased so much that businesses remain locked down and the Bartell pharmacy where residents get prescriptions has closed.
“We’re seeing a meteoric rise of drug addicts, homeless people wandering around, mentally ill people yelling swear words,” he said. “There’s no good news for CID’s business.”
Beauty shop owner Nguyen said there was an uninhabited camp of 300 people behind her building and described how some exposed themselves to her young students, prompting their parents to force them out of school.
Government mistakes
Takagi also believes that Asian Americans can play a unique role in reminding America of its troubled history.
From the moment they began their protest walk to the King County Council Chamber, the 60-odd protesters appeared to be, in a way, one of the few in the area to have failed against the government.
On a day with the worst air quality in the world in Seattle, residents gathered at Xinghai Park and started a 20-minute walk.
Wu and other organizers told seniors who joined them that they should consider staying and at least wear masks if they do come.
When they travel, the air is like “garbage,” Wu said. “I can feel it all over my body,” she said.
Another organizer, Gary Lee, described the air as “ugly brown”.
He said: “It was like inhaling smoke and it was annoying. I could totally feel it in my chest.”
When they arrived, Lozano described to lawmakers what she said was the reason the seniors decided to come.
“Our community is here because multiple government agencies have failed CIDs, from city to county to state,” she said. “Did you know that every time we march here to talk to you, or to talk to the Seattle City Council, members in their 90s come. It’s not easy for them. There’s so much in this city building Stairs, but they’re here every time because that’s important.”
Save CID members participated in two additional budget meetings on October 25. Once with the Seattle City Council and another with the King County Council.
Mahlon can reach info@nwasianweekly.com.
