Drive through downtown Oakland and you get the impression that the city has been lost.  Part of that is due to COVID-19.  For the past 18 months, we have been on lockdown.  People have not been meeting face to face.  Instead, we are Zoomers.  

     As we come out of the pandemic and venture outside, we notice there is another reason that cities look like ghost towns.  Storefronts are boarded up and often tagged with graffiti. Many people we have talked to say the appearance of downtown Oakland is depressing.  Some say it looks as though the urban rioters who took advantage of peaceful protests have won.  They own the streets because Oakland has surrendered.

     Ride through Oakland Chinatown and you see the same images. As we enter post-COVID status, residents and visitors are confronted with boarded-up storefronts and the impression that, save a few markets, Chinatown is not open for business.  

     Unfortunately, in addition to the pandemic and urban riots, Chinatown must deal with a recent spate of racist attacks on Asians. These attacks against Asians are happening in urban areas throughout the country, but they are particularly challenging for Oakland Chinatown residents and businesses.

      With COVID, urban riots, and racist attacks, the question that comes to mind is whether we have lost Chinatown.  The resounding answer from Chinatown leaders is “No, We Have Not!”    

     On May 11, Carl Chan and Rick da Silva of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce (Chinatown Chamber), took Mimi Rohr and Greg McConnell of the Jobs and Housing Coalition (JHC)  on a tour of Chinatown to see first-hand what is going on in the community.  We saw boarded-up storefronts and fewer people on the streets.  

     When I asked Chan whether the business was down, he indicated that it was, but he also said with absolute certainty “Chinatown will come back.  Chinese people are resilient, and they do not surrender”.

Chan and da Silva went on to say that the Chinatown Chamber is going to lead a bold program to Onboard Chinatown.  “We want to bring life back to our area and we cannot do that if people think everything is closed down. We want all of Oakland to come and support Chinatown.  For that to happen, we need to restore normality and a feeling of safety by having the streets again filled with people bustling along.”

    JHC stands in solidarity with timber Chinatown Cha.  We encourage the entire city to do the same.  Chinatown is the fourth-highest revenue producer for Oakland.  Tax revenues derived from Chinatown pay for many of the services that Oakland needs to survive.

    But more important than just the financial loss to Oakland, if we lose Chinatown, we lose a piece of Oakland.  Supporting Chinatown is imperative in a city that prides itself on racial diversity and openness to all people.  

    On May 15, the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce is holding a “Unite Against Hate March and Rally” at the Pacific Renaissance Plaza, 388 9th St., in Oakland Chinatown.  In addition to an expression to reject hate, Chan and Silva will announce their Onboard Chinatown program.

     JHC will be there to help.  We encourage all residents, businesses, and nonprofit groups in Oakland to join in the struggle against hate and help reclaim the city by onboarding our businesses.  We call on the Oakland City Government to provide public-safety protection for the residents of Chinatown and everyone throughout the city of Oakland.  If we are to onboard, the city must make sure we can do so safely.

     We hope Chinatown’s leadership will help bring Oakland back from the problems we have endured from the pandemic, riots that followed peaceful protests, and racial hatred.  JHC stands with leaders like Chan and da Silva and together we will reopen our city and restore normalcy and safety.

Greg McConnell is president of the Job and Housing Coalition 

and Carl Chan is president of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce

Mia Lane

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