Kind Lands, Unkind Realities: The Conflicting Heritage(s) of the Baltimore Chinatown and Its Relations to Urban Developments in Asian neighborhoods
By Jamie Nguyen
From the author:
This paper was written as a final project for the seminar on American Sacred Space (VMC/AMS330) in the spring of 2022. While scouring for a topic, the issue of the preservation of the Philadelphia Chinatown came to my attention, especially as community members and institutions within the area (with one of the leaders being the Chinese American Museum of Washington D.C.) were rallying against the proposed construction of a stadium in the middle of the neighborhood. I already have a great interest in understanding the preservation and development of ethnic neighborhoods (especially with the fight against gentrification) through both personal experiences and earlier work within the course, therefore this topic came as part of a logical interest. I also have attended the 2019 Charm City Night Market – one of the cultural events that sparked the conversation on the future of the Asian community here in Baltimore – and have had an understanding on the cross-section of cultures, being both from a multicultural city and having exposure to multiple different ethnic and cultural backgrounds throughout my time in schools both in my origin country – Vietnam – and in the United States. Additionally, I have a unique position when writing this paper, having enough personal identity (being Asian) to talk about this issue on a theoretical standpoint, and have enough of a distance (not a US citizen and not from Baltimore) to have a more general viewpoint of the discussions at hand.
While writing this paper (and revisiting the theoretical framework on the sacrality of spaces in culture, especially in American culture), a major point that stood out to me is that most frameworks that we were taught tied the sacrality of space to its connection to the higher power of religion. While this is in no way untrue nor exclusive to one culture, the framework usually does not consider the emergence and existence of ethnic enclaves, with Chinatowns being a prime example. In many ways, the emergence and existence of these neighborhoods is a direct result and response from systemic discrimination or conflict. In its emergence, the enclaves promised both a sense of belonging, solidarity, community, and support, in a time and place where the public and/or the establishment promised a much less kind world towards the people of the enclaves (unfortunately, this sentiment still holds true today).
A stand-out aspect of the subject matter – the Baltimore Chinatown’s preservation and potential continuation – would be the contested nature of the site itself: as of current time, the Baltimore Chinatown is also known as Baltimore’s Little Ethiopia (and is now the heart of the city’s Ethiopian community), and the Ethiopian community is rightfully very wary of the potential for gentrification to rear its ugly head within Baltimore. However, the conversation for the continuation of the Chinatown neighborhood has been in place since the Bicentennial of the United States (1976) and the Chinese (and Asian-American communities at large) community has been advocating towards the reformation and continuation of the neighborhood since then. This brings in nuances for the conversation featured within the paper – with more than one community claiming sacrality, “how do we work towards a path that are inclusive of both of the living communities and ensure that both can have a future here?” became a central question towards the end.
This work would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the guidance and patience of Professor Duncan throughout that semester – as my topic ask for a different approach from the initial approach within the assignment. I would also like to thank staff members of the Maryland Department of the Enoch Pratt Free Library (Central Library branch) for their assistance during my archival researching of the Chinese community of Baltimore, as well as of the Chinatown neighborhood and the history of Asian-American communities in Baltimore.
Copyrights of all Verge articles and editorial material belong to the authors.
