Defense of Ethnic Enclaves

By Kim Geron

This overview of community organizing of ethnic neighborhood is part of a forthcoming larger work, "Introduction to Asian Pacific Americans: Building Social Movements and Interest Group Pressure for Social Justice" We are posting this draft with the permission of the author. (The subheads are ours)

One of the legacies of the Asian American experience in the U.S. is the formation of distinct ethnic neighborhoods. Long before the establishment of black communities in New York and Chicago, "the Chinese were forced by racial violence and legal restrictions to retreat into Chinatowns throughout the West." (Ong and Umemoto 2000). In contrast to white ethnic neighborhoods that sprang up in the 19th century that served as transitional locations where immigrants learned to adapt to American society, the Chinese were forced to live in segregated areas in urban and rural communities (Kwong 1997). Over time, these neighborhoods grew to become community centers-places where new immigrants lived and worked together, shared resources, and built cultural organizations.

Asian American Enclaves Beginnings and Today
Asian American ethnic enclaves began in the 19th Century as Chinese immigrants were forced to live in segregated communities on the East and West coasts, mining towns, and rural areas. Japanese ethnic enclaves followed in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, and other Nihnonmachis (Japantowns) on the West Coast. Filipinos were forced to live in rural and urban segregated locations including San Francisco, Seattle, and numerous agricultural communities (Bulosan 1973). Beginning with the liberalization of immigration law in 1965, new Asian immigrants and refugees have formed new ethnic enclaves or integrated into existing urban enclaves including the Cambodian refugee community "New Phnom Penh" in Long Beach, and the Vietnamese refugee community of "New Saigon" in Westminister, California and other cities. Koreatown, the commercial hub of the large Korean community in Los Angeles, is an example of an ethnic community where the majority population is Latino, not Asian American. There are also more affluent Asian Pacific enclaves, such as Jackson Heights/East Elmhurst area in Queens, New York, and Monterey Park, in Southern California. There is also a large number South Asian enclaves in numerous cities. Unfortunately, many of the earliest ethnic enclaves disappeared due to racist violence by white workers and farmers who felt threatened by Asian immigrants (Chan 1991).

Enclaves 2 (Defending the enclaves)

Little Tokyo People's Rights Organization (Unity Photo)