A new mural depicting pivotal moments in Chinatown’s history mixed with portraits of community leaders and residents was unveiled Saturday on H Street in Northwest D.C., near the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro stop.
Community members gathered in front of the new artwork displayed in an alleyway between 6th and 7th Streets NW titled “We Are Chinatown,” to hear from the artist and watch a traditional lion dance.
Cassie He is a volunteer with the Save Chinatown Solidarity Network. She said the new mural serves as an act of resistance to revitalization plans for the area.
“D.C.’s City Council and the Mayor’s office and a bunch of other players have recently decided to invest millions of dollars into the Gallery Place-Chinatown area. And what we’re here to tell them is that the community is still here and that their investments [have] a real threat of displacing and destroying what’s left of D.C. Chinatown,” He said.
Monument Realty plans to begin construction of luxury housing in the area of 615 H Street NW and 620 I St NW, where the mural is located. As part of the development, Save Chinatown Solidarity Network said 200 luxury units will replace historic row houses on Eye Street and eventually cover up the mural.
He said the group is asking for affordable housing, so residents like the ones represented in the mural can stay and live in Chinatown. They’re also asking for small business preservation so that residents can have culturally appropriate services.
“I hope that everyone who walks by this mural remembers that residents still live here,” He said. “There are still small businesses here, and that real investment into the community could result in an actual Chinatown that’s thriving and alive and that we all want.”
Lead artist Shani Shih said her painting features historical photographs referencing pivotal moments in Chinatown’s history, such as lion dance traditions, the Lee Family Association, and portraits of youth, residents and community leaders from the Museum Square and Wah Luck House Tenants Associations.
“I connected these historical photographs with portraits of the enduring resident leaders that are continuing to fight for the rights of residents in Chinatown today,” Shih said.
She said the mural “reclaims the space in a very public declaration of community presence.”
“It makes a community that a lot of folks in D.C., you know, seem to think are nonexistent or gone. It makes their voices and their stories visible,” Shih said.
Organizers said the murals placement in the alley, where developments will take place, is intentional.
“We wanted to put it directly where the developers could see it, so that every time they come by, they have to look into the eyes of community members and leaders that they are displacing,” He said.
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