Randy W Posted November 18, 2022 Report Share Posted November 18, 2022 Chinese immigrants made a home in Denver a decade after the city’s founding and were instrumental in completing the transcontinental railroad. They survived in spite of racist policies that relegated them to a place and a station. So why doesn’t Denver have a Chinatown? In Reclaiming Denver’s Chinatown, an #IAmDenver documentary from the Denver Office of Storytelling, their descendants recall with pride their ancestors’ contributions and reject the notion that one tragic day in 1880 defined their community. Showings – select to order tickets: Thu, Nov 10th, 7:00 PM @ Denver Botanic Gardens I Am Denver Screening: Reclaiming Denver’s Chinatown Quote Chinese immigration in the United States has a long, fraught history. The first large wave of migrants reached the West Coast in the mid 1800s, hoping to find wealth in the gold rush. Instead, they found strict laws that prohibited Chinese people from owning gold mines and experienced widespread racism. Prior to this, there were few Chinese people in the Colorado area. Most, if not all, lived in Denver’s Chinatown, now part of LoDo or Lower Downtown. It was a bustling residential and business center for Chinese migrants in the heart of the city. On October 31, 1880, a fatal anti-Chinese riot took place, burning the Chinatown neighborhood to the ground. Descendants of these Chinese immigrants still live in the Denver area today and the City of Denver’s Office of Storytelling is helping share their story. In the documentary, Reclaiming Denver’s Chinatown, these descendants “recall with pride their ancestors’ contributions and reject the notion that one tragic day in 1880 defined their community.” 1 Link to comment
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