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Umemoto on Acknowledging Painful History

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Urban Planning Professor Karen Umemoto spoke to NBC News about the importance of facilitating discussions about racial tensions to incorporate the histories of communities that have long been made invisible. In 1871, about 20 Chinese Americans were murdered in a race riot in Los Angeles, now regarded by many as a forgotten history. Umemoto said that we can be critical of the things that have taken place in history without necessarily blaming the ancestors of those who may have perpetrated injustices. “Remembering both the accomplishments and achievements of different groups in society is as important as remembering the tragedies,” said Umemoto, director of UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center. In ethnic studies, Umemoto aims to “teach about the full lives of people of color in this country and Indigenous peoples in this country so that we could develop that historical empathy for one another.”

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Chancellor’s Arts Initiative Awards Grant to Umemoto

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Urban Planning Professor Karen Umemoto has been named a recipient of the 2021 Chancellor’s Arts Initiative, a program to advance arts-related research that is timely, relevant and original and that increases public awareness of the arts at UCLA. Umemoto, director of UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center, is one of 12 faculty members to receive a grant under the $150,000 program sponsored by the Chancellor’s Council on the Arts and the Office for Research and Creative Activities. Priority was given to projects that contribute to UCLA’s larger commitments to sustainability, anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion. Amid a rise in anti-Asian violence in America, the Asian American Studies Center in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Center will spearhead a multimedia and multiperforming arts event commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Los Angeles Chinese Massacre of 1871, which involved the lynching of 19 Chinese immigrants. In addition to spoken narrative based on an original script, the project will feature body movement artists and a soundscape that draws from culturally diverse acoustic instruments and computer-generated sounds. This community engagement piece will include a pre-performance workshop and a post-event reception with speakers, performers and invited guests sharing historical accounts of racist violence against Asians in Los Angeles and linking the experiences of the past to the present. The Chancellor’s Council on the Arts also announced the launch of GO ARTS UCLA, an online platform that brings together the full array of UCLA arts and humanities events and research in one central location, underscoring the role of the arts at the university and within Los Angeles’ cultural ecosystem.

 

Ong on Pandemic’s Threat to Chinatown’s Survival

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Paul Ong, director of the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge at UCLA Luskin, spoke to Reuters about the dramatic drop in businesses suffered by Chinatowns worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. As they mark the Lunar New Year, many Chinatown businesses are struggling to stay open, partly due to xenophobia, Ong said. His research studied smartphone data to determine that Los Angeles’ Chinatown experienced an earlier and sharper drop in foot traffic than other areas even prior to the lockdown. Language and cultural barriers, limited digital literacy and socioeconomic disadvantages have prevented many Chinatown business owners from obtaining financial aid, he added. “It’s part of a systemic inequality that we’re seeing. We need to pay attention to helping these neighborhoods survive,” Ong said. “One of the most vibrant aspects of cities is diversity — diversity of culture and diversity of lifestyles. And if we lose that, it just makes the city as a whole a poorer place.”

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Ong Points to Chinatown as Economic Barometer

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Center for Neighborhood Knowledge Director Paul Ong was featured in a Bloomberg article about the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Chinatown businesses. Across the United States, Asian American businesses experienced a slowdown even before the pandemic arrived in the United States as a result of xenophobic fears about the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. According to Ong, these businesses could be a strong indicator of the long-term economic impact of the pandemic on small businesses. “What distinguishes Chinatown businesses is that they’ve been facing financial and fiscal problems for a much longer time, with deeper cuts to revenues,” he explained. Ong stressed the importance of relief stimulus packages to protect these historic communities before it’s too late. “If we can intervene to save these businesses and neighborhoods, that may tell us a lot about what we need to do to help businesses and workers beyond Chinatown,” he concluded.

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