NYC’s Chinatown was Left Behind in The Wake of 9/11. What Can We Learn 20 Years Later?
By: Laurel A. Berryman
Tags: American History, Social Change, Advocacy, Human Rights, 9 11 Attacks

NYC’s Chinatown was Left Behind in The Wake of 9/11. What Can We Learn 20 Years Later? Laurel A. Berryman Sep 11·3 min read

It’s 11:30 pm on September 10th. Winding down for the evening, I turn on my television and click through channels avoiding infomercials and televangelists. I take notice of the dozens of news stations replaying the infamous and tragic live footage of the Twin Towers crumbling down 20 years ago on September 11th. I was four when 9/11 happened. I don’t remember anything about that day, but each year I confront the anguish that balls up in my chest when I reflect on the unspeakable pain that Americans faced that day.

I usually cope by just avoiding the news on the day and the days preceding altogether, yet something catches my attention that draws me to the program. NBC’s Vicky Nguyen reports on New York City’s Chinatown and the devastating aftermath it underwent post 9/11. Located minutes away from the chaos, the 100,000 residents of Chinatown would suffer far beyond the immediate devastation in the wake of 9/11. Nguyen interviews Peter Lee, a Chinatown native and local business owner who recalls this continued loss. “Everything stopped for three to six months. We had no other choice but to close down”, Lee shares. Chinatown experienced total and complete financial ruin. Not only did businesses close, but an estimated 3/4 of the workforce lost their jobs, and water and electricity services were shut down.

Wait, there’s more.

In true American fashion, the wealthy, predominantly white communities in Lower Manhattan such as Tribeca, were given a hefty amount of financial funding; $14,500.00 per household to be exact. Meanwhile, families in Chinatown were granted between $1,750– $7,750. I am not from Chinatown, nor have I ever visited, but my research has led me to the conclusion that it has never fully recovered. 20 years later, Chinatown was struck again when anti- Asian racism and hate crimes drummed up by the former POTUS, (AKA he who shall not be named), amid the COVID- 19 Pandemic, caused further financial, social, and mental hardships within the community.

When will America learn that the value of a community, no, the value of human life, is not dependant on race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status? I wonder how that works. Imagine distinguishing between whose safety and wellbeing should be prioritized during a national tragedy based on where folx are from and what they look like.

The program closes with a message of hope remembering the thousands of citizens from New York and beyond who came together to rebuild the city. I can’t help but shake my head. I don’t feel hope on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Instead, I feel disdain. I mourn with Chinatown and the countless communities of color in New York whose stories in post 9/11 America have been neglected and forgotten. The stories of additional suffering which could have been prevented if it were not for the sordid, hard stop America takes at the intersection of race and poverty.

The closing message that they should have given viewers, that I will give to you, my readers, is as follows:

“20 Years After 9/11, We Have to Do Better.”

It’s imperative for all American’s to come together. We have to start showing up for one another as fellow human beings. The story we have bought that Americans grew stronger as one people after that day is fiction. It is simply not enough in the year of our Lord, 2021, to recount what happened in Chinatown and act as though the same story has not repeated itself time and time again throughout American history when we are stricken with severe ruin. The events of 9/11 should awaken us all to the harsh reality that death doesn’t discriminate. Every one of us deserves to be treated with dignity and respect despite race, religion, disability, age, gender identity, location, etc… It is our right.