Chasing the American Dream: How PCDC Provides Aid to Chinese-American Immigrants

Abstract

Philadelphia's Chinatown began when Lee Fong built the first Chinese-owned laundromat in Philadelphia. Once a bachelor society for families trying to flee anti-Chinese sentiment in the West, Philadelphia's Chinatown consisted of a small concentration of the Chinese businesses clustered around Race Street. In the 20th century, Chinatown began to grow and incorporate the many immigrants who moved after the United States' liberalized immigration policies toward the Chinese. From churches to social organizations, the neighborhood and its community strove to improve their new lives, revitalize the local economy, and help new immigrants assimilate to the greater Philadelphia community. However, the neighborhood received many threats to its existence, as Philadelphia's city council has repeatedly threatened the area through urban renewal projects like the Vine Street Renewal Project. But, activist organizations have allowed the community to thrive and persist. This project will help illuminate the ways in which Chinese immigrants cope with the difficulties of assimilation and feelings of disappointment in the United States, and perhaps even offer reasons why many Chinese immigrants may struggle. The hope is that this research will incentivize future scholars to provide more nuanced perspectives of the Chinese immigrant community instead of grouping them into one giant homogenous monolith.