The 26 lines of text describing the violence mention the white saloon owner and single out three separate white individuals for heroic acts protecting the Chinese residents, including a barkeep, a gambler and a brothel madam, “whose girls armed themselves with champagne bottles and high heels to hold the mob at bay.” “Hop Alley” was a derogatory term rooted in drug trade - and indeed, the area was blamed for vices from opium dens to gambling to brothels, which most certainly existed in the working class enclave but hardly were the sole province of the Chinese.Īnd the “Chinese Riot” was more accurately an anti-Chinese riot, coming just days before the presidential election and signaling anti-immigration sentiment as a growing national concern.
Wei, a former state historian, notes some of the problems with the plaque, starting with its title. The plaque concludes that the “dark day” did not end Denver’s “struggles with the underlying issues of racial prejudice.”Īn illustration depicting the 1880 Chinatown riot that virtually destroyed the middle-class Denver downtown district. One Chinese man, the plaque notes antiseptically, “lost his life.”
After a pool-hall disagreement spilled into the streets, a white mob estimated at 3,000 people chanting among other slogans, “Stamp out the yellow plague,” eventually descended on the area, destroying property and handing out brutal beatings. The marker, one of several explaining the area’s history to walking tours, recalls the “Hop Alley/Chinese Riot of 1880” that shook the city’s so-called Chinatown district. That got the ball rolling.” What the plaque gets wrong “I talked about the plaque,” he says, “and the 1880 race riot. “Folks want to make an impact to make sure we are honoring the cultures of those who were here before us.” “There was an outpouring of positive feedback from the downtown business community,” Diehl says.
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“And we absolutely want to support both the AAPIC effort and larger movements to reclaim and reframe history.”īritt Diehl, a spokeswoman for the Downtown Denver Partnership, notes that in October, the organization hosted a diversity and inclusion speakers panel that delved into the history of diverse neighborhoods downtown, and how to honor their cultures, that featured Gil Asakawa, a member of the AAPIC. “We recognized that a lot of these stories have not really been told or shared as much as they should have been over time,” said John Wetenkamp, director of operations for LoDo District Inc., which reviews plans of designers, builders and architects. 31, 1880, and marked the 140th anniversary as “Denver’s Chinatown Commemoration Day.” (Ken Arellano, Special to The Colorado Sun) William Wei, left, and Gil Asakawa hold up Mayor Michael Hancock’s proclamation that made note of the Anti-Chinese Race Riot of Oct. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s office even issued a proclamation noting the 140th anniversary of the violence on Oct. The Downtown Denver Leadership Program, with sponsorship from Molson Coors, is still finalizing plans for a mural project in 2021. The wide-ranging plans, which include both short- and long-term goals, may be simply talk for the moment - but the talk is gaining traction among groups like the Downtown Denver Partnership and the LoDo District Inc., which recognize the moment as ripe for a recommitment to the city’s diversity and the often difficult history behind it.
More people, more foot traffic, better for businesses all around.” It would certainly benefit existing commercial enterprises in the area. “We have to figure this out, how to create such a district, one that would involve a lot of discussion and collaboration and cooperation. “It’s purely at the idea stage, and we want to do it correctly,” he adds. He sees Sakura Square, at the intersection of 19th and Lawrence streets, as a possible anchor. “It could draw upon satellite communities that currently exist,” muses William Wei, a history professor at the University of Colorado and a member of the commission. Objections to a plaque marking Denver’s first race riot have led to the idea of a reborn Asian district CloseĬonversation around recognizing the cultural contributions of Chinese Americans touches on murals and informational kiosks, historical markers, projection art and - in moments of grand optimism - a reborn Asian district.
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