How did you end up in your current role?
One of the reasons I’m doing what I’m doing today is because I was born and raised in Chinatown. This neighborhood gave me many things that I can only try to give back, right?
And one of the things that I took for granted as a kid growing up in Chinatown is this easy-flowing feeling that I live in a community and it’s my community. I can walk anywhere I want to. There’s no worries in the world. It’s a sanctuary for many Asian Americans. And when I’m in Chinatown, I feel like I’m the majority. Once I step outside Chinatown, I’m the minority. I think because it gave me this sense of belonging, it gave me this confidence to be who I am, which is ethnic Chinese living in America as a minority. Overall, I think Chinatown gave me this really strong sense of, yeah, I’m Asian American and Chinese American—so what?
Do you still feel like it’s a haven for you?
Oh, absolutely. I still feel this way, and I see others feel this way when they’re here in Chinatown. I hear parents talking about this feeling and yearning for this experience for their children. So they come to Chinatown, [even if] they don’t live here.
