- This event has passed.
Join us in room 308 for the screening of the documentary, Big Fight in Little Chinatown. The screening will be followed by a Q&A from the film’s director.
Big Fight in Little Chinatown is a story of community resistance and resilience. Set against the backdrop of the COVID pandemic and an unprecedented rise in anti-Asian racism, the documentary takes us into the lives of residents, businesses and community organizers whose neighborhoods are facing active erasure.
Coast to Coast the film follows Chinatown communities resisting the pressures around them. From the construction of the world’s largest vertical jail in New York, Montreal’s fight against developers swallowing up the most historic block of their Chinatown, big box chains and gentrification forces displacing Toronto’s community, to a Vancouver Chinatown business holding steadfast, the film reveals how Chinatown is both a stand-in for other communities who’ve been wiped off the city map, and the blueprint for inclusive and resilient neighborhoods of the future.
When New York City announced its plans to close Riker’s Island and replace it with a series of borough-based jails located in Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Manhattan, Chinatown was immediately identified for the Manhattan site. And while the community has long been home to the incarcerated and agrees with the need for safe and more humane conditions for detainees, it has stood firm in objecting to the size and scale of what has been termed the Mega Jail that is planned for Chinatown. If allowed to be built according to current plans, the Mega Jail will be the tallest jail in the world, changing NYC’s Chinatown as we know it and creating impacts felt throughout the community economically, culturally, and environmentally – some short-term, some long-term, some permanent. NYC’s Chinatown is in a fight for its future, as are many Chinatowns across North America. With demolition of the Manhattan Detention Complex – the site of the planned Mega Jail – fully underway, a galvanized community with the help of committed elected officials, is calling for true collaboration and transparency from the City, including a seat at the table to influence the jail’s design, size and scale, and the appointment of an independent monitor to ensure safeguards are followed to protect the health and safety of the community.
Seating is limited, so please RSVP if you are able to attend.
