Wei Li’s “Beyond Chinatown, beyond enclave: Reconceptualizing contemporary Chinese settlements in the United States” gauges the evolution of ethnic communities, particularly Chinese ones, as they respond to the world around them. Originally, Chinatowns fit the description of a ghetto, being forcibly shut out of the community due to their ethnicity, left to lead less than ideal lives. Having read the Anderson article mentioned, I can attest that the Chinatown of Vancouver was dirty, crime-ridden, and unsafe. As the article explains, this was due to both de facto and de jure causes. Racism permeated American culture at the time and there were many laws prohibiting Chinese from being able to own property, intermarry, or sometimes even attain citizenship. They were heckled and hated by the white folk, being considered as opium users or gambling addicts.
However, as time progressed and more immigrants were arriving at American shores, Chinatowns became enclaves, in the traditional sense, and acted as sources of comfort and security in a new land. These communities became self-sufficient and served as ports of entry for newcomers. They weren’t as limited by legal barricades, but still faced social ones, so to create sustainable living conditions, they banded together in the traditional Chinatown setting.
The most interesting development in this evolution is the notion of an ethnoburb. As times and technologies change, more and more Chinese immigrants are well-educated folks, unlike their predecessors who were often times the laborers or farmers of their homeland. These suburban types of jobs lend themselves to a more suburban type of living, creating these so-called ethnoburbs. Able to assimilate into mainstream society, these people want to still have some sense of identity and heritage, so they form these communities to do so. Another interesting facet of this relatively recent concept is the notion of “parachute kids.” Children are often sent to the United States to receive an education, so these kids end up having a sense of duality. This nontraditional family structure could be a regression away from the more developed ethnoburbs.
Regardless of which ethnic group is being discussed, it is safe to say that more and more immigrants and minorities are finding their way out of ethnic enclaves and into more traditional suburban settings. Li’s diagramming of this progression succinctly exhibits how we truly are a nation of immigrants, and one that advocates cohabitatation regardless of cultural differences.
