SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – For the first time in decades, Oakland's Chinatown had its own Lunar New Year parade this year. It was a cozy affair, with no major sponsors. But it was enough of a celebration to bring people out.
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This year, Oakland residents have both economic, and emotional reasons, to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Chinatown merchants have felt the pinch over the last couple of years – due to the pandemic and the subsequent anti-Asian hate that permeated the country.
"It really kind of destroyed our business," said Josephine Hui, with the Toishan Benevolent Association in Oakland.
The group's lion dancers performed for school children across Alameda County at the Lincoln Recreation Center over the weekend.
The parade and the celebration also proved emotional for those involved.
Joanna Kim-Selby, the director of the East Bay Korean-American Senior Center, struggled as the center closed during the pandemic.
"And then, all these people said we have depression because we live alone," she said. "Socializing in our language is very, very important."
During the weekend's celebration, Kim-Selby and about a dozen other seniors wore their finest traditional hanbok dresses.
For Kim-Selby, celebrating the Lunar New Year is an act of solidarity with other Asian-American groups and a way to show their community's resilience in the face of violence.
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