CHINATOWN (KYW Newsradio) — Lunar New Year is officially on Feb. 17, but Philadelphia’s Chinatown held an early party on Saturday, Feb. 7, to celebrate the anniversary of the neighborhood’s victory over the Sixers’ arena.
Around 60 community members, supporters, and elected officials crowded the third floor of the Folk Arts Cultural Treasures Charter School to mark the occasion.
Sophia Liston, the administrative coordinator with the Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, said Lunar New Year is a time for renewal and joy.
“It’s a time for community as well, so these kinds of gatherings are really the whole point of the season,” she said. “It’s getting people together and acknowledging: ‘Hey, this is what we accomplished. We won.’”
But Vivian Chang, executive director of Asian Americans United, said the celebration came at a time when the community remains under siege by the uptick in ICE raids targeting its members.
“The last year has been pretty tragic for a lot of people,” she said.
However, with that in mind, Chang acknowledged the celebration as a form of resistance to the overarching forces bearing down on the community.
“For us to still be able to celebrate and do this as a public event, is us saying we will not be erased, these communities will not be destroyed,” she said.
And in the year of Fire Horse, that message rings true for many.
“The Fire Horse specifically symbolizes freedom and passion, and momentum, as well as transformation. This year’s a good year to channel your passion into purpose,” said Liston. “Specifically for me, into organizing and imagining all the ways we can make our community stronger, more dignified, more together, more joyous.”
Chang said there will be a ramped-up voter registration effort in the community ahead of midterms, and a new fund to help community members detained by ICE.
“What do Fire Horses do? They stomp out ice,” she said.