DENVER — A community group is collecting donations to recoup the cost of replacing a vandalized historical marker that noted the spot of an anti-Chinese race riot that destroyed Denver's once-vibrant Chinatown
Colorado Asian Pacific United (CAPU) has led the effort to reclaim the history of that area, using murals and historical markers.
"One of them (markers) talks about the general history of why Chinese immigrants came here and what the Chinatown was like. Another one talks about the anti-Chinese race riot of 1880 that started just down the alleyway here. And then the last one talks about Look Young, who was a young man that was lynched at the riot," said Joie Ha, executive director of CAPU.
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A marker that was installed near 16th and Wazee to give the historical context of the anti-Chinese race riot didn't stay standing for very long. Just a few months after it was put in, it was ripped off its foundation and never found.
"Even though we don't know how it happened, it does feel in some ways an additional eraser of our history and culture," Ha said to Denver7 back in February when they noticed the marker was taken.
Thanks to community support and donations over the past several months, CAPU has replaced the historic marker.
"We made it even stronger this time. We're going to try to put some reflective tape on the back. We also made it a bit more readable, the font's a little bit bigger, so folks can really engage with the text," said Ha.
The total cost was $12,000 but the group is roughly $2,000 short.
"We did get a generous matching offer from a community member of $1,000. So we only need to raise $1,000 to completely pay off this marker," Ha said.
As CAPU moves forward with its mission, Ha said the group will not let such vandalism dissuade them.
"Having this marker here is a way for us to sort of reclaim this space, both metaphorically and physically, and just reminding people that what you're looking at here used to be Chinatown," said Ha.
The group is collecting funds through their general donation site.
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