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February 11th. It's Sunday its also Chinese New Year. My name's Dikey.

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Please tell me your name. Adrian Lim. Adrian Lim. Alright.

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And tell us why you're here today. I'm here to celebrate, Lunar New Year, and it's year of the dragon, which was was my mother's, sign. I'm a water tigers, but I still enjoy, year of the Tiger

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celebration. And you mentioned to me that you're originally from or just from Detroit? I was born and raised in Detroit Michigan, lived there most of my

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adult life, during a time period when the, US automobile industry was getting threatened by the Japanese automobile industry. It was a hard time to be Chinese American Asian American in the Detroit area at the time.

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And I lived there when the Vincent Chin happened. I was about the same age as Vincent Chin was at the time.

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And I remembered thinking that that anti Asian hate was just really bad at the time. So for me, these types of celebrations are so important because it, you know, you have those bad aspects of being Asian

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American at times and these are the good, good parts. And obviously, for Asian Americans, especially historically-minded ones, historically-minded Asian America Vincent Chin is obviously very significant.

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Would you say would you say that that's thing that, you know, comes back to you a lot, especially the last few years that we've been through. Oh, definitely does.

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I mean, as a little girl, You know, Asians at the time were about only one point five percent of the population in Detroit. Everywhere you would go, people would say things or stare. That staring was the best.

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At worst, they called you chink almost every day. Growing up, we were definitely, racial slurs were used, and my grandfather, for example, was once

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kind of attacked by these white teenagers who said "you're a dirty chinaman". So when I was only about six years old at the time, but those things stick with you.

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And now, the anti Asian rhetoric they can happen. I mean, it never went away in my opinion. It just kind of went underground more. Sometimes so underground.

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For example, I just learned that Pete Hostra, who is the, incoming Republican Party chair in Michigan, where where I'm from. He's just in coming to that role.

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And yet, he was running for office, he did some really anti Asian ads with stereotypical Chinese, you know, hats and all that. And he was against the senator at

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the time. Deputy Stapeno, and his whole ad campaign was Debbie spend it now. And he used, anti Asian type of

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rhetoric in it to say that she was for, Japanese, Chinese, competition, and not for American interests. Things like that in that region were extremely powerful for racist type of rhetoric.

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So now that I live in the DC, area. To me, it all comes home. It's very political.

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Asian Americans have to keep willing for their civil rights, in my opinion, I've seen it where it can be taken away from you really quickly. So, you know, I'm here to see.

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I love seeing the community come together. I I love your project, and, I'm grateful all just to be at a time when we can come together and

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fight for what's right. Tell me about the significance of, DC's Chinatown to you. I mean, Chinese New Year happens

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all over the DMV. There's obviously a trap and other celebrations going on. Why Chinatown?

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To me, Chinatowns are just so important. It it's in Detroit. We only had a small one. But uncles or my uncle, Ken Yee, he was one of the original

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founders along with Helen Zia of the American Citizens for Justice, ACJ. And that was one of the first Asian American civil rights movements.

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So I'm it runs in my family, Chinatowns are where, community come come together. Now I'm a little worried that Chinatowns are losing some of their cohesion.

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What I know it's because we have more Asian Americans around and is spreading to the suburbs and all around. But I hope that we keep some type of nexus where the history and the legacy of all that we have come from can be, you know, preserved

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and maintained And, I guess, could you tell me more about me what about Chinese New Year ss very special to you maybe like a special favorite food, favorite tradition.? Something along those lines Well, it's such a to me, a strange

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thing. I won't go into all the details else, but I kind of lost some of my Asian, the Chinese heritage. In fact, my Chinese friends will tell me "you're not Chinese.

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You're Asian American." They'll say things like that to me. Like, you're too American. But to me, it's meaningful to remember growing up with the red

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envelopes, the dragons and the lions, It just makes me so proud. There's something about it that's kinda magical. So, I just love it. I guess final question.

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Where would you like to see Chinatown, the the DMV's API diaspora and community, where where would you like to see them go in the future? Oh, I well, I more, just more and more, because we still quite a minority numbers wise, and that

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was due obviously to the laws that held us out, excluded us from immigration back in the Chinese Exclusion Act and and other things, which, by the way, I'm about one quarter white. My grandmother on my mother's side fell in love with a Chinese man

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who could not be naturalized back when the Chinese Exclusion. If you were a white woman, a US citizen at the time, you would lose your citizenship. A lot of Asian, younger, Asian

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Americans don't remember that. My grandmother lost her citizenship because she fell in love with a Chinese man. Later, it was repealed, but she didn't repatriate till the sixties

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because she was so angry about it. But even that I remember, again, if we don't stay together as a community and form alliances, then it can all be taken away.

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To me, the struggle continues do you see Asian Americans? We got two together. Anything else you would like to add? No. Just Happy New Year.

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Yeah. Happy New Year. Thank you.