Sometime between 1970 and 1990, Monterey Park became America’s first suburban Chinatown, where swift demographic changes heralded conflicts over language, signs, a changing business scene and political voice. In 2023 it is a city once again in flux, but as a tight-knit community whose residents typify what it means to be an Asian American — and the spectrum within.
On Sunday these residents and leaders were reeling after a mass shooting inside a dance studio killed 10 and injured 10 others during a Lunar New Year festival that drew tens of thousands of revelers, giving many pause to reflect on their city with both heartbreak and pride.
“#MontereyPark is home for my diasporic family. It is where you find the best damn Chinese food in the U.S.,” said a person identified in a tweet as Bianca-Mabute Louie, a scholar and activist. She said she wanted people to know a few things about Monterey Park. “It is the 1st Asian ethnoburb: an ethnic enclave in the ‘burbs that thrives b/c it refuses to assimilate, instead unapologetically catering to its own immigrant community.”
