Denver formally apologizes for the 1880 anti-Chinese riot that destroyed Chinatown

What was once Denver's Chinatown is now a busy commercial district visited by tourists.

Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock signed a resolution officially apologizing to the descendants of Denver’s Chinese immigrants for the city’s role in the racist violence, which destroyed the city's Chinatown. He called to anti-Chinese riot of 1880 “a shameful chapter in Colorado history.”

Hancock, called the riot by a White mob a "shameful chapter of Colorado history," adding that he hopes the apology provides a sense of closure for the descendants of the victims of the riot, some of whom were in attendance.

“We hereby sincerely apologize to the early Chinese immigrants and their descendants,” Hancock said. “To heal we must be willing to face and address things we have avoided, apologize for wrongs we have committed and follow through with the actions that are true to ongoing positive change.”

Speaking at the April 16 event held at the University of Colorado, Denver’s Lawrence Street Center, Joanne Liu, chair of the Colorado Asian Pacific United which supported the apology said the city's recognition of the unjust attack and racist covenants against Asians that the followed, was a "monumental milestone" that "signifies a great step forward" in Denver valuing the contribution of Chinese immigrants and their descendants.

Linda Jew, a member of the Chin family, had a grandfather settled in Denver after working on the transcontinental railroad that was completed in 1869. She recalled the racism and discrimination her family had to endure growing up.

“My mother graduated from Denver Women’s School, which is now the University of Denver. Even with a degree, she was refused a job,” Jew told Denverite. She remembers people throwing rocks at her and her sister when they were young kids, before the family moved to a safer part of the city in Park Hill. “This apology from Denver is very important to me and my family.”

Prior to the riot, Denver's Chinatown thrived with businesses and homes. Much of it was destroyed after a white mob started an anti-Chinese riot in 1880 in what is now a thriving neighborhood known as LoDo near the baseball stadium Coors Field. The former Chinatown existed between 15th to 20th and from Market to Wazee.

Two years ago, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock signed a proclamation making October 31, 2020, “Denver’s Chinatown Commemoration Day.”

“While only a small plaque commemorates this tragic event at 20th and Blake streets in LoDo today, we all share a responsibility every day to share this history and build bridges across communities to ensure something like this never occurs again,” Hancock wrote as part of the proclamation.

The 2-year old Chinatown plaque created a controversy itself.

The plaque Hancock mentioned, however, is not without controversy. It was not a Chinese riot, as the plaque proclaims.

William Wei, a professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder and the former Colorado State Historian told PBS in 2020 the title of the plaque — which includes the phrase “Chinese Riot” — is misleading. “It wasn’t a Chinese riot,” he explained, “it was an anti-Chinese race riot.” Wei also pointed out that the plaque’s location at the intersection of 20th and Blake is not where the violence occurred.

“As a historian, I’m very interested in ensuring that we have a complete and accurate understanding of our history. And when I say ‘our history,’ I’m talking about American history, which includes Chinese Americans and other people of color.

While the plaque names four of the White rioters, Look Young, the Chinatown resident who was lynched, was not mentioned.

In the 1870s, anti-Chinese sentiment spread to Colorado, as Euro-Americans increasingly viewed Chinatown with suspicion. Journalists published articles arguing that the Chinese were descendants of the Mongol Empire, suggesting that the Chinese threatened to take over the United States, according to History Colorado.

They also linked Chinatown to societal vices, such as gambling, prostitution, and opium dens. Although there was no evidence that the Chinese engaged in these activities to a greater degree than Euro-Americans, Chinatown became a scapegoat for many of Denver’s issues.

The presidential campaign of 1880 inflamed these racist passions further and was embraced by the Republican Party. On the last day of October prior to election day, a White mob invaded Denver’s Chinatown, attacking its residents and burning most of the Chinese businesses.

The Chinese community never recovered from the riot and residents were never compensated for lost businesses and destroyed buildings.

The city and it's mayor hopes to establish an Asian Pacific Historic District with murals and new businesses.

Denver's letter of apology signed by Mayor Hancock reads, in part:

"An admission of the wrongs committed and its failure to correct them is a first step towards recognizing and honoring their contributions and can contribute to racial reconciliation. It will also serve to educate those who are ignorant of this shameful chapter in Colorado’s history and hopefully bring some closure to the families whose loved ones suffered racial violence and abuse. In doing so, Denver can deal with the continued consequences of past violence and discrimination such as the current surge in anti-Asian hate crimes sweeping the nation. As part of this process, the city is committed to supporting the establishment of an Asian Pacific Historic District, sponsoring the painting of public murals depicting the history and culture of Asian Pacific Coloradans, partnering on the development of a public education program about Asian Pacific Coloradans, and founding an Asian Pacific American community museum, which will be the first of its kind in the Rocky Mountain Region."

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