Philadelphia’s Chinatown is a growing community of Asian-owned small businesses, schools, and places of worship. With over 2,000 residents, it contains a senior housing complex, low-income housing, and many more apartments and houses. As the historical heart of Asian culture in the city–from its multitude of authentic restaurants and shops to its vibrant festivals–it is where Asian Americans across the Greater Philadelphia area can feel at home. However, as of July 2022, the owners of the professional NBA Basketball team, the 76ers, have proposed the construction of a sports arena at the border of Philadelphia’s Chinatown.

This proposal was made without consulting the residents, small business owners, or organizations within Chinatown that would be directly impacted. The building of this sports arena could lead to gentrification, displacement, and quality of life issues not only for the residents of Chinatown but also for the Center City community as a whole.

Under the coordination of Jefferson APAMSA President, Kameron Inguito Medical Student ’26, the Jefferson APAMSA chapter hosted a postcard writing tabling event standing in solidarity with the No Arena in Chinatown movement. This event allowed members of the community to write postcards showing support against the arena’s construction, which were promptly sent to the city council. Although this was a step in the right direction, we knew that we could do more. 

With the help of our Jefferson APAMSA Cultural Director, Sandra Yang Medical Student ’26, the Jefferson APAMSA chapter led an event to teach about the proposed arena and its detrimental effects, and to create rally signs for the No Arena In Chinatown Protest, which took place on June 10th. One of the main goals of our APAMSA chapter is to advocate for and serve the Asian population in our community within Philadelphia. We recognize that there is still more work to be done, and we will continue this fight for as long as we can.