Event

Please join us for the Food for Thought Talks Series Fall 2024 with the Asian American Studies Undergraduate Research Fellows 2024-2025. 

ASAM Fellow Taryn Flaherty presents: “Oral Histories of Chinatown: Resistance and Self-Determination"

Lunch will be provided for all registrants! Please RSVP  and join us in person or  join us by Zoom here!

Philadelphia Chinatown in the 1980s and 1990s was bustling with development. Large projects such as an expressway and convention center included massive demolition sites at a time where Chinatown small businesses were growing. Activism against contested developments have shaped the history of the neighborhood. Conducting oral histories with activists in Chinatown, this research seeks to understand the relationships between grassroots resistance, local development, and the cultivation of community leaders.  

Short Bio:

Taryn (she/her) is a rising senior from Philadelphia, studying history with minors in sociology and EALC. Her research interests were born out of her involvement in the community organizing against the proposed basketball arena in Philly Chinatown in recent years. She is a Mayor’s Scholar and involved in Students for the Preservation of Chinatown and the Asian Pacific Student Coalition. In her free time, she enjoys paint-by-numbers sets, making jewelry, and trying new coffee shops.